Women to Watch 2024: Marian Esperanza Magturo, Publicis Media

Marian Esperanza Magturo

Strategy director
Publicis Media
Singapore

A passionate artist and performer, Marian Esperanza Magturo regularly participates in theatre and music to infuse creativity and storytelling into her professional life. In a career spanning more than 15 years, she has brought artistic sensibility and expertise in creative problem-solving to various agencies while working on high-profile global, regional, and local projects for brands such as Mondelēz, Coca-Cola, Heineken, Spotify, LinkedIn, and Lazada. 

Over the past two years, Magturo has thrived as strategy director at Publicis Media in Singapore where she has led strategy for Samsung APAC, Publicis Groupe Southeast Asia’s largest client. Encompassing 20 capabilities including media, CRM, gaming, and creative, Magturo has devised strategic initiatives that have been pivotal in Samsung’s revenue increase during key mobile campaign launches. She developed strategies for new sources of growth, targeting Gen Alpha and outstation cities, and strengthening associations with Gen Z through initiatives like the Galaxy Gaming Academy and Campus Engagement, and on regional product launches, including Samsung's S23 and Flip5Fold5 devices. 

Magturo has also turned around Samsung Singapore's team operations. This maneuver has led to a 73% improvement in client relationship scores within three months and the Samsung Singapore team winning eight awards for the S23 smartphone launch under her stewardship. Beyond Samsung, Magturo has also been instrumental in securing multiple new business wins  and has served as strategy lead for Spotify APAC. 

As a leader, Magturo has expanded and upskilled the Samsung Singapore team from five to 30 members within three months. By identifying operational gaps and opportunities, she implemented effective strategies that transformed the team's performance which led to a remarkable doubling of the client satisfaction score in a short turnaround period. She also led the team’s training, delivering a 15-module masterclass programme.

As a key contributor to Publicis' ‘Make it’ planning framework in APAC, Magturo trained over 100 participants. Her theatre background enhances her expertise in storytelling and presentation—skills she teaches to juniors at Publicis. She mentors juniors from the Samsung Singapore team and volunteers as a mentor within the Publicis Global Mentorship Program, even mentoring mentees from Dubai.

Magturo has led several innovative initiatives, including the Gen AI Centre of Excellence for Samsung, sustainability lead for Spotify APAC, and Publicis' Design Thinking APAC programme. As the design thinking practice lead at Publicis, she has cultivated a culture of innovation and collaboration by encouraging alternative strategies and solutions. By championing the idea that “ideas can come from anyone and anywhere”, she has successfully led projects across different capabilities, emphasising collective problem-solving approaches.

Outside of work, Magturo is a band singer, composer, pianist, guitarist, and theatre actor, and has showcased her creativity and storytelling abilities in various Singapore theatre productions. She actively volunteers with organisations like SingTheater, using the transformative power of storytelling to bring joy and positivity to those in need. She further brings live music to hospitals, uplifting patients undergoing treatment.