JWT sets up shopper-marketing offering in Singapore

The new division will sit within JWT's Singapore office, offering shopper marketing, retail audits, activation strategy, roadshow/event management and other field-marketing services to help drive bottom-line results for brands.

Frank Bauer, CEO at JWT Singapore, said the division will serve all JWT Singapore clients as well as other global brands active in Southeast Asia.

“We face amazing growth of an affluent and very informed, new consumer base, and our multinational clients operating in Singapore and across Southeast Asia want strong brand ideas and consistent, integrated engagement solutions in one shop,” he said.

Cai Hua, founder and chairman of Always, meanwhile said the agency's services will give brands a critical edge in the point of purchase.

JWT Always is headed up by managing director Sanjiv Sharma and general manager Anand Kumar. The duo are from ASEAN-wide regional shopper and field marketing company A8 Group, owned and operated by Sharma for four years. The company worked with clients such as Microsoft, Advanced Medical Devices (AMD), Nestle, Pay Pal and Energizer.

Both Sharma and Kumar will report to Bauer. The division is currently hiring to build its team.

Tom Doctoroff , CEO at JWT Asia Pacific, said that the inauguration of JWT Always in Singapore is an important step in expanding JWT's ability to translate creative ideas into on-the-ground behaviour that drives sales.

The collaboration is a pivotal part of the regional expansion of Always, which works for international clients such as Unilever, Ferrero, Nokia, J&J, Pfizer, Intel, Microsoft and VISA, in China. JWT owns a majority stake in Always.

Always and JWT set up operations in Taiwan in May.

Sharma said that the retail environment is the final front in brands' strategic battles with their competitors, and brands that understand that dynamic and deploy the right solutions win.