Shopper marketing agency Barrows sets up regional HQ in Singapore; plans expansion

The agency, 35 per cent owned by WPP, has offices in South Africa, Brazil, the UK, Singapore and the US. It opened the office in Singapore in June 2012 with four employees. Since then its headcount has grown to 20 due to overwhelming demand in the region, said Rob Draper, managing director, Barrows Asia-Pacific.

“We were servicing clients at arm's length, but now we want to service them better and help them with their local requirements,” said Draper. Interestingly, Draper said that Barrows operating companies typically consolidate its specialist services to a global services centre of excellence as opposed to opening offices in each market.

He noted that this passes on to clients the cost savings of the beneficial exchange rate and consolidated retail marketing experience residing in this central source.

The $60 billion shopper marketing category is growing at an annual rate of 15 per cent, making it one of the fastest growing sectors in marketing, according to the Grocery Manufacturers Association. That group also reported that 83 per cent of consumer-packaged goods companies expect to increase their shopper-marketing investment over the next three years. For more than half of them, shopper marketing spending will surpass all other marketing spending.

Barrows' new office will service clients in India, Japan, China, Southeast Asia, and Australia, Draper confirmed. The agency might also consider opening offices in other Asian markets.  

Key clients include Unilever, Coca-Cola, Kimberly Clark and Mondelez, as well as local clients.

Barrows has five core offerings: shopper insights, retail planning, design, production and execution. According to WPP, the unaudited consolidated gross assets of Barrows stood at approximately US$18.3 million as of December 2011. Its unaudited revenues were US$62 million for the same period.