SINGAPORE, Feb. 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Kantar today announce two senior appointments strengthening their leadership in Singapore and South East Asia.

As part of the company's leadership in accelerating growth in the region, Katie McClintock has been promoted to Managing Director, South East Asia (Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam). This model complements the rest of Kantar's APAC presence in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) and ANZ (Australia and New Zealand).

"As the region starts to adjust to treating COVID as endemic, we see lots of opportunity to partner with clients to understand fundamental shifts in consumer behaviour – in particular how to leverage digital and maximise marketing ROI," says McClintock.

"The shift to digital is fundamental and those that can seamlessly harness their brand power in an 'omnichannel' travelling between online and off will be the most successful. This is a unique region and the power of the mobile phone as the entry point into the digital world is very critical. We see Asia leading the way in digital and social commerce and expect this trend to continue."

She adds however, that "the fundamentals of brands remain critical – that is to be meaningful (speak to a key consumer need), different (have something unique to offer that is offered better than competitors) and salient (able to cut through the noise)."

"Get these right and your brand will ultimately be the one that instantly comes to mind for people. This means winning across multiple channels and getting sustainability right, which is a critical juncture for all brands going forward."

Emma Eichbaum also re-joins Kantar as Head of Client Growth in Singapore following prior tenures with Kantar in New Zealand and Thailand.

She says: "More than ever, willingness to embrace agility and become comfortable with an efficiently delivered result that is 90% right, rather than investing substantial time and effort for a 110% outcome will make the difference in this brave new world."

"The pandemic has very much proven that the ability to flex in much shorter time frames is indeed essential but is actually possible."

"I'm excited to lead our clients to find new opportunities among new consumer behaviours in the region," adds Eichbaum. "Whether through ongoing or new forms of research to complement existing work flows or crunching the wealth of data they already have through a different lens, this is a powerful tipping point for Asia, and I am thrilled to guide our clients forward."

Wayne Levings, Kantar's CEO, Insights, APAC who arrived in Singapore from London in November with the easing of COVID border closures, says he is "thrilled to be on the ground and leading the APAC team in a fast-moving and vibrant region with enormous potential."

"There are many similar opportunities and challenges across South East Asia, and many clients manage their businesses across these markets. With Katie at the helm, we are providing more focus on these key markets, and better utilising expertise and best practice in a more scaled and ambitious way. Our APAC team offers an unrivalled depth of expertise, from understanding the fundamental market shifts to our future focused consulting, brand and innovation experts, and our creative and media experts who can advise on the power of brand communication across all channels to maximise marketing ROI."

"Katie is an outstanding leader who has successfully led our growth in Singapore over the past few years and is highly respected by all our clients. She has worked across Asian markets for the past 20 years in insights and brand consulting. She also has both client and agency side experience in Asia, at PepsiCo and Mastercard," adds Levings.

"Singapore is the key client hub for many South East Asia markets and Katie will work closely with each to further accelerate growth. The addition of Emma Eichbaum to support our commercial excellence work will undoubtedly augment the ambition of clients to be their best in the region.

Both appointments are effective immediately. Katie and Emma are both based in Singapore.

About Kantar: Kantar is the world's leading evidence-based insights and consulting company. We have a complete, unique and rounded understanding of how people think, feel and act; globally and locally in over 90 markets. By combining the deep expertise of our people, our data resources and benchmarks, our innovative analytics and technology, we help our clients understand people and inspire growth. www.kantar.com^[1]

References

1. ^{^} www.kantar.com (www.kantaraustralia.com)