After a 7-week pitch process culminating with a final presentation to Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd (APB) last week, Tiger Beer’s (Tiger) coveted regional account has been handed to Y&R.
The work was a joint effort between Y&R offices in Malaysia and Singapore. Led by Y&R Malaysia CEO Bob McBrain and Chief Creative Officer Edward Ong – who combined with his counterpart James Procter the Y&R Singapore CCO – the Y&R team fought off O&M, JWT, Iris and incumbent, Saatchi & Saatchi along the way.
Matt Godfrey, Y&R Asia’s new President, guided the pitch process across both offices with partners Marcus Rebeschini, CCO of Y&R Asia and Hari Ramanathan Y&R’s Regional Planning Director. According to Mr Godfrey, “Both offices put their best foot forward and displayed remarkable teamwork. We went in as one team and won as one.”
Bob McBrain added, “This is a tremendous opportunity to do great work for one of the most famous Asian brands. Tiger Beer is an award-winning beer brand with over 40 prestigious international awards and accolades, and at Y&R, we are proud to be associated with a brand of such credentials and hope to take the winning formula further.”
The win covers regional work for key Asian markets including Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, China, Thailand, and Cambodia where locally-appointed creative agencies of Tiger will adapt and apply Y&R’s creations in the respective markets. The pitch involved both strategic and creative development, designed to develop further Tiger’s already established positioning of “Enjoy Winning”.
Marcus Rebeschini CCO of Y&R Asia said; “The strategy was spot on, the work was amazing and APB was very supportive and the perfect fit for where we are taking Y&R. A lot of people have helped make this possible and I couldn’t have asked for a better team under the guidance of Ed and James.”
The win marks the first regional win by Bob McBrain since taking office in Nov 2009 and the second time he has been involved in Tiger having been part of the original Saatchi & Saatchi team when the agency picked up the account in 2006. The accolade is also shared by Matt Godfrey since his appointment as President of Y&R Asia less than three months ago.
The account will be coordinated out of Y&R Malaysia, tapping into the Y&R Singapore and Regional teams.
