WPP agency Essence has launched an innovation, research and development hub in Singapore following investment from the Economic Development Board.
The hub – the first for the agency in Asia – has been branded as Essence Global Ventures (EGV) and aims to “develop and incubate” marketing. These solutions will then be scaled across the 106 markets Essence operated in worldwide.
An executive council, comprising senior global and regional leaders from Essence, will oversee the strategic direction and delivery of EGV’s research and development.
“Essence began its Asia Pacific journey in 2013 with a small foundational team in Singapore. Today, our Singapore office has grown into a knowledge centre of best practices for our nine offices across the region,” explained Kunal Guha, who oversees Essence's Singapore office as well as the agency's product offering in Asia Pacific.
“With our strategic partnership with EDB, we are embarking on an exciting future in incubating and developing product propositions for the new era of marketing, with data, technology, protection and experience at the very core. Through EGV, we are thrilled to be building these future-forward solutions, made in Singapore and transplanted to the world.”
EGV will also look to grow and support local talent through professional development and training programmes in high-demand fields, including data science, advanced analytics, data and product engineering, creative technology, user experience design, and data integrity and privacy.
The launch of EGV comes following a period of rapid growth in Asia for the agency after it opened in four new markets last year.