Unilever's Rahul Welde to head Media Strategy jury at AMES Awards

James Thompson of Diageo to head Effectiveness jury  

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | February 20, 2014

The Asian Marketing Effectiveness & Strategy Awards (AMES), Asia Pacific's premier awards for honouring outstanding marketing strategies in the region, has announced the first of its jury presidents: James Thompson and Rahul Welde.

Heading up the Media Strategy jury will be Rahul Welde, Vice-President of Media at Unilever. He is responsible for driving the media and communication agenda through a network of agencies and partners in the region and has played a pivotal role in driving digital in the region with key strategic partnerships with global as well as regional players. He is a strong advocate of non-traditional thinking and a number of projects under his stewardship have received wide acclaim and recognition. He is actively involved in industry issues and is the Regional VP Media & Marketing for The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and Chairman of Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), APAC.

Commenting on his position as jury president, Welde said, “It's fantastic that the AMES are recognising Media Strategy as its own section in 2014 and I am very much looking forward to being a part of this category in its inaugural year. Media strategy is a crucial part of any marketing campaign and I can't wait to see the unique, imaginative and innovative ways in which the region has deployed it to achieve quantifiable results.”

Media Strategy Jury:
Rahul Welde, Vice-President of Media, Unilever Asia, Africa, Middle East, Turkey and Russia – Jury President
Amcke Becker, Marketing Excellence Manager, Asia & Middle East, Friesl and Campina
Bindu Sethi, Chief Strategy Officer, JWT India
Catherine Williams, Partner, Strategy, Asia Pacific, Mindshare
Chun-Yu Shih, General Manager, WebGene Inc.
Donna Kim, Media Strategy Director, South Korea, Cheil Worldwide
Guy Hearn, Chief Innovation Officer, Asia Pacific, Omnicom Media Group
Jerry Blanton, Vice President & Global Marketing Director, Asia & EMEA, Citibank
Joe Nakamura, CEO, Japan, UM
Koichi Yamamoto, Senior Planning Director, Japan, Dentsu Inc.
Lilian Leong, Managing Director, Hong Kong, IPG Mediabrands
Lizzie Nolan, Asia Pacific Head of MediaCom Beyond Advertising, MediaCom
Malcolm Hanlon, Chief Operating Officer, Asia Pacific, ZenithOptimedia
Masashi Ariizumi, Senior Planning Director, Japan, ADK
Neil Stewart, Global Chief Client Officer, Maxus
Ranganathan Somanathan, Chief Operating Officer, South East Asia, Starcom MediaVest Group
Rohan Jha, Senior General Manager of Media & Promotions, Sony Music Entertainment India
Sean O'Brien, CEO, Asia Pacific, Carat
Sean Rach, Regional Director, Brand and Corporate Affairs, Prudential Corporation Asia
Stephanie Bell, Regional Media Director, China, Australia, Japan and Korea, L'Oreal
Torie Henderson, President, Global Account Management, Asia Pacific, Omnicom Media Group

James Thompson, Global Managing Director, Diageo Reserve, will chair the Effectiveness jury. Born British (and also an American citizen), Thompson left the UK in 1996 for an adventure and still hasn't returned. He has been with Diageo since 1994 in a variety of roles and locations but is currently based in Singapore to lead the luxury business for Diageo. Prior to joining Diageo he worked for Unilever in London, New York and Brussels. He is a strong advocate of the impact creativity can have on businesses, and of the opportunities businesses offer people to create legacies and transformation. He believes that a combination of rigour and flair is a vital recipe for commercial success.

Commenting on his role as jury president, Thompson said, “I am delighted to have been invited to chair the jury at this year's AMES. This event has become one of the most prestigious on the region's awards circuit. It celebrates brilliant joined-up thinking and the effectiveness that great execution of that thinking generates. It is exciting to have an opportunity to review the best of the best work – with a distinguished panel from across the industry.”

Effectiveness Jury:
James Thompson, Diageo, MD Global Reserve – Jury President
Ashutosh Srivastava, Chairman / CEO, APAC, Russia & Emerging Markets, Mindshare
Charles Cadell, President, Asia Pacific, McCann Worldgroup
Cheuk Chiang, CEO, Asia Pacific, Omnicom Media Group
Chris Thomas, Chairman / CEO, BBDO Asia, Middle East and Africa, Chairman of Proximity Worldwide, BBDO/Proximity ?
Christine Xu, VP and CMO, China, McDonald's,
David Brain, President & CEO, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Edelman
David Mayo, CEO, Bates CHI & Partners Asia
Dick van Motman, Chairman & CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network/Southeast Asia, Dentsu Aegis Network
Freddy Bharucha, General Manager, Asia Marketing, Procter & Gamble
Gavin Ashcroft, Chief Strategy Officer, Australia & New Zealand, Carat
Gerry Boyle, Chairman, Asia Pacific, ZenithOptimedia
Harpreet Singh Tibb, Director of Marketing, India & South Asia, Kellogg
Hyoung Do Lee, Planning Director, South Korea, Cheil Worldwide
Jarek Ziebinski, President, Asia Pacific, Leo Burnett
Keith Smith, President, International, TBWA Group
Mark Heap, CEO, Asia Pacific, MediaCom
Matthew Godfrey, President, Asia, Y&R
Nirvik Singh, Chairman & CEO, Asia Pacific, Grey Group
Paul Heath, Chairman & CEO, Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific
Rob Campbell, Regional Head of Planning, Wieden + Kennedy
Rupen Desai, Regional President, Asia Pacific, Lowe + Partners
Sarah Reiter, President, Asia Pacific, FutureBrand
Steve Blakeman, CEO, Asia Pacific, OMD
Vikram Sakhuja, Global CEO, Maxus Worldwide
Vishnu Mohan, CEO, Asia Pacific, Havas Media Group
Wong Mei Wai, Head of Marketing, Vietnam, Asia Pacific Breweries

Terry Savage, Chairman of Lions Festivals, commented, “We're delighted that James and Rahul are joining us as we expand the awards to include strategy alongside effectiveness. They are proven achievers in the industry and it will be fantastic to work with them as we look to award truly ground-breaking work from across the region.”

A further two new awards categories – Digital Strategy and Data & Analytics – are also being introduced this year and details of the jury presidents and their juries for them will be announced soon.

Entries into the AMES are being accepted until March 7, 2014. Submissions can be made through the website, www.ames.asia, where further details of rules and fees can also be found. The winners of the 2014 AMES will be announced and honoured on stage at the dedicated Awards Ceremony, which this year takes place in Singapore on May 29. Anyone wishing to be a part of the celebrations can book their place at http://www.ames.asia/general/attend-the-festival.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com