Freeman launches brand experience agency in China and Singapore

Freeman has announced it is integrating several of its creative services across the Asia Pacific region, including China and Singapore, under the company’s agency division, FreemanXP.

The move comes after Freeman acquired Staging Connections Group Limited in November 2015. The event services company, with operations in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, operated in Singapore as The Event Company and in China as ETGSC.

“Today’s integration announcement better aligns our teams to address the needs of clients by combining the Freeman agency resources with ETGSC and The Event Company,” said Dan Hoffend, president of FreemanXP.

“Over the last year, we have continued to invest in our agency business with superior talent, building on the strong reputation and unmatched heritage of the teams,” added Hoffend. “We are excited to create local expertise backed by global resources as we integrate our operations across Asia Pacific and around the world, providing our clients with access to the best minds from Freeman’s global agency.”

In Singapore, The Event Company has been creating some of the most successful corporate, government and special event projects in Singapore and across the Asia Pacific region for over two decades.

For nearly 25 years in China, ETGSC has been the leading event marketing and event technology company. With offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, these teams deliver an average of 300 events each year in China and thousands of corporate events in hotels across Asia Pacific. Freeman will continue to operate the audio visual services under the ETGSC brand.

New Talent

As Freeman integrates the two companies into FreemanXP, seasoned leaders have joined the team in Asia Pacific, including:

• Dionne Holder as managing director of China whose expertise includes event creation and conception, brand building and customer relationship management. Holder brings a deep understanding of the Chinese culture and language.
• Etienne Chia, who joins as VP, digital and strategy, APAC, bringing a multi-disciplinary background and a track record of success in multi-cultural environments.
• Carrie Tsoi as the new marketing director, APAC, bringing 20 years of marketing world-class brands in the automotive, luxury, lifestyle and technology sectors across the Asia Pacific region and China.
• Tamsyn Barker, as the executive creative director in Singapore. Educated in interior architecture and design with 20 years in experiential marketing, Barker excels in pushing the boundaries of imagination while remaining grounded in reality.
• Peter Fulcher-Meredith as director of communication in Singapore, overseeing strategy in the Singapore office as well as learning and development across the region. Fulcher-Meredith brings decades of experience helping business leaders across the region more effectively communicate their messages to their key stakeholders.

“Asia Pacific is a key market for our growth, both in-market and as a destination for our global clients who need strategic, creative agency services,” said Adam Charles, SVP, managing director, APAC for FreemanXP. “Over the last year we have supported our growing roster of clients by investing in people and systems to keep up with the unique demands of this market.”

Focus on New Capabilities & Growth

A leader in the space, FreemanXP creates personalised brand experiences that deliver results. The team will be leveraging the new Freeman Design Leadership Council, an influential group of 10 global design visionaries to bring innovative thinking to clients.

In the past year alone, Freeman has continued to bolster its creative, data and measurement capabilities with key hires and acquisitions. In November, Freeman announced Bruce Mau’s appointment as chief design officer. In May, the company acquired leading data and measurement company Exhibit Surveys.

Over the last three years, Freeman has broadened its global presence by expanding into Central America and Australia as well as Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and launched its Global Partner Programme to service clients in all regions of the world.

Commenting on the news Kim Myhre, SVP and MD at FreemanXP in EMEA adds: “It’s an exciting time for FreemanXP, as the agency now expands its reach into the thriving APAC market whilst our EMEA business continues to grow. We’ve gone from a start-up business in 2014 to one of the top 10 agencies in Event magazine’s brand experience league table 2015, and we continue to grow as our clients embrace the benefits of intersectional design thinking to create breakthrough brand experiences. 

“I look forward to working with Adam Charles and the newly formed APAC team on behalf of our growing roster of global clients.”