Technology PR Consultancies of the Year 2023

2023 Technology PR Consultancies of the Year

The 2023 Asia-Pacific PR Consultancies of the Year are the result of an exhaustive research process involving more than 125 submissions and meetings with the best PR firms across the region.

Consultancy of the Year winners are announced and honoured at the 2023 Asia-Pacific SABRE Awards, taking place in Singapore on 27 September. Analysis of all Finalists and Winners can be accessed via the navigation menu or below:

Winner

The Hoffman Agency (Independent)

Backstory

After 25 years in the region, Hoffman can lay claim to being more of an Asian consultancy than an American one, not least because it makes around twice as much revenue in this region as it does in the rest of the world. Much of that success can be attributed to the firm’s growth beyond its B2B technology roots, particularly over the past five years, to encompass consumer marketing, integrated communications and corporate work, helping it mitigate the worst of this year’s tech slowdown. The firm’s focus on humanising complex companies and tackling business challenges such as employer branding, market entry and fundraising, continues to stand it in good stead, as does the launch of its techplomacy public affairs practice, and specific expertise in such areas as semiconductors and integrated marketing.

Locations

There are 170 people across 10 Asia-Pacific markets, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur (as of March 2022).

Performance

Asia-Pacific revenue grew 21% in 2022 to almost $16m, led by strong returns from Southeast Asia (+57%) — which was itself underpinned by growing demand for multi-market integrated marketing work — along with double digit expansion in all other markets, reflecting an operation that appears to be firing on all cylinders. There was new business from Tencent. Moloco, Oracle, TSMC, Nvidia, LG Energy Solution, Samsung Display, Peloton (crisis work), Bosch and Yahoo Hong Kong, joining an existing client roster that features Zoom, ASML, Visa, Heidrick & Struggles, Nutanix, Trellix, Twitch, Supermicro, Ripple and Google. Many of Hoffman’s Asian clients, notably, have been successfully expanded into multi-market assignments, including international duties.

People & Culture

Proudly independent and with a single P&L, Hoffman is flexible and collaborative, and a strong local management team has turned that into an asset when it comes to recruitment and retention. Caroline Hsu’s impressive performance as Asia-Pacific MD over the past six years was rewarded with a promotion to chief global officer last year, and she is supported by an entirely local (and largely female) leadership team that includes chief strategist Nicolas Chan, Southeast Asia MD Maureen Tseng, Taiwan GM Stephanie Yang, global operations EVP Lydia Lau and new hire Vicky Wong as Malaysia GM. Hsu has been a vocal advocate for closing the gender pay gap, particularly acute in Asia, and other progressive workforce reforms, in addition to having introduced more flexible approaches to office work in the wake of the pandemic. Hoffman’s success owes much to its workplace policies, including a new Geeks@Heart positioning that aims to distil its unique culture, resulting in high scores for retention and morale.

Thought Leadership & Work

A key thought leadership highlight was the launch of the firm’s Techplomacy public affairs practice, which combines geopolitical expertise with technology specialisms, supported by ongoing intelligence reports into critical current issues. Hsu’s roles as regional president of ICCO and PRCA Asia-Pacific co-chair ensure vocal support for a range of industry initiatives, while Hoffman’s campaign work has also experienced a notable uplift, as demonstrated by SABRE nominated campaigns for Visa, ASML, Gunung Raja Paksi, HD Renewable Energy, and the Consumer Technology Association.

— Arun Sudhaman

Finalists

IN.FOM (Singapore/Independent)

Backstory

No longer the new kid on the block after an impressive decade-plus in business, IN.FOM continues to bring plenty of energy to an offering that has already won multiple Agency of the Year Awards from PRovoke Media. IN.FOM, whose clients include the likes of Samsung and Intel, had planned on 2020 being the year of supercharging the agency, including diversifying its portfolio on the heels of parting ways with anchor client Microsoft in 2019; focusing on next-gen talent; and scaling capabilities that have made the tech firm one of the region’s best. With Covid, though, IN.FOM instead doubled down on innovation and developing new offerings to keep and attract clients, which, after an impressive 43% increase in revenue in 2021, continued to pay off in 2022, which saw revenue rise by nearly 24%.

Locations

IN.FOM's 24 staffers operate out of a Singapore office.

Performance

IN.FOM’s focus on innovation and new offerings continued to pay off last year — its 10th anniversary — which saw fee income rise nearly 24% to SGD$7.3 million (and that was after a 43% lift in 2021). Growth was fueled by new business from an impressive array of new clients — NetApp, Tencent Cloud, Hepmil and ByteDance among them. Other key clients include Samsung, Okta, Grab, Tata Communications, Expedia, Herbalife and Publicis Sapient. The firm’s success stems, in part, from its diligence in creating, rolling out and continuing to leverage new services that clients needed to make it through Covid — marketing webinars, online communications training and services for startups among them.

People & Culture

IN.FOM has grown by putting its people first, operating under a protocol that includes giving employees direct access to management, collaboration and having no team structure based on, say, accounts or expertise. Additionally, IN.FOM has had a work-from-home option since it opened, doesn’t require the likes of timesheets, and offers biannual performance reviews, salary adjustments and bonuses and allowances for wellness and professional training programs. The package is working when it comes to employee retention. More than half of IN.FOM’s employees have been with the firm for five years or more, and six employees are marking their 10th anniversary there. In 2020, staff salaries were untouched. IN.FOM also continued to pay bonuses and raises and make promotions. Co-founders and managing partners Wong Voal Voal and Mike Liew established the framework for a diverse and inclusive organization from the start. In addition to anti-discrimination policies, staff performance is measured by peer evaluations and candidates aren’t required to have a university degree. Staff is evenly divided between men and women. Half of the firm’s managers are 40 or older. Talent includes a local LGBTQ advocate. The people-first approach is paying off with employee longevity. More than 50% of employees have been with IN.FOM for five years or more, with a quarter celebrating 10 years or more in 2022.

Thought Leadership & Work

After seeing the benefits of adding new marketing services — organizing webinars, content marketing and digital campaigns among them — during Covid, IN.FOM continues to strengthen and deepen its integrated marketing capabilities. Doing so played a key role in IN.FOM leading marquee activations in 2022 including Tencent Cloud’s customer conference and Samsung’s regional display tech and customer conferences.

— Diana Marszalek

Rice (Independent)

Backstory

Founded in 2009 as one of a new wave of independent Asian technology PR firms, Rice has grown beyond those roots to work across multiple sectors from its Singapore headquarters. While B2B technology remains the firm’s mainstay — just as well given the growth from those particular clients as the pandemic took hold — the firm also recently inked a joint venture with tech marketing firm AKIN to create Lab360, the latest in a series of industry efforts to better connect content, CRM and lead generation.

Locations

In addition to Singapore, which houses the majority of the firm’s 64 people, there are smaller teams in Myanmar and Hong Kong. Rice also has individuals in Thailand, the Philippines and Australia.

Performance

Capping the year as a $5 million operation, Rice in 2022 saw revenues rise 22% — a welcome turnaround after two consecutive years of being effectively flat after the crisis in Myanmar dealt the firm’s second largest office a devastating blow. Client loyalty remains impressive, with the average client relationship lasting 4.2 years; 74% of Rice’s 30 retainer clients are multimarket briefs. New additions to Rice’s roster in 2022 include Levi Strauss & Co, B&O. ISC2, SGInnovate, Remote, Accredify, AIA, ILO and WHO. The firm also handles the full array of communications for brands like Audi, Hilton, Salesforce, Twilio, LinkedIn and Eaton.

People & Culture

While founder Sonya Madeira remains the majority shareholder from London, operational leadership is handled by managing partner James Brasher. His team includes Mayda Jutahkiti, general manager of Singapore and partner; Donna Garcia, who started and still leads the Myanmar office; Agung S. Ongko, director of strategy & insights and partner; and Neil Mirano, director of client services and partner, Brasher has placed a lot of emphasis on nurturing the firm’s culture, with listening — to employees as well as clients — at the center. He says he wants Rice to be “the last agency in people’s careers,” a focus that has helped the firm achieve consistent success in our Best Agencies to Work For During the pandemic years, Rice extended insurance to cover hospitalisation, medical, dental and specialist expenses for children and more, and introduced a quarterly health and wellness allowance. It also embraced hybrid and remote working and encourages people to work from overseas for extended periods. There’s also a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, from unconscious bias and allyship training to more accommodation for nursing moms. In 2022, Singapore staff logged more than 800 hours of training; Rice covers the full cost of outside employee training. Last year, Rice’s retention rate was 79.5%, up from 75.3% in 2021.

Thought Leadership & Work

Rice took home two PRovoke Media Innovation SABRE Awards in 2022 — one for its work for the European Union Delegation and another for its integrated work supporting Eaton at its 25th anniversary in Singapore. The winning work reflect Rice’s recent investment in services supporting brand strategy and insights, as does 2022’s hallmark efforts. From March to September, Rice rolled executed a thought leadership campaign for Auto, which included a six-part video series on LinkedIn highlighting business leaders and trailblazers in startups, technology, food innovation and sustainability. Audi Singapore was able to establish and deepen relations with featured corporate influencers, who continue to work with and amplify Audi's presence through various platforms, speaking at Audi’s events, participating in media opportunities and more. Late last year, Rice worked with deep tech investor SGInnovate on promoting its tech talent programmes., targeted at undergrads through mid-career working professionals. Rice-created brand messaging, visuals and content were distributed via various digital platforms, elevating the programmes’ visibility and driving interest among candidates.

— Diana Marszalek

Value 360 Communications (India/Independent)

Backstory

In 2007, Kunal Kishore launched Value 360 in the midst of the global economic meltdown. Value 360 built its success by serving the specific needs of the startups and entrepreneurs emerging in India at that time, delivering communications that boosted their visibility and brand awareness. The firm capitalized on the need for PR expertise, and practitioners, that could grow with the burgeoning companies, through an integrated and measurable approach to communications. Fourteen years later, Value 360’s business is booming, thanks to the top-tier services and expertise that earned the firm being named PRovoke Media’s 2020 Asia-Pacific tech agency of the year.

Locations

Value 360 has an expansive Delhi headquarters, and offices in Pune, Chennai and Chandigarh as well as Singapore.

Performance

After an astounding 2021, during which Value 360’s revenue surged 86%, the agency had a more industry typical 2022, with revenue rising about 12% to $7.5 million. The agency hired roughly 50 new staffers, creating a 300-person workforce to handle business from a hefty roster of new and key clients such as Audi, Lufthansa, Shopify, H&M, Sunglass Hut, Kellogg’s, Kayak, Puma and MG Motors.

People & Culture

On the heels of its biggest year ever, Value 360 last year courted employees in non-traditional ways, like inviting people who left the workforce to rejoin and hiring and training recruits from outside the PR industry. The agency uses KPI to drive diversity and gender equity, and foster employee engagement. Founder Kunal Kishore is supported by group executive director Paresh Chaudhary; group VP Diksha Sethi; and assistant VP Manas Mrinal.

Thought Leadership & Work

Value 360 Communications started as a PR firm in the year 2007 and slowly diversified into a group of specialist firms focused on delivering unique service offerings under a communication framework. Today, under the group of Value 360, the organisation is scaling up to bring technology to the core of its communication offering. Value 360 launched one of India's first AI enabled influencer marketplaces, ClanConnect.ai, which uses machine learning and data analytics to simplify influencer marketing for brands. The firm also launched hubscribe.ai, a new media-tech company which will allow content writers and journalists to control their own publishing and communities through a subscription model.

— Diana Marszalek

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