Corporate & Financial PR Agencies of the Year 2024

2024 Corporate PR Consultancies of the Year

The 2024 Asia-Pacific PR Consultancies of the Year are the result of an exhaustive research process involving more than 100 submissions and meetings with the best PR firms across the region.

Consultancy of the Year winners are announced and honoured at the 2024 Asia-Pacific SABRE Awards, taking place in Singapore on 19 September. Analysis of all Finalists and Winners can be accessed via the navigation menu or below:

Finalists

Ashbury (Independent)

Backstory

Former HSBC and Credit Suisse in-house veteran Adam Harper launched Ashbury at the start of 2020, not necessarily ideal timing given the impending pandemic. But Harper’s vision of integrating communications strategy and content creation for financial sector clients has paid off handsomely since then, supported by specialist expertise in sustainable finance and technology. The firm provides reputation strategy, media relations, content strategy, editorial, video, creative and event development for a client base that includes banks, asset managers, data and indices providers, professional services firms, industry associations and technology firms.

Locations

There are 17 staffers across offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and a new outpost in Dubai, along with a smaller presence in London.

Performance

Ashbury’s revenue grew 16% to $2.6m in 2023, thanks to a strong new business haul that helped mitigate a 1H slowdown that included the loss of its key Credit Suisse relationship. There was new business from the Aviva Investors, CFA Institute, Citicore Renewable Energy Corporation, EquiLend, Loan Market Association, Marex and Seagrass. Meanwhile, revenue from Ashbury’s top five clients grew by 61%, underpinned by the Asia-Pacific Loan Market Association, Digital Asset, Flourish Ventures, Houlihan Lokey, HSBC, MSCI, Man Group, Pan Asia Securities Lending Association and Societe Generale.

People & Culture

Harper is supported by partners Noel Cheung, Steve Garton and Joanne Chung. As befits a small, entrepreneurial firm, there is plenty of attention paid to cultural cohesion and inclusion, supported by a formalised ‘people strategy’ that includes ongoing performance reviews and annual learning subsidies.

Thought Leadership & Work

Harper is a well-respected commentator and moderator on such issues as ESG and geopolitical risk, while Ashbury also partners with InferenceCloud to bring AI to audience and strategy development. The firm works with CWG on speaker bureau services, while its weekly newsletter focuses on sustainability, tech and financial markets.

— Arun Sudhaman

Honner (Independent)

Backstory

Our 2020 Asia-Pacific Corporate/ Financial Agency of the Year and a perennial on the shortlist in this category, Honner was created by Philippa Honner in 1997 to provide specialist communications services to Australia’s fast-growing investment and financial sector. Today the firm has a team of 26 and a client list comprising some of Australia’s and the world’s leading financial brands, with much of its work focusing on financial literacy. About half of Honner’s clients are headquartered offshore, and the firm has an international outlook, running a global exchange program for staff, sending mid-level consultants to experience agency life in London, New York, Toronto or Hong Kong.

Locations

Honner is based in Australia, but partners with PROI, Global Communication Partners and Global Fintech Network to serve clients across regions.

Performance

Honner saw its fee income remain steady at around AU$5.2 million last year, making the firm a solid mid-size player in the Australian market and likely the leading independent focused on the financial sector. Honner manages more than 50 retainer and project clients (the former accounting for about 80% of revenues). Key clients include Australia’s ‘big-four’ high streets bank, National Australia Bank and ASX-listed wealth management firm Insignia Financial; leading Exchange Traded Fund provider Betashares; and major global fund managers such as Janus Henderson, AXA Investment Managers, Aviva Investors, Fisher Investments, and Nuveen. Honner is also the agency of record for US-headquartered investment giant Russell Investments, and one of Australia’s largest and most trusted cryptocurrency exchanges, BTC Markets. New clients included MA Financial, an ASX-listed global alternative asset manager; Blossom, a fixed-income investing app; fund manager Yarra Capital; EQT Partners; NAB Private Wealth; Pallas Capital; Cubic Transportation Systems; and Bank of Sydney.

People & Culture

With an emphasis on ethical practice and values (invest in relationships; curious & creative; frank & fearless; execute with excellence; and—new during the pandemic—kind & collaborative), Honner has made a significant investment in the team, in IT, and in infrastructure over the past year. Honner has also embedded DEI into everything it does by taking concrete steps to create a truly diverse and inclusive workplace. The senior leadership team includes equity partners Philippa Honner and Susie Bell, as well as Craig Morris, head of marketing solutions; Samantha Rockliff, senior consultant; and Rashmi Punjabi, head of business development

Thought Leadership & Work

Honner moved from three business units to four with the launch of a dedicated practice to target the burgeoning defi/blockchain/cryptocurrency sector. The firm also set up project teams to look at the impact of new technologies such as AI and ChatGPT and to look at the market intelligence function. In recent months, it created a Content Working Group to ramp up the content offering and launched “The Honner Report” to provide timely updates on financial communications trends, media moves and more. While much of the client work remains confidential, the firm has been working at a high level on both corporate reputation and business communications work for its blue-chip financial brands.

— Paul Holmes

Sandpiper (Independent)

Backstory

Former Weber Shandwick EVP Emma Smith launched her own firm (The Consultancy) in 2003, before selling the business to become part of the UK’s MHP Communications in 2013. After smartly concluding that the firm had better prospects as an independent outfit, Smith led an MBO of the business in 2019, creating Sandpiper Communications as a 100% employee owned operation. That move has helped unlock spectacular growth at a consultancy that focuses on the financial and professional services, healthcare, technology and energy sectors, bolstered by the acquisition of public affairs specialist North Head in China and underpinned by market-leading research capabilities.

Locations

Sandpiper’s 110 staffers are spread across its largest operation in Singapore and its traditional HQ of Hong Kong, supported by smaller outfits in Beijing, Shanghai, Australia and New Zealand, along with new operations in Dubai and Taiwan.

Performance

Sandpiper’s performance since the MBO are as good a reminder as any of the merits of independence. After quadrupling in size since then to crack the $10m barrier in 2022, growth slowed somewhat in 2023, but still remained comfortable above industry average at 10% — taking regional revenue to almost $11m. There were three new offices, and nimble investment in AI, emerging tech, research, energy, ESG and financial services ensured Sandpiper avoided the worst of the downturn. The firm’s financial practice accounts for 40% of regional revenue, with healthcare at 22% and technology, ESG and corporate all at around 11%. There was new business from Lazard, Allfunds, Cathay United Bank, GE Aerospace, Australian Health Service Alliance, Ryman Healthcare, Saudi Ministry of Culture, Smith & Nephew, Schroeders and LG Chemicals, joining an existing client roster that features AstraZeneca, Budweiser, Cigna, Cisco, Cloudlfare, DHL, GE Healthcare, Novartis, P&G, and Schneider Electric. The firm’s one P&L model continues to serve as a compelling differentiator from rivals, as do its research and ESG capabilities.

People & Culture

Smith is very much a hands-on CEO, but the firm owes much of its recent success to an expanded leadership team, which also features chief operating officer Kelly Johnston, Southeast Asia MD Sarada Chellam, research MD Craig Young, and Hong Kong GM Kim Spear. New hires included Fran Boase as professional services head and ANZ MD, Bajahat Homsi as Middle East GM, Michael Rinaman as global strategy MD, and Liz Etherington as technology lead. Financial veteran Richard Barton took on a senior advisor role, while North Head owners John Russell and Robert Magyar exited, as did Hong Kong GM Natalie Siu. Keeping pace with its rapid growth, the firm has significantly elevate its workplace focus, bringing in an external consultant to develop DEI policies and offering tailored employee career plans alongside a a three-tier employee ownership and reward structure. Sandpiper invests 1% of revenue in a formal training and development curriculum, supported by salary benchmarking and competitive benefits. The board is 75% female, and a conscious focus on elevating women has seen seven recently moved up to senior roles. .

Thought Leadership & Work

Sandpiper’s research arm has quietly developed into a formidable competitive edge, helping it develop proprietary intellectual property across such as areas as reputation capital, consumer expectations, financial services reputation, and — perhaps most notably — AI in comms, the first global survey of its kind. There are also regular insight newsletter and reports into ESG, healthcare, public affairs, China finance, and sustainability — all of which helps explain why Sandpiper launched a formalised research and insights business earlier last year. There has also been a noticeable improvement in Sandpiper’s campaign work, exemplified by SABRE nominated efforts for Rita Ku and Ser.

— Arun Sudhaman

SEC Newgate (Independent)

Backstory

The SEC Newgate brand was born from the 2019 merger of UK holding company Porta, which owned international corporate and financial consultancy Newgate, and Italian public affairs firm SEC, which had made several independent agency acquisitions in Europe. It took a couple of additional years before the brand was adopted by the Asia-Pacific, aligning itself with sister offices that operate under that name worldwide. The firm’s integrated services include public affairs and advocacy, financial and corporate communications, digital insights, research, crisis management and consumer PR.

Locations

Australia dominates SEC Newgate’s current Asia-Pacific footprint with 117 people, while there are smaller operations in Singapore (14) and Greater China (13), and a focus on expanding further into Korea and Southeast Asia.

Performance

SEC Newgate grew 3% to $23m in 2022, with an economic slowdown impacting each of its key markets. Australia was up 3%, with increasing political work supplementing its issues management and transaction counsel for Sun Corp, Coles, and the Bush Summit. Singapore was flat, handling projects for Temasek, TUC Enterprise, Comfort DelGro and Capsquare Asia. Greater China reported single-digit growth, acquiring Mars Communications in Shanghai, and adding work from Shinera, Averis & Marsall, ADN Capital, a number of legal players, and Hongkong Land. Increasing cross-border collaboration between Hong Kong and Singapore, demonstrated by such clients as as Ashurst, FalconX, A&M and Eastspring, bode well for the firm’s regional cohesion.

People & Culture

Brian Tyson, managing partner of the Australian operation, also serves as global deputy CEO, a recognition of the market’s critical importance to the firm, while James Hill oversees China and Singapore is led by Terence Foo, one of the country’s most respected financial practitioners. Singapore added Sabrina Quek to lead digital, while Victoria Guo arrived to lead Shanghai.The firm has been proactive in terms of developing more flexible workplace policies, with an emphasis on providing resources that allow employees to work from home and provide assistance with mental health and other work-life balance challenges, including paid wellbeing leave when needed.

Thought Leadership & Work

In Australia, robust thought leadership activities include public affairs briefs around major events like elections and budgets, along with a bi-monthly Mood of the Nation sentiment tracker with the Australian. More notably, perhaps, the firm has expanded its annual ESG Monitor from Australia into a successful global study. The firm’s ability to operate at the intersection of financial, corporate and political issues was reflected by its work for SunCorp and Coles in Australia, and for Comfort DelGro in Singapore, while it also supported ADM Capital’s fundraising efforts and ACCA’s influencer marketing. SEC Newgate also created the Bush Summit in conjunction with News Corp, focusing on regional issues in Australia.

— Arun Sudhaman

SPRG (Independent)

Backstory

It is now nearly 30 years since Burson-Marsteller veteran Richard Tsang launched Strategic Public Relations Group in Hong Kong, and from its origins as a specialist in the Hong Kong financial market (advising on both financial transactions and companies in the financial services sector) it has expanded both geographically and in terms of the portfolio of services it offers. It now has broad corporate and financial capabilities, expertise in public affairs and consumer marketing, a healthy events business, and burgeoning digital and social media expertise. It is, in short, a full-service agency blending local market expertise with international standards of management and practice.

Locations

Headquartered in Hong Kong, the firm now has wholly-owned offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Taipei, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur; as well as an associated investor relations company in Sydney and a joint venture with US financial services specialist Monteith & Co. It is a longtime active partner in PROI, giving it access to a premier network of international partners in key markets.

Performance

The Asian region has been slower to recover from the pandemic than some others, and while SPRG is proud of its decision to hunker down and avoid the major layoffs of some competitors, there’s n doubt that Covid took its toll. Still, 2023 saw evidence of green shoots as the firm grew by about 5% and ended the year with fee income slightly above $21 million, good for a place among the top 130 agencies in out global ranking. The firm’s solid portfolio of blue-chip clients includes GE Healthcare, Asia Pulp & Paper, Melco Resorts & Entertainment, 3D Gold, SNAP Group, Knowles and Silkroad Marcom, while there was new business from Outbrain, SenseTime Group, Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, Football Association of Singapore, FWD Singapore, L'Oreal Malaysia, Security Industry Development Corporation, Malaysia Retail Chain Association, Hong Kong Arts Centre, and Link Sustainability Lab.

People & Culture

In keeping with a longtime commitment to people-first management and leading by example in the Hong Kong market, founder Richard Tsang made a pledge at the outset of the pandemic, and avoided major layoffs, maintaining the collegial “work hard, plat hard” culture that has characterized the firm for the best part of three decades. A strong and stable leadership team includes Vivian Fok, MD of strategic communications consultancy; Edwin Yeo, GM of SPRG Singapore; Cindy Qin, GM of SPRG Beijing; and Nancy Huang, GM of SPRG Taiwan.

Thought Leadership & Work

A year after the launch of SPRG Chuhai, a dedicated service platform to help Chinese brands expand their presence overseas, it has achieved significant milestones for its Chinese clients in European markets, boosting engagement through online media and targeted advertising. A recent collaboration with a Chinese EV company has led to several additions to the service offering, which now includes website, UX and content development. Exciting client work includes a successful listing on HKEX for OrbusNeich Medical Group Holdings, reinforcing the firm’s longstanding leadership in the local financial markets; image building work for invested, a capacity-building program by the Securities Commission Malaysia to attract young talent; and efforts to promote digital safety and wellbeing for young people in China, on behalf of Google.

— Paul Holmes

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