Technology PR Consultancies of the Year 2024

2024 Technology 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

Golin (IPG)

Backstory

The return of Darren Burns as Asia-Pacific president in 2020 has heralded a particular elevation in Golin’s profile and growth across the region, with revenues growing 27% over the past three years. From an agency that was once heavily reliant on consumer, Golin has repositioned and diversified its offering, and nowhere is this more evident than in its booming technology practice, which was up 25% in 2023, and now accounts for 40% of revenue.

Locations

Golin operates in Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei, Jakarta, Mumbai, Gurgaon, Bengaluru, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and Tokyo — adding up to 200 staff in total.

Performance

Technology was up 25% in 2023, thanks to expanded work from a client base that includes Texas Instruments, Micron, LinkedIn, Uber, Lenovo, Dell, Denodo, Softserve, Cariad, Amazon, Zeiss, JBL, Applied Materials and Semi. A focus on high-touch rather than high-tech has paid off, for example shifting Lenovo from conventional activity to employer branding and reputation counsel.

People & Culture

Burns’ has reshaped much of the leadership since taking charge, with Lydia Shen now overseeing Shanghai and Beijing, Carol Yeung leading Hong Kong, and Terry Chiang and Rafidah Rashid in charge of Taipei and Singapore, respectively. Chief creative officer Shouvik Prasanna Mukherjee, meanwhile, was recently elevated to a global EVP role. Golin also benefits from a relatively strong focus on culture, helping it land Best Agency to Work For honours in 2023. This includes a refreshed DEI focus across the region, more employee resource groups, and locally-focused mental health support — resulting in strong scores from its regular employee polling.

Thought Leadership & Work

There has been a noticeable uplift in Golin’s innovation offering under Burns, including a creative intelligence unit overseen by Mukherjee, which brings analytics and AI tools to deliver stronger creative campaigns.

— Arun Sudhaman

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 the 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. The latter has also helped it globalise its Asian tech work, beyond the region into Europe and North America.

Locations

There are 200 people across 10 Asia-Pacific markets, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur.

Performance

Asia-Pacific revenue held steady at 2023 in $16m, despite a significant slowdown in spending from technology business in the region. Even so, headcount grew by 12%, and there was new business from Adobe, Bosch, Samsung Display, LG Energy, Uber, Tony Fadell, Lam Research, BenQ and Heatherwick Studio. The firm retained its top 20 clients, extending its business with ASML, TikTok and Visa across geographies and practice areas, while Southeast Asia was up 11% from a client base that includes Oracle Tencent and GrabAds. In Taiwan, the firm benefits from its semiconductor expertise for TSMC, ASML and Nvidia, while Korea grew 13%. Key clients beyond the ones mentioned include Zoom, Heidrick & Struggles (expanded to the Middle East), Trellix, Supermicro and Tencent.

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 serves as chief global officer from the region, and also stepped back in as interim Asia-Pacific MD after Dominque Rose Van-Winther’s short-lived tenure in the role. Hsu 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 Malaysia GM Vicky Wong. 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 the Geeks@Heart positioning that aims to distil its unique culture, resulting in high scores for retention and morale.

Thought Leadership & Work

A stronger focus on employer branding and talent acquisition has helped broaden the firm’s appeal to such clients as TSMC and ASML, while its Techplomacy public affairs practice continues to provide a compelling thought leadership edge. 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 ASML, Taobao and Seegene.

— Arun Sudhaman

Influence Matters (Independent)

Backstory

Nine years since its inception, Influence Matters remains focused on the fast-paced world of technologies looking to wield influence in China and beyond. With a business model that’s focused on flexibility, agility and results, the agency brings international best practices and expertise to the mix, resulting in the kind of support needed by businesses across the region. In 2023, Influence Matters expanded beyond China to better serve is growing list of larger, larger, more established companies looking to do business across APAC in addition to the startups that were the agency’s original focus.

Locations

Influence Matters is based in China and Indonesia with offices across Beijing, Shanghai and Bali. China serves as the firm’s hub for North Asia. Indonesia is its hub for South Asia.

Performance

Eight years after launch, Influence Matters in 2023 expanded beyond China to serve a changing client base from startups to larger, more established companies looking to grow business in markets across APAC. In doing so, the agency also reorganized under four units: Influence Matters International, Influence Matters China, Influence Matters Indonesia and Influence Matters Startup, a new unit focused on early-stage tech companies across APAC. Expanding across Southeast Asia has been critical to the Influence Matters’ bottom line, accounting for 20% of the agency’s 2023 revenue (up from 0% in 2022) during a year when China business shrank due to the post-Covid business climate and geopolitical tensions. The year saw Influence Matters winning new business from Uhnder, Blend, mediaman, Scalinx, Crimsonlogic and ADP, joining a roster of existing clients including Prophesee, SEMI/SOI Industry Consortium, Riskified, Ampere Computing, Winbond, Greenwaves and Skycell.

People & Culture

Influence Matters abides by mission established at launch: “To break the Chinese PR habit of working day and night.” The agency continues to promote that by emphasizing the value of work-life balance, enabling once-givens like clocking out early and taking time off when feasible. The firm has doubled down on that ideal by implemented training and development programs to promote work-life balance and individual growth. Influence Matters’ commitment to supporting clients with the most effective solutions allows for a more effective use of team members’ time. The agency works only with companies that focus on tech for good. Founder Simon Vericel, a self-described “geek & entrepreneur, is supported by China managing partner Emily Xu and account director Sally Yu.

Thought Leadership & Work

Influence Matters’ thought leadership over the last year has focused on the semiconductor and fintech industries, which has included publishing two e-books on the subject. "We Get Chips — A China Communication Guide by Influence Matters," addresses the significance and opportunities of China's semiconductor market; "The FinTech Landscape in China by Influence Matters: An Overview for FinTech Companies Expanding in China," explores the cashless trend in China and pertinent technology. The year’s best work included Influence Matter’s campaign for Riskified, which involved the company CEO visiting China and resulted in the company being recognized by the Chinese government and widespread media coverage. Other hallmark work included Influence Matters building awareness for workplace platform ADP through a thought leadership and media relations program.

— Diana Marszalek

WE Communications (Independent)

Backstory

Best-known for its technology credentials, WE has undergone a rapid transformation in Asia-Pacific,
after acquiring top-rated outfits in China (Red Bridge), India (Avian Media) and Singapore (Watatawa). The net effect of this expansion, along with an earlier deal for Australian agency Buchan, is that WE now possesses a regional network that extends beyond technology through healthcare, consumer, B2B and corporate/public affairs, and has doubled in size over the past five years. Most of the founders remain involved, none more so than Avian CEO Nitin Mantri, who was elevated to regional MD of WE in an effort to provide more cohesive direction, supported by several regional appointments, a dedicated ‘borderless’ experience team that has seen multimarket client growth of 18%, and further expansion into public policy/advocacy (via India’s Chase unit).

Locations

There are 653 WE employees across offices in Australia, China, India and Singapore, the latter of which includes corporate consultancy Watatawa.

Performance

2023 calendar year revenue grew by 4% to $33m. As usual, India led the way, up 10% in 2023, with Singapore (+10%), also continuing a significant turnaround. In India, there as specific expansion in corporate reputation and crisis, social impact, insights/analytics and public policy/advocacy. New business included major wins of LG Electronics, Cognizant and Amazon, along with Castrol, HCL Technologies, Invest Karnataka, CDRI, Aga Khan Foundation, L’Oreal, Ministry of External Affairs and G20. They join an existing client roster that features Amazon, Deloitte, ITC, Fortis, Sony TV, Reckitt, Peak XV, McDonald’s, Bharat Pe and Nathealth. With 60 people, Chase is probably the country’s largest public affairs firm, working at the intersection of industry and policy for such clients as LinkedIn, Microsoft, Airbnb and YouTube, and making further inroads into other Asian markets. In Singapore, there was new business from Sentosa, Carta, AIA, HSBC, DBS, Prudential and AEPW, joining an existing client roster that features STB, Capgemini, IMDA, NCS, People’s Association, SUSS, SAP and Takeda. Watatawa, meanwhile, pulled in new projects from Neom and Kaplan, to go with a client list that includes FM Global, April, IHH Healthcare and Bloomberg. Australia had a tougher year, but still won new business from Blackberry, Elastic, Scoot, GSK, Takeda, and Gilead.

People & Culture

Mantri’s leadership team includes India MD Neha Mehrotra, and Chase Asia-Pacific MD Manash Neog, while Girish Huria serves as Asia-Pacific head of growth. Daryl Ho leads Singapore, while Dan Woods is Australia MD and Nicky Wang is China CEO. WE’s fiercely independent spirit ensures a strong focus on people and culture, supported by specific initiatives focused on employee wellbeing (including inclusive health insurance for LGBTQI team members and same sex partners), work/life balance, cultural ambassadors and professional development. The firm’s DEI approach empowers local leads to shape programs that are most meaningful to their people.

Thought Leadership & Work

Thought leadership played to WE’s strengths, with the global Brands in Motion study, supported by specific initiatives focusing on ESG (China) and public policy (India), while the Singapore office has developed burgeoning creative stack and AI capabilities. All of which was reflected in impressive campaign SABRE nominated work for McDonald’s, Reckitt, Maruti Suzuki and Singapore Tourism Board.

— Arun Sudhaman

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