The Hoffman Agency deepens Southeast Asia offering with expanded leadership team
Maureen Tseng to lead Indonesia as well as regional hub team in Singapore in move to seize opportunity in one of the world’s fastest growing regions
Singapore, 12 May 2022 – The Hoffman Agency has promoted Maureen Tseng to General Manager of Singapore and Indonesia as it sharpens its focus on Southeast Asia and expands its integrated marketing communications (IMC) offering in the region. As part of these efforts the company is also setting up a Southeast Asia task force to manage regional remits, which Tseng will oversee.
Tseng has served as Singapore General Manager since 2018. She has worked with the company for more than 25 years and was the first employee in Asia. In assuming leadership of Indonesia as well as the Southeast Asia hub based in Singapore, she will be directly responsible for one of Hoffman’s key growth markets.
The Hoffman Agency opened its Jakarta office in 2017, and its Southeast Asia presence extends to every major market including Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Some key regional clients are Zoom, Trellix and Ripple.
The dedicated Southeast Asia task force includes Akansha Rai, and Clarence Lim, who the agency has respectively promoted to Senior Account Director and Account Director for Southeast Asia. The team will work to grow Hoffman’s IMC offering across Southeast Asia, taking advantage of the company’s single P&L to mobilize resources from across the network as required. The moves follow Caroline Hsu’s recent promotion to Chief Global Officer.
“This model is a way to evolve and accelerate our offering to clients who want to make an impact in what is currently considered the world’s fastest growing region,” said Tseng. “Global and regional clients ranging from Fortune 500 to startup companies already work with us for Southeast Asian growth. Our single P&L gives us uncommon flexibility to help companies grow market share and enter new markets no matter what stage they are at. Our dedicated Southeast Asia team will help us serve them even more effectively in the region.”
As a specialist in the technology sector, Hoffman sees continually increasing demand across Southeast Asia for IMC services that solve business problems. The region is digitalizing rapidly. Its digital economy is set to exceed US$360 billion by 2025, and 40 million new internet users came online in 2021, taking internet penetration to 75%. It also increasingly serves as a center of global trade, with businesses investing aggressively in the region to diversify supply chains and mitigate geopolitical challenges. Despite this, many agencies struggle to capitalize on the pan-regional opportunity due to being too market-centric or reliant on affiliates, which can result in inconsistent service.
Last year, Hoffman formalized its IMC offering across APAC. Supporting it is a proprietary methodology, Blueprint, which channels the business of PR through the lens of integrated communications and helps consultants think like CMOs, connecting touchpoints beyond the scope of a traditional PR agency.
The Hoffman Agency focuses on helping companies address five core business challenges. These include employer branding and recruitment; building brand influence to change perception post-transformation or gain a footing in a new area; supporting fundraising to enable business growth; supporting international expansion and market entry; and running multimarket campaigns.
A further characteristic that distinguishes Hoffman in the agency sector is its emphasis on building local talent and combining deep local insight with global practice and experience to deliver the best outcomes for both Asian and global clients. An American multinational network based in San Jose, its APAC leadership is entirely local.
“Southeast Asia is a key part of our growth trajectory and we see abundant opportunity here based on the ambitions and challenges of Western multinational tech firms and the vibrant local tech ecosystem,” Hsu said. “Our independence, single P&L and global connectedness together with Maureen’s expertise in the region mean we are uniquely placed to help tech clients maximize their own opportunity in the region.”
About The Hoffman Agency
The Hoffman Agency (www.hoffman.com) is an independent, integrated communications agency that helps companies in markets of technical complexity communicate compelling messages across the world. Thanks to a unique global infrastructure and culture, The Hoffman Agency takes a collaborative approach to implementing multi-country programs. The Hoffman Agency comprises offices across the globe, including San Jose, CA; Vancouver, WA; London, UK; and in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore and Jakarta.
For media enquiries, please contact: SEAsia@hoffman.com
