London-based Casual Films breaks into Asia with acquisition of HK production agency APV

London-based Casual Films has acquired long-standing Hong Kong content strategy and production agency. Founded in 2006, Casual Films has offices in London, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Sydney, Melbourne, and Barcelona, and the acquisition of APV in Hong Kong is its first foray into Asia.

APV is a leading video creative agency headquartered in Hong Kong, serving multinational companies in Asia Pacific. The company’s approach combines strategy, creative and production to create content that inspires action. APV has worked with clients such as AIA, DBS, Disney, Hotel Jan, KPMG, RTHK and many others. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out for more details on the acquisition. 

Nick Francis, Casual Films CEO said that the end goal for the company is to build a global video production resource for global business. “We have a keen eye on what the future of production looks like. Global efficiencies, with local capabilities, backed by cutting edge technology and excellent staff are at the centre of our strategy for 2030 and beyond. APV is so well established in the market in Hong Kong, this deal opens the whole of the Asia Pacific region for us, giving us on the ground capability from China to Singapore and beyond,” said Francis. He added that the growth of the Greater Bay Area project puts the company at the heart of one of the most important regions for the future global economy.

Francis added that the calibre of Casual’s staff are central to the success of our company, as such, culture was such a key part of finding the right business to bring into the group.

Lydia Chan, managing director of Casual Films said, the pandemic has made video content more important than ever. “Our clients need more video, faster and better than ever before. Being able to draw on a global network allows us to deliver for them. Having local capabilities allows us to work faster and with less of an environmental impact as we drastically reduce the amount of air travel,” she said.

Mark Erder, founding partner of APV said that as he transitions out of the world of production, he could think of no better home for APV’s staff. “The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. By joining forces with Casual, the firm now has a more global reach for its amazing work. The excitement is palpable,” Erder said.

The agency was founded by Erder (pictured) who has been in Hong Kong for over 30 years. He founded APV with British journalist Adrian Brown to produce international news and feature packages for broadcasters. Without many agencies having the editorial film-making skills the duo possessed, they decided to launch APV with an editorialised approach towards advertising and branding. Erder’s credits include numerous documentaries for the National Geographic Channel, ‘The Last Governor’ documentary for the BBC about the British handover of Hong Kong and ‘Of All The Gin Joints’, a co-production with the BBC about Hong Kong’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club to coincide with the club’s 50th anniversary.

Adding on, Angela Cheung, managing director, APV also said that Casual’s international reach and innovative production solutions will help expand and strengthen the team’s abilities to turn great ideas into outstanding content. Cheung oversees the delivery of strategy-led content that aligns with the business goals of clients. She was previously regional director of production at Walt Disney Television during a golden period when 11 Disney channels launched in Asia. Prior to that, she was head of production at Fremantle Asia and a senior producer for Channel [V] and MTV in Hong Kong.

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