Publicis Media brings Spark Foundry to Singapore, names new head

Media has officially launched its global media agency brand Spark Foundry in Singapore, under the reins of Youli Hooi. Hooi (pictured) will helm the role of executive director, head of Spark Foundry Singapore. Clients that the agency will be working with include Mondelez, Citi, and Expedia.

Hooi has been in the industry for more than 20 years. She last served as head of growth and strategy with Starcom Singapore since 2017, delivering on new business wins such as BMW Asia, Whole of Government Singapore, Banyan Tree, The Body Shop, and TANGS. She previously served as executive director of human experience strategy and content solutions at Starcom Malaysia between 2011 to 2015. At Spark Foundry, she will oversee the management, and work closely with internal practices to include content, data science, trading, commerce.

In a statement to Marketing, Hooi said Spark Foundry has always been a stand-alone brand, but was operating on a shared leadership with Starcom in Singapore. With the growth and momentum globally and regionally, she added that it was part on an ongoing commitment to evolution for the brand. According to Hooi:

Spark Foundry combines the nimble spirit of a startup with the marketplace clout and deep partnerships of a global powerhouse.

"Spark Foundry is one of Publicis Media’s full-service media agency to include areas such as analytics, technology and information, insights and content, in addition to media and investment," she said, adding that the team aims to attract clients that share a similar "start up spirit, challenger brand" values. Spark Foundry will also look to hire more talents, particularly those with three key values - passionate, present and provocative. Hooi explained that the agency's rallying cry to new hires is “Bring Your Heat!”, which is also Spark Foundry's approach in the agency scene.

“I’m very grateful to work alongside such talented people, leadership teams and client partners at an agency that thrives on diverse thinking, embraces collaboration and prioritises growth for both our clients and our people,” she added.

Meanwhile, Ian Loon, managing director of Starcom and Spark Foundry Singapore said that Hooi’s appointment comes at a period of growth at Spark Foundry to deliver its people and clients greater scale, while staying true to Spark’s unique “HEAT” approach.

John Antoniades, global managing director at Spark Foundry added that the management is delighted to have Hooi join the Spark Foundry family, who brings with her a wealth of strategic experience that will elevate the agency's product across the critical Southeast Asian markets.

This comes a year after Publicis Media merged Blue 449 and Spark Foundry, with the new entity operating under the Spark Foundry brand in majority of markets. This was accelerated through realigning Blue 449 talent and clients to the Spark Foundry brand. Spark Foundry was previously named Mediavest | Spark and was rebranded to the current one in 2017. The agency said previously that the new name (Spark Foundry) reflects the company’s vision of combining an innovative business approach with the “full resources, capabilities and marketplace clout” of Publicis Media.