Singtel picks new lead creative agency after 5 years, parts with BBH and Goodstuph

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Singtel has appointed Leo Burnett as its lead brand agency with additional responsibilities for social media and content marketing following a pitch called in September last year, parting with BBH and Goodstuph after five years. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE understands the agencies did not pitch for the account. Meanwhile, Ogilvy, has successfully retained Singtel's B2B marketing business. The contract is for three years starting in April this year. Other agencies in the final stages included IPG and BLKJ Havas.

The pitch was handled by R3. Singtel confirmed the news to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE in a statement and added, “We look forward to forging a strong and fruitful partnership with them.”

In 2019, Singtel appointed several agencies to its roster, adopting a lead agency model. The agencies appointed then were BBH as strategic brand lead, OgilvyOne for B2B duties and GOODSTUPH for social and content.

Last year, Publicis Communications named Sharim Gubbels as the executive creative director of Leo Burnett. Prior to his promotion, Gubbels was Leo Burnett's group creative director and has been working with Leo Burnett for the past 18 months, leading the McDonald's account. The year before, Leo Burnett also bagged the McDonald’s Singapore account to handle its creative and digital duties.

Meanwhile, last year Singtel retained its incumbent OMD as its media agency for the Singapore market. The pitch was called as part of its usual media review, and OMD has been working with Singtel since 2018. Earlier this year, Singtel Media, the advertising sales arm of Singtel’s consumer Singapore business also inked a multi-year collaboration deal with Stellar Ace to sell and manage advertising for all its platforms including SMS and Singtel TV. Singtel Media’s TV, mobile and digital assets together with Stellar Ace’s ecosystem was said to provide a complete and unique daily touchpoint proposition for advertisers.

On the creative front, most recently the brand ran a short film to usher in the Year of The Tiger, titled, "The Hunt For The Lucky Tiger". The film is the third installment in Singtel's festive film series featuring two rival families that have endeared themselves to Singaporeans after their madcap but meaningful altercations in previous films, "His Grandfather’s Road” and “My Grandmother’s House".

Meanwhile, Singtel is also jointly redeveloping landmark Comcentre headquarters along the Orchard Road belt to be a smart building of the future. The building will incorporate the latest sustainable designs and digital technologies, and the next-generation office development will house Singtel’s modern new headquarters besides offering progressive and optimised hybrid workplaces to other tenants, said the brand.

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