Snap hires first APAC creative strategy lead to grow regional presence

Snap has brought on board two senior creative leads to bolster its commitment to creating the best-in-class creative campaigns on the Snapchat platform. Gareth Leeding (pictured left) joins Snap as head of creative strategy, Asia Pacific, making him Snap's first dedicated creative leader in the APAC region.

Leeding brings over 18 years of experience, most recently as ECD at We Are Social’s UK office where he built a creative department and co-founded WAS Sport. He has also worked with brands including adidas, Audi, Google, YouTube, Lego, Lidl, PlayStation to name a few.

At the same time, Snap named Haran Ramachandran (pictured right) its head of creative strategy for Australia and New Zealand. Ramachandran has also relocated from London where he was most recently the creative lead for Three Mobile and PR agency, The Academy.

With an overall aim of driving better value for partners, both Leeding and Ramachandran with their extensive experience in creative strategy, will help develop breakthrough creative campaigns for the region. The new hires will continue to drive Snap's creative innovation with campaigns that reach Gen Z and Millennial audiences at scale across APAC and globally.

Kathryn Carter, Snap's GM, APAC, told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that with an overall aim of driving better value for partners, both Leeding and Ramachandran will help develop breakthrough creative campaigns for the region with their extensive experience in creative strategy. Carter declined to share Snap's 2022 marketing strategy.

Leeding added that he is excited to be joining the Snap team at a time when the Asia Pacific community is experiencing such growth. "As Snap continues to push the boundaries with AR and the camera, there is immense creative opportunity, so I’m pumped to be leading the APAC region as we redefine what’s possible," he said.

Ramachandran added: "Australia and New Zealand punch above their weight when it comes to world-class creativity. We know local consumers are typically cynical of brands, which is why we need to look at ways to engage them in new and exciting ways."

In the past year alone, some of the developments Snap has witnessed include harnessing the power of the Snapchat camera to launch a first-of-its-kind environmental pledge in AR to protect Australia’s Great Barrier Reef; bringing the Hyundai Kona small SUV into millions of Australian living rooms; and partnering with Common Ground to create a series of immersive sleep stories from First Nations storytellers using AR.

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