DDB Singapore brings shopper-marketing unit TracyLocke to APAC

Bhagchandani will lead TracyLocke in addition to her current role as MD for DDB Singapore. In addition, the new division has hired Anne-Marie Leong as creative director and Grace Tong as account director. 

DDB said the division will lead shopper-marketing efforts for key clients in the Asia region, in tandem with work that TracyLocke has been doing for Pepsi and Hewlett Packard in the United States.

Leong and Tong have experience with clients including Oral-B, Crest, Vicks, Ambi Pur, Febreze, Olay, Philip Morris Industries, Dhaka Tobacco Industries, Sinar Mas Group & iGene across Asia, Greater China and Europe, according to the company. Leong will also be responsible for auditing, managing and developing work for local markets, the company added.

The division becomes part of what DDB refers to as its specialised 'T-divisions': Tribal (digital tech), TracyLocke (shopper marketing) and Track (e-commerce).

“Shopper marketing will unleash strong marketing benefits for our key clients," Bhagchandani said in a statement. "A good shopper-marketing specialist targets the shopper, beyond the general consumer, especially in that last metre of activating a sales choice."

David Tang, CEO of DDB Asia, said move shows that the network is investing in specialist "T-shaped talents" to bring out the full marketing potential of client brands.