Iris Indonesia plans expansion next year

The plan, driven by the vast expansion for trade marketing and activation due to increasing client needs and briefs, will also increase the agency's staff from 700 to more than 1000 across the country, said Maneha Widarso, director of operation at Iris Indonesia.

Iris ventured into Indonesia last year, in a partnership with the newly minted homegrown group, the Nava+ group of brands. This partnership saw Iris entering its fifth country in Asia, after Singapore, India, China and two offices in Australia.

This affiliation came after Daya Maha Berkarya (DMB), Advis, Brainstorm and M2M Interface formed a partnership under the Nava+ Group of brands. It follows DMB's split from DDB Worldwide in Indonesia, after a nine-year partnership with the network.

Luke Nathans, CEO of Iris APAC, said the past year has seen the team at Iris Indonesia working to evolve the agency and its offer to truly be part of Iris’ regional network.

Widarso, meanwhile, said the relationship has been a fruitful one, particularly in the regional and global support in training and client support, and the ability to participate in regional and global projects from Iris. “The Nava+ Group is very entrepreneurial and on the lookout for innovative brands, so we can find support to deliver not just a comprehensive but also an innovative range of services to clients,” she said.

She added that the past year has been a year of “transformation” for the agency as it shifted to a new way of working per the Iris Worldwide, including flowing collaboration and putting digital in both conceiving and executing ideas.

“Digital technologies are converging, and we have increasingly more clients who are looking for non-traditional services,” Widarso said. The agency new now also offers services including branded content, social and management consultancy services.

Among the clients Iris Indonesia is working on are Taman Anggerk mall, Diageo, Nestle, Sony Mobile, Sony Electronics, Intel, Crocs and Levi’s. Iris Indonesia recently also won six awards at the Citrra Pariwara 2012 in several categories.