Mazarine Groupe Paris and Trimaran form luxury communications agency

Headquartered in Hong Kong, Mazarine Asia-Pacific currently has 50 employees and offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Macau. It plans to open up shop in Taipei and Singapore soon.

Pansy Ho and Michelle Cheng, founding partners of Trimaran, and Estella Niem, executive director of Trimaran, will serve as chairman, CEO and chief operating officer of the joint venture, respectively.

The company said it will build upon Mazarine Groupe’s creative competency, longstanding relationships with luxury brands in France, and Trimaran’s local knowledge and strong professional relationships with business and government leaders, social elites, Asian brands and regional media. The company will offer advertising and design capabilities, as well as PR, marketing and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) expertise. It will also create fashion shows and special events for luxury brands through its wholly owned subsidiary Mazarine La Mode En Images Beijing.

Paul-Emmanuel Reiffers, founder and president of Mazarine Groupe, and Olivier Massart, artistic director of La Mode En Images, will be deputy chairman and deputy chief executive officer of the joint venture.

Cheng told Campaign Asia-Pacific that the timing of the launch is significant as 2014 is the 50th anniversary of Franco-Sino diplomatic relations.

The joint venture gives Trimaran clients access to design and event services in addition to the PR Trimaran has long provided, she said.

Trimaran's ‘guanxi’ (relationships) in China will help open doors for the clients of Mazarine Groupe Paris, for whom it is costly to send teams from France for each business project, Cheng said.

Trimaran PR Asia’s clients include Van Cleef & Arpels, Estee Lauder, BNP Paribas, Citibank, Chinachem, Louvre Museum and Macau Government Tourist Office. Mazarine Groupe’s clients include Cartier, Céline, Chanel, Dior, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Moët & Chandon, Valentino.