MSL brand expands to Malaysia and Indonesia

Publicis One and MSL are expanding the MSL name to Malaysia and Indonesia by renaming existing Leo Burnett-affiliated units in each country.

In Malaysia, Leo Burnett / Arc PR Worldwide has rebranded as MSL effective today. In Indonesia, Leo PR will rebrand to MSL on 3 May.  

The move completes the alignment of Publicis One’s PR offering in Southeast Asia under Publicis Groupe’s "flagship public relations and integrated communications network", according to the company.  The Malaysia and Indonesia units will join Southeast Asia MSL offices in the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam in Southeast Asia. MSL also has offices in Greater China, India, Australia, Japan and Korea. 

“Southeast Asia is the fastest growing region in the MSL global network, with more than 40 percent growth achieved in the last year alone," said Glenn Osaki, president of MSL Asia-Pacific. "By investing in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, and adding them to our footprint, we are able to offer our clients the most complete coverage across Asean.” 

The Malaysia unit, in Kuala Lumpur, has more than 20 staff and is led by Sharmila Ramanath, director of PR, who reports to Kien Eng Tan, CEO of Publicis One Malaysia. The unit offers corporate and crisis communications, influencer marketing, digital/social media strategy and execution, internal communications, media relations, and media training and advocacy. Clients include Alibaba Group, Samsung, Dutch Lady, Alcon, and YTL Land & Development. 

In Indonesia, Eugene Laksono, head of public relations, leads the Jakarta-based unit, reporting to Brian Capel, CEO of Publicis One Indonesia. The agency has a dozen staff members and works in consumer marketing, corporate reputation management, issues and crisis communications, and social activation. Clients includes the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Samsung, Lixil Water Technology, KraftHeinz ABC and L’Oreal.

Capel commented: “As the eighth agency brand under the Publicis One platform in Indonesia, MSL brings new depth to the comprehensive service offering with state-of-the-art global tools.”