Y&R rolls out Labstore shopper-marketing brand in Thailand and Philippines, China is next

Jon Bird, co-founder of IdeaWorks, the network's existing retail and shopper agency in Australia and New Zealand, is relocating to New York to serve as global MD for Labstore. IdeaWorks in Australia and New Zealand will fall under the Labstore umbrella but will maintain its own branding.

Y&R|Labstore’s Thailand team is led by Bernard Caranto, shopper-marketing director, while the agency seeks a new creative hire. In Thailand, the shopper marketing offering has been in place for over eight months, working with clients such as Colgate, Bacardi Breezer and Grey Goose. Upon launch it will cater to existing clients and be introduced to new ones, a spokesperson for the agency said.

Y&R|Labstore Philippines is headed up by Maya Roldan as business-unit director and Jenny Nadong as executive creative director. Roldan currently leads the agency’s integrated marketing development function for Colgate-Palmolive, working closely with MEC, the brand’s media agency partner. Nadong heads the overall local Colgate-Palmolive creative team and is a key player in new business development. Y&R Philippines has had its shopper and retail services for eight years, primarily for Colgate Palmolive and Chevron Lubricants. It will now be extended to other clients including Inbisco, Unilab, CDO and Sun Cellular.

The network plans to introduce retail audit research initiatives in Philippines and activation in Thailand.

Bird’s promotion leads to other management changes at IdeaWorks. Phil McDonald, Y&R Group MD in Brisbane, has taken responsibility for IdeaWorks nationally while the network has named Christopher Lyons MD of IdeaWorks in Sydney. Lyons was previously chief retail and shopper marketing officer for Leo Burnett Asia-Pacific.

Labstore originated in Spain in 2001, and expanded in 2012 to six markets in Latin America. Under the Labstore umbrella and Bird’s leadership, IdeaWorks and Y&R’s other retail and shopper capabilities will share the same proprietary resources, tools and global positioning.

Bird said the agency is building Labstore with the realities of retail today in mind. “We live in a globalized, digitized, polarized and increasingly personalized retail world, where the shopper is in control," he said. "That’s our starting point, and from day one, Labstore will have a global perspective, with digital and data at the core."

He added that there is a sweet spot where retail and shopper marketing intersect, and that will be Labstore’s territory, working with both retailers and manufacturer brands.