Dentsu Group Inc. will donate approximately 140 million yen (some $1.1 million-plus) as humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and the surrounding areas. Some 38 million yen was already provided as urgent aid to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society on Feb. 25. Another 100 million yen will then be contributed after considering appropriate donation destinations. The agency will also support activities in neighboring countries and look to ensure the safety of Dentsu employees. Announcement of the overall aid and support package was made by Dentsu Group president and CEO Hiroshi Igarashi from the agency’s head office in Tokyo. Based on the guiding principal of “we must be a force for good” which is a premise of the “Dentsu Group Code of Conduct,” the agency is fully cooperating in philanthropic and support activities for the relief of refugees, including those in neighboring countries, and will continue to do so. Specifically, Dentsu is involved in providing accommodation arrangements, border transfers, legal assistance, psychological care, and assistance with daily necessities (such as clothing, first aid, mobile phones, sleeping bags and food) for people in the CEE (Central and Eastern Europe), DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland), and Scandinavia regions. Dentsu is also prioritizing measures that ensure the safety and security of its employees and their families in the relevant countries and surrounding areas, and those other related parties who are cooperating with the company. Approximately 500 people were working for Dentsu’s affiliate with a local partner that handled the Group’s business in Ukraine, but business has already been suspended and the company is providing family transfer, legal and housing support for those employees together with employment opportunities at other Dentsu companies in other regions. In addition to the safety and security of its employees and related parties, the Group’s business in Russia, which is being carried out by approximately 1,500 people in a joint venture with a local company in Russia, is being reviewed from the perspective of complying with international sanctions as a global company, and Dentsu is proceeding with negotiations to transfer the ownership of its joint venture in Russia to the local company. Additionally, in response to the growing mental stress on employees outside of the affected markets, Dentsu is continuing to strengthen employee support, such as expanding the use of employee assistance programs and counseling in many markets….
Havas Group has taken a majority interest in Frontier Australia, an independent performance marketing agency. Frontier Australia will be integrated into Havas Group’s Edge Performance Network (EPN), a global performance marketing network. Frontier Australia was founded in 1998 by Neil Hoar, and, through the efforts of Hoar and his partners Steven King and Dan O’Brien, Frontier Australia has become a leading full-service performance marketing agency in Australia and has developed a reputation for delivering impactful, measurable and scalable business outcomes for its clients. Over the past 20 years, Frontier Australia has been continually innovating and improving the way they utilize data and insights to develop campaign solutions for their clients. By leveraging both online and offline media alongside bespoke creative solutions, they have been successfully delivering for local clients including Finder.com.au, Temple & Webster, Global Shop Direct and BlueBet, as well as EPN international clients including Norton/Lifelock and Noom. Frontier Australia will continue using their brand locally while adding branding representative of their Edge Performance Network membership….
Annie Nguyen has joined Untold Studios as director and creative director. She comes aboard the team at Untold’s recently launched studio in L.A. She had most recently been an art director at ManvsMachine and has held sr. art director roles in-house at brands such as Smashbox and creative agencies such as Space150. Her recent film projects include a series of expressive and colorful spots for Nike Run, a range of slick design executions for Bang & Olufsen as well as several high-profile in-store photography and design campaigns for Nike….
