SINGAPORE – Ike Kwon of Kia Motors and Ross Jackson, Bank of New Zealand, join the line-up of Heads of Jury for 2017 APAC Effie Awards.
Ike Kwon is the Director of Brand Strategy Group of Kia Motors. He began his career at Hyundai Motor Company in 1991 and has worked in various management capacities ranging from overseas sales to marketing strategy. Following the Group’s establishment of its global marcomm agency – Innocean Worldwide, Ike was posted as the President and CEO of Innocean Worldwide Europe in Frankfurt, which has become one of the fastest growing marketing communications agencies in Europe since its establishment.
With a vast experience across a wide range of business areas, coupled with his unique standing as both a client of the two fastest growing Asian automotive brands as well as an advertising entrepreneur, Ike was appointed as the Head of Kia’s Brand Strategy Group in January 2014. He brings 20+ years of expertise in building brand and multifaceted marketing strategy on a global level. He is passionate about delivering fresh ideas that drive both brand growth and sales success. Due to his significant contribution, Kia kept its brand momentum in Interbrand’s Best Global Brands.
Ike has also served as a judge in the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity Effie 2013, and multiple times in the APAC Effie and Euro Effie.
Commenting on the appointment, Ike says, “It’s a great pleasure and honor to serve as a Head of Jury at the APAC Effie 2017. We are living an era of change. Marketers need to prepare themselves for the challenges ahead and create better customer experience. There is no better way to meet the evolving demands than to constantly learn from successful examples. I am delighted to work alongside the jury in identifying the most effective campaigns and I’m sure there is a wealth of helpful references that we can take away from these winners.”
A current member of the APAC Effie Organising Committee and Head of Jury at the 2015 APAC Effie, Ross Jackson is Head of Cards and Payments at Bank of New Zealand.
Prior to returning to New Zealand at the end of 2015, he held the role of Visa Asia Pacific Head of Cross-Border Business, Product Innovation, Analytics, Brand & Sponsorship Marketing.
Ross has also held senior roles including Regional Director, BBDO Asia Pacific; Head of Cards at Westpac New Zealand, Managing Director of Colenso BBDO; Director of Clemenger BBDO New Zealand; Managing Director of Mattingly DY&R New Zealand and Managing Partner of Euro RSCG Australia. During over nine years based in Singapore his responsibilities included Asia Pacific and, for some of that time, MENA. He holds an MBA, a post graduate Diploma in Marketing, is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Fellow of both the NZ and Australian Institutes of Management.
“I’m delighted to continue my association with the APAC Effie’s and the championing of marketing and communications effectiveness.” said Ross. “The nature of marketing is changing with data, digital, social, mobile, analytics, agile delivery and brand purpose now all part of the daily activity and dialogue of marketers in a changing world. However, amidst the increasing challenge and speed of that change, creativity remains at the heart of building authentic, trusted and successful businesses that continue to prosper in the face of both existing and disruptive competition.”
This completes the Heads of Jury line-up for the 2017 Awards. Awards Chairman, Anthony Wong, says, “I am incredibly excited about the 2017 APAC Effie. The region, business and the industry are at an inflexion point as we enter a new geopolitical epoch. The Chinese New Year of the Rooster hails a year of brightness, communication and ambition; characteristics that I hope we will see coming through at EFFIE 2017 as we recognise the next chapter of ideas that make brands matter more than ever in tomorrow’s world.”
“In this new world of transparency and accountability, APAC Effie plays a pivotal role by recognising ideas that drive results, by celebrating brands which generate proven results in the marketplace and by setting a benchmark for excellence in measurement. Marketing is an investment rather than a cost and EFFIE aims to reflect the impact of ROI-driven communications from the C-Level down into the nomenclature of every marketing organisation. This year’s distinguished Heads of Jury and over a hundred expert judges represent the very best talent across markets and disciplines. I am looking forward to working with all of them to identify the most effective cases from across our region,” added Anthony.
For the full jury line-up, visit www.apaceffie.com.
Finalists will be announced in end February 2017, with the Awards Gala set to take place in Singapore in end April 2017.
