MANILA – Advertising veteran Lou Santos was recently hailed as the new Managing Partner of A+B Expedio Integrated Marketing Communications (Expedio), an industry forerunner in brand activation and experiential marketing.
Santos said that he is excited for this new role of engaging consumers with on-ground and digital brand experiences as he moves toward to his 21st year in advertising.
“My task is to help bridge the agency’s brand of flawless execution with great creativity, similar to what I myself have been fortunate to be a part of throughout my career. This is the brand of experiential marketing we want our clients to enjoy and what we want Expedio to be known for,” he said.
According to Santos, Expedio’s key for success is to make sure that the agency delivers meaningful brand experiences that can sustainably impact the lives of consumers. He said that consumers today have more access to brands than in the past twenty years, and that they now yearn for experiences instead of being told the brand’s benefits.
Santos was previously the Vice President for Client Services at FCB Manila. He led account management teams at DentsuINDIO and Ace Saatchi & Saatchi, in addition to holding various positions in Publicis Philippines, Jimenez D’Arcy, and JimenezBasic.
Moreover, Santos led multi-award-winning campaigns for brands such as Ariel, Safeguard, and Pampers. He also brings with him experience in handing major accounts, which include P&G, Diageo, San Miguel Corp., Magnolia Inc., Chowking, Mundipharma, Canon, Honda, Nestlé, Nivea, Dole, Meralco, Asia Brewery, DoubleDragon Properties, and Mister Donut, among others.
Santos said he takes comfort in joining Expedio leaders with whom he worked with as activation partners more than a decade ago.
“Seeing the same people still running the company signals strength, stability, and a culture of family—even in the midst of many boutique agencies cropping up in the industry. Working with them makes growing Expedio into being a future-ready company even more exciting,” he said.
Santos would be taking over the role of former Managing Partner Oman Tanchingco in leading account management and business development. Tanchingco now sits as Chief Integrator for The Community, the group of marketing agencies led by Expedio consisting of the following specialized agencies: Brand Channels (shopper marketing), Shift Interactive (digital marketing and CRM), Organic Intelligence (market strategy, research, and learning), This Side Up (branded content house), and Public (relationship, influence, and reputation marketing).
Santos joins Co-Managing Partner for Production Jelen Pronstroller and Co-Managing Partner for Operations Mike Gumaru in his new post.
