Cracking the multimarket code: The Hoffman Agency's #OneSEA model in Jakarta and beyond

Running PR across multiple markets is rarely straightforward - especially in a region as fragmented and fast-moving as Southeast Asia. But The Hoffman Agency is charting its own course. With its #OneSEA model, the firm is blending deep local insight with regional collaboration, placing key markets at the core of its action.

It’s a model built for scale - reflected in the fact that over 60% of its Southeast Asia business now spans two or more countries. “We don’t see multimarket communications as a function - we see it as a mindset,” said Maureen Tseng (pictured, right), the agency’s managing director for Southeast Asia.

With a single P&L across Southeast Asia, consultants from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand work together, pulled into regional or global remits based on client needs rather than internal fiefdoms. Programmes for Tencent, for example, may be led out of Malaysia, but are supported by staff across multiple countries.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE spoke with The Hoffman Agency’s top leaders to unpack the thinking behind its regional strategy. The approach is all the more critical as The Hoffman Agency grows its global footprint. With the acquisition of UK-based CCGroup earlier this year, the firm has signalled its readiness to compete on a truly global scale.

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Jakarta as a model market

Indonesia offers a compelling case study in the agency’s multimarket ambition. Since opening its Jakarta office in 2017, The Hoffman Agency has maintained steady momentum - growing 32% in 2024 alone, said Niko Radityo Suwito (pictured, left), deputy general manager for Indonesia.

It wasn’t a matter of luck, as the team has been “intentional in hiring smart individuals with strategic chops and an international outlook.” Suwito explained that the agency’s clear focus on tech and B2B, in contrast to the broader industry’s emphasis on B2C, has paid off.

While Suwito acknowledged that Indonesia may have lost some of its pre-Covid-19 shine - when it was a hotbed for unicorns and fast-growing startups - the country remains a vast economy with a young, digital-first population hungry for innovation.

The Jakarta office has supported global brands such as TikTok, Zoom, DeepL, and Logitech while also helping homegrown players such as Bukalapak go international.

Both Tseng and Suwito observed clear signs that the market is maturing, with more businesses placing value on consistent communications and long-term brand building. Demand for crisis management and preparedness is on the rise - driven largely by ongoing geopolitical uncertainty - which aligns well with the agency’s “Techplomacy” offering.

Everyone in the hive has a voice

The story of the agency’s Southeast Asia model begins, fittingly, in Singapore - its first APAC outpost and now, a regional hub. This was planted back in 1996 when founder Lou Hoffman (pictured, centre) began exploring growth opportunities outside the US.

“In those early years, North Asia became the focus and the opportunities were abundant in Japan and China,” Tseng explained. “However, Singapore has always been a critical node for the agency due to the concentration of regional HQs for big tech and the wider ecosystem that supports them.”

Fast forward to today, and the Southeast Asian region has come into sharper focus, benefitting from an increasingly strategic position amid shifting global dynamics.

Tseng noted that the region has benefitted from growth in manufacturing and trade, largely due to its neutral positioning in the ongoing US-China trade tensions. Despite global economic fluctuations, overall GDP growth in Southeast Asia is projected to reach 4.7% in 2025.

Moreover, she observed that, while Singapore may see some slowdown due to its outward-facing economy, domestic demand and advances in sectors such as semiconductors, data centres, infrastructure, and electric vehicles are expected to drive growth in markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.

To support this, the agency introduced three hub models in 2024: centralised (through one lead office), regionalised (with a lead hub in each region), and blended (a cross-border team built from multiple offices).

“Underpinning each of these models is our belief that a modern-day hub should resemble a democracy or a hive - a central connecting point that invites everyone to the table to talk, with the goal of developing the best approaches for different markets and regions,” Tseng said.

The role of ‘hub’ is not tied to geography. Every market in the network is trained to lead a global programme. Local expertise is trusted, and team members are routinely exposed to cross-border collaboration - ensuring that when a hub is activated, there are no strangers, only well-connected partners.

Deviating from the status quo

Long before deepening its footprint in Europe, The Hoffman Agency had already made Asia a strategic priority. From its early days, the region played a crucial role in shaping the agency’s approach to international markets - now accounting for more than half of its revenue.

CEO Hoffman said that the agency’s global operating model stems from a Silicon Valley ethos. “We don’t consider ourselves an American company. We think of ourselves as a Silicon Valley company, ” he said, reiterating that it’s about the company’s mindset.

This means ideas can come from anywhere, hierarchy is flat, and questioning the status quo is part of the DNA. In practice, no one at the firm - including its most senior leaders - has a personal assistant. “We expect each person, even recent graduates, to speak their mind if they see something that can be improved,” said Hoffman.

This philosophy also explains why the agency invested early in Southeast Asia, when no international agency was prioritising the region, Hoffman recalled. “Our decision to go all in on Southeast Asia starting with the opening of an office in Jakarta in 2017 falls under the ‘deviate from the status quo’ umbrella,” he added.

The bet in Asia has paid off. In 2024, the firm’s APAC revenue reached US$17.5 million out of a global total of US$30.3 million. This year, it projects 18% growth to US$35.8 million (excluding the CCGroup acquisition), with APAC expected to hit US$20 million.

Blended talent, cross-border thinking

A critical piece of the agency’s multimarket model is talent development. The firm doesn’t just look for technical skill - it looks for people with cross-border curiosity and a global mindset, Tseng and Suwito explained.

Recent hires such as Fairuza Iqbal - who previously led communications for Bukalapak in Malaysia - reflect this cross-pollination approach. It also recently hired Alex Png, a former Grab executive tasked with scaling talent development as chief people officer in Asia.

People are drawn to the chance to work across countries and learn about the tech sector - which is still quite rare in the local PR scene in Indonesia, they explained.

Women are at the forefront of the agency’s multimarket success - and not by design, but by merit. The PR firm’s Southeast Asia operations are predominantly female-led, a reflection, Tseng said, of capability rather than quotas. In addition to Tseng, other regional leaders include Akansha Rai in Singapore and Vicky Wong in Malaysia.

It’s a dynamic that reflects the agency’s very foundation: Lou Hoffman often credits his wife, Heather Hoffman, whose instincts and presence were pivotal to its early growth, though she never held an official title.

For Hoffman, success in Southeast Asia over the next two to three years will be measured by more than just revenue. The big milestone, he said, will be that “we land that first homegrown Southeast Asian client that turns to us to take them global.” That’s when the firm’s multimarket model will truly come into its own - on the global stage.

“At the 10,000-foot level, it’s always about growth. The region is growing, and we expect to grow on a parallel track,” Hoffman concluded.

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