Menarini consolidates APAC media mandate with agency appointment

Menarini Asia-Pacific has concluded its media pitch for the region that begin in June 2025, appointing Omnicom Media (OM) agency PHD to consolidate the pharmaceutical and diagnostic company's media mandate, marking a significant shift in its regional marketing structure.

Under the expanded remit, PHD will oversee media planning and buying across seven new markets, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam and Korea, building on its existing partnership with Menarini in Australia and New Zealand, Hong Kong and the Philippines. Work had been scheduled to commence on 1 January 2026.

PHD’s regional hub in Singapore will also take on responsibility for regional campaigns and strategy, thought leadership, best practice implementation, and market management and governance, powered by Omni, Omnicom Media’s AI-driven marketing platform.

Commenting on the win, Eileen Ooi, president, PHD APAC, said that the agency takes pride in leading the industry through strategic excellence and advanced solutions. “This win showcases the power of our network, where innovation, cultural understanding, and our ‘Intelligence. Connected’ vision form the backbone of how we deliver measurable impact. Like Menarini, we are committed to making a difference in consumers’ lives while driving growth for our clients’ businesses," she added. 

"We look forward to continuing to harness these strengths to deliver smarter, more culturally relevant solutions to drive greater regional impact for Menarini," said Ooi. 

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Meanwhile, speaking exclusively to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Eugenia Yuen, regional head of commercial and marketing director, consumer health, Menarini Asia-Pacific, said the appointment is focused on strengthening the company’s regional operating model, particularly across its consumer health portfolio.

“PHD will be our regional partner for media planning and buying across Menarini Asia Pacific’s portfolios, with an emphasis on consumer health. The partnership is focused on building a more progressive media operating model, with stronger regional strategic direction, clearer performance governance and the flexibility for markets to execute in line with local audiences and commercial realities,” she said.

Yuen explained that the new structure reflects a deliberate balance between regional alignment and local autonomy. “That said, our model remains firmly market led. In healthcare, success is shaped by local regulation, infrastructure and consumer behaviour, and those realities cannot be managed from a single centre.”

According to Yuen, the decision to consolidate the mandate stemmed from a desire to move away from a fragmented, market-by-market approach. “Previously, strong campaigns remained within individual markets, with insights taking time to surface and even longer to inform decisions elsewhere. We were looking for a partner that could help shorten that cycle and raise the quality of learning across the region,” she said.

She added that PHD’s strength in consistent measurement, performance visibility and shared planning frameworks, supported by tools such as a regional performance tracking dashboard, stood out during the pitch. “This gives us a clearer, more timely view of how campaigns are performing across markets, enabling earlier insight generation, more confident decision making and faster course correction, while still respecting local market realities.”

The appointment is structured as a two-year partnership with the option to extend.

Yuen said the arrangement reflects Menarini’s long-term view. “This is not a short-term transactional engagement. It is designed to allow both teams to invest in systems, talent and ways of working that deliver sustained impact over time.”

While the partnership officially begins in 2026, current efforts have centred on transition planning and strategic alignment rather than campaign execution. “This includes working closely with our teams to map priority consumer health brands, refine digital and influencer-led approaches, and establish performance measurement frameworks that can be applied consistently across markets,” Yuen said, noting that groundwork is critical in healthcare marketing where trust and relevance are paramount.

Looking ahead, Menarini sees media as a long-term driver of consumer understanding and confidence. Yuen pointed to the company’s ongoing SCARS campaign for Dermatix as an example of sustained brand building, which has increased brand awareness from 47% in 2020 to 67% in 2025, alongside higher treatment adoption among C-section mothers.

“Heading into 2026, our focus is on building on this momentum. We want to move beyond awareness towards deeper engagement and stronger conversion across our various brands in the Asia Pacific, while equipping our teams with better tools, clearer benchmarks and faster learning across markets,” she said. “We see this partnership with PHD as a key enabler of that journey.”

Recently, PHD had also been appointed the global media agency for Mandai Wildlife Group, putting the agency in charge of integrated media strategy, planning, buying, activation, and performance optimisation across all paid channels. The remit, which started in January 2026, spans Singapore, Australia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, and South Korea. Strategic leadership will be based in Singapore, reinforcing PHD’s global capabilities and integrated approach. 

Over in the Philippines, the Palawan Group of Companies has appointed Havas Ortega as its media agency on record, in a move designed to sharpen data-led decision-making and support scalable growth across its expanding financial services ecosystem. The appointment comes as the Palawan Group marks 40 years of service and accelerates expansion across its portfolio

And in Malaysia, Duopharma Biotech has appointed Trapper Group to lead media for its consumer health segment, following a multi-agency pitch. The appointment sees Trapper taking on the remit for integrated media strategy, planning and buying across both traditional and digital platforms, supporting Duopharma’s continued expansion within the consumer healthcare segment, in Malaysia.

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