Virtue APAC, the agency powered by VICE, is supercharging its creative team in Asia following a significant growth spurt, appointing Martin Soendergaard as executive creative director.
Soendergaard joins Virtue APACfrom We Are Social Singapore, where he was executive creative director for more than two years, delivering global and regional work for brands including Samsung, Activision, Amazon Prime Video, and Bandai Namco.
At Virtue, that builds brands inside culture, Soendergaard will oversee and guide the agency’s entire creative output across its offices in Singapore and India, in addition to growing and developing a team of creatives working across global and regional clients such as Coca-Cola, Diageo, and Shiseido.
Originally from Denmark, Soendergaard has worked internationally for the past 16 years at agencies such as CPB, 360i, and BBDO, leading diverse teams responsible for developing global multi-platform campaigns. His creative passion lies in pushing the limits with immersive experiences and exploring brand storytelling in new, imaginative, and channel-agnostic ways. His extensive portfolio includes famous brands such as Absolut, Volkswagen, Ford, Burger King, Bose, and Porsche.
Soendergaard believes that creativity is a tool, more important and powerful today than ever, in a world where brands are being left outside of culture. Culture moves fast, media is fragmented, and attention is scarce. Every creative effort needs contribute to acquiring mental real estate for the brand or product in the consumer’s mind. There is no better way of doing this than creating brands from inside culture, using cultural understanding to shape brands to make them more relevant, visible, and valued.
Lesley John, managing director, Virtue APAC, stated, “Martin joins Virtue as we partner with more ambitious clients wanting to build their brands inside culture. His extensive experience at leading global agencies, combined with his strong social capabilities and passion for effectively using tech, make him ideally suited to drive our creative offering. He is a proven leader with a reputation for collaborating and motivating his teams to maximize creative opportunities. His international and regional knowledge will be a major asset, and I’m delighted to welcome him to our growing Virtue APAC team.”
Soendergaard added, “Virtue APAC is doing really innovative and creatively driven work such as the recent Coca-Cola Creations’ Y3000′ and ‘Soul Blast’ launches and its ‘Walk Beyond’ brand platform for Johnnie Walker that spotlights the progressive creative culture born from the streets of Southeast Asia. Everything they do is rooted in deep cultural insights, and I’m looking forward to helping our clients think differently while championing and building the brilliant creative talent within the agency. I couldn’t be more excited to join the Virtue family.”
Virtue APAC is currently recruiting for an additional two creative teams to support its new and organic client growth.
