MUMBAI: Starcom Mediavest Group (SMG) has been appointed by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to handle communication planning and media buying globally.

The appointment covers both STB's Consumer and MICE business. The account will be managed from SMG’s Asia Headquarters, located in Singapore, and overseen by Jeffrey Seah, MD for SMG’s Regional Clients Group (SMG RCG) for APAC, who will also act as senior client liaison to the STB management.

The recent pitch involved took place over a four-month period and also included incumbent agency Maxus (part of WPP's Group M), Carat, OMD and Universal McCann.

Says Seah, "We are delighted to be appointed as STB’s AOR. This is a landmark win for SMG RCG – our multi-market communications setup, and for SMG Asia's operation. This is the largest global account to be managed out of Singapore, so we have the enviable task of taking all of our expertise from our other markets, combined with our local knowledge and giving it a distinctly Singaporean flavour."

"Yet again, this is proof that it is not just about size of operation and ‘black-box’ media planning tools. We believe the most important element we bring to our clients is in marketing communication advisory rather than the might of a traditional bulk media buyer – our people and our expertise are the most important thing we can bring to the table," he added.

This is the third piece of key new business the SMG units based out of SMG Asia’s RHQ has succeeded in pitches against WPP’s Group M recently, with previous wins including the Diageo Asia-Pacific assignment and Jean Yip.

SMG is part of Publicis Groupe Media (PGM), the largest global media agency network. Singapore hosts the Regional Headquarters for SMG in Asia, having coverage of 26 offices in 18 countries.