BrandStory has appointed Molly Jou as General Manager for BrandStory Southeast Asia (pictured left), and Echo Zhao as General Manager for BrandStory China (pictured right).

In her new role, Molly leads the firm's marketing, communications, and business development efforts across the Southeast Asia region. Her remit includes working with clients and partners across industries including travel, hospitality, and lifestyle.

Molly has 15 years of marketing communications experience spanning the tourism, startup, education, and healthcare sectors. Since joining BrandStory in 2014, she has been part of the Brand USA team, covering Taiwan, Hong Kong, as well as outbound tourism markets in Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand. Her portfolio also includes collaborations with clients from Australia, the Middle East, India, and the US.

Newly appointed General Manager for the Chinese market, Echo brings more than two decades of experience in the regional travel and tourism space, having led brand marketing campaigns, revenue initiatives for global destinations, and yield management programmes for meeting and convention sectors and international hotel chains.

Echo joined BrandStory in 2017 and served as China Account Director (Trade & Mice) for the Hawaii Tourism Authority. She has led the firm's offices across Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, overseeing accounts including Azerbaijan Tourism Board, Capital Region USA (Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia), Visit Iceland, Egypt Tourism Authority, Singapore’s Garden By The Bay, and San Diego Zoo Alliance.

From boutique startups to established networks, the agency landscape in 2025 has continued to shift, shaped by changing client expectations, rapid technological advances, and global economic pressures. Telum Media’s coverage throughout the year highlighted a consistent theme: agencies are reconfiguring their structures and integrating capabilities as they adapt to mounting pressures.

As the lines blur between traditional PR, digital-first services and AI-enabled solutions, agencies are increasingly evaluated on how effectively they combine agility with specialist expertise and deliver integrated, cross-market campaigns at speed and with depth.

The race for scale and capability integration
The announcement of the Omnicom-IPG acquisition intent in late 2024 signalled a broader global push toward scale and integrated capability. With the merger officially completed, the implications for the industry are coming into sharper focus.

Meanwhile, throughout 2025, Asia Pacific and the Middle East saw a surge in development. These changes reflect how the industry has been preparing for and adapting to a new, more integrated competitive landscape.

In Asia, Ruder Finn’s acquisition of Era Communications across Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar underscored growing demand for localised expertise within broader regional mandates. FINN Partners’ acquisition of RICE Communications to bolster its Asia Pacific network, added weight to this shift. 

The region also saw deeper collaboration take shape through new alliances. For instance, HAVAS Red and H/Advisors Klareco announced a strategic joint venture in Singapore to meet rising demand for more integrated, cross-disciplinary communications.

As James Wright, Global CEO of HAVAS Red, put it, “The future is around moving on from the concept of earned media into the concept of earning the right to be part of people’s lives – in culture, in conversation, in trust. There’s a real appetite for brands to find smarter, more creative ways to tell their stories that fit with culture, even in moments of crisis.”

Expansion activity also accelerated this year. Australian PR agencies LaunchLink and Third Hemisphere each set up shop in Singapore amid the region’s tech surge, while European-headquartered PIABO Communications opened its Asia Pacific hub in the city-state, reflecting growth ambitions in Asia.

In the Philippines, local expansion by Ellerton & Co., Mutant, and Bud Communications highlighted rising confidence in the country’s evolving communications ecosystem.

These developments point to a growing trend: agencies are shifting operations toward cross-market networks that blend regional agility with strong local insight, enabling them to meet rising expectations for integrated, multi-market delivery.

The rise of the lean, specialist-first agency
2025 also saw a notable rise in lean, boutique-style agencies, reflecting a change in how communications support is being sourced and delivered. 

In Australia, former Havas leader, Matt Thomas, launched Stake: The Reputation Company, and Scott Thompson established The Reputation Agency after eight years with Bastion Reputation. Edelman’s former APAC Business Marketing Lead, Simon Murphy, also introduced his own advisory, Indigo Murphy.

In Singapore, specialist-led consultancies emerged to meet more targeted or sector-specific communications needs. Priyanka Bajpai launched Roots Consultancy with a focus on health and sustainability. INFLUENCE, founded by Arundhati Saha and Pauline Yoong, targets B2B communications across the tech and science sectors. Chester Tan’s ACID works with founders in AI-driven and deep-tech categories.

Across the Middle East, Lisa Welsh and Iman Issa introduced North Seventy Five, while long-time regional advisor Justin Kerr-Stevens set up Northbourne Advisory.

Collectively, these moves indicate a reset in the agency-client dynamic, with demand rising for depth, direct access, and senior specialist counsel.

The Gulf as a new centre of gravity
2025 also brought a growing focus toward the Gulf - a region undergoing its own communications transformation. A key factor underpinning this shift is market's relatively high levels of public trust.

According to the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, the UAE ranked among the highest in the world for trust in government and business, far above global averages. This level of trust creates a uniquely stable environment for transformation initiatives, large-scale public engagement, and reputation-building programs. It also amplifies the region’s ability to shape international narratives rather than simply respond to them.

As Chairperson of the Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA), Kate Midttun, observed: “It is a stage for transformation. A place where visions become strategies, and strategies become action. It is also, increasingly, a place where narratives are shaped, contested and amplified. For those of us in public relations and communications, this is a defining moment."  

Adding to this outlook, Tala Booker, Founder and CEO of Via Group, noted, “There's so much opportunity in the GCC markets right now. Governments are investing heavily in innovation and infrastructure, and international businesses are looking to bring their product, knowledge, and capital to the region, especially in areas like financial services, real assets, and tech.”

Alongside these regional dynamics, Telum Media expanded into the Middle East with the launch of the regional GCC+ dataset and a new office in Dubai. The new offering opens up opportunities for Asia Pacific organisations seeking deeper media intelligence and stronger connections in one of the world’s fastest-evolving communications markets.

The next chapter
The developments of 2025 show an industry actively reshaping itself. Agencies are no longer defined by size or geography, but by their ability to anticipate change, interpret complexity, and guide brands through an increasingly volatile environment. At the same time, the growing influence of Asia Pacific and the Gulf is creating fresh opportunities for agencies operating with both agility and cultural intelligence.

As Jen Sharpe, Founder and Managing Director of Think HQ, noted, "Diverse, inclusive thinking means agility comes naturally and pushes us to consider new ways of doing work. Continuing to evolve our service offering, such as adapting to AI, isn't about keeping up with trends, it's how we protect and scale our purpose."

In a world where narratives move in real time, adaptability isn’t just an operational strength - it’s the force propelling the industry into its next chapter of growth.

Global brand communications agency, Manifest, has launched a new international indie agency network, The Etc. Collective, alongside founding members Loud, Openers and Mellakka, from Spain, Germany and Finland, respectively. Manifest's inclusion adds Australia, the UK, USA, and Sweden to its launch territories, with plans to recruit 20 independent agency members by May 2026.

The new agency network will offer commercial collaboration, shared services, cultural intelligence, and proprietary innovation, with the group able to provide a full gamut of integrated marketing services to shared clients across the globe.

Etc. will be managed independently through a member subscription, with a focus on equal representation for all members. Priority markets for member agencies include France, Italy and Portugal in Europe, China, Singapore, India and South Korea in Asia, Brazil in South America, and South Africa.

Founder and Global CEO at Manifest, Alex Myers, commented: "Etc. is a collective of pioneering indy agencies that aren’t just reacting to the changing shape of our industry, but driving it. Far from the usual 'I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine' arrangement, or a dusty old network agency, Etc. is designed to provide a new model for brands seeking multi-territory, multi-disciplinary support. The collective shares knowledge, training, tools and innovations, as well as connected working processes and systems that make appointing the group as simple as appointing a single agency.

"It's the natural heir to what has become an increasingly redundant old order of global networks that are out of touch and unable to offer the agility needed by modern progressive brands. Across the world, the appetite for creative indy agencies has already overtaken the traditional 'surname and surname' networks, but the ability to execute large-scale global campaigns has remained a challenge - until now."