Independent PR agency Thrive PR + Communications has announced the launch of a specialist Asian Communications division.
Thrive has appointed Diana Pong (featured image, left) as the agency’s Asian communications lead, with an initial focus on working with Chinese brands who are entering or building their presence in the local Australian and New Zealand markets.
The division will also lead local multicultural communications for brands looking to strengthen their marketing efforts with the growing Asian and multicultural communities in Australia and New Zealand.
Pong brings more than 20 years PR agency experience to Thrive, having held senior roles with Edelman and WE, and as managing director of global PR agency Cohn & Wolfe (now known as BCW) in Hong Kong.
Pong has worked across APAC for clients including eBay, IBM, Lenovo, WeChat, ZTE, Microsoft and Dell.
A Hong Kong national, Pong returned to Australia in 2017 working for her own Asia-based clients, managing their communications requirements back into Asia.
Pong will lead a team including social media expert Chloe Lu, who joins Thrive with extensive experience in digital marketing and social media engagement across Chinese platforms including Weibo, WeChat and Little Red Book.
The growing Asian communications team earmarks Thrive’s future entry into Asia.
Thrive founder and managing director, Leilani Abels (featured image, centre) said: “We’re delighted to have appointed Diana to lead a specialist consulting team who are fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese with key capabilities to read, write and engage with Chinese audiences, backed with Thrive’s local knowledge and expertise.
“Our Asian Communications offering further differentiates our agency and strengthens the PR services we offer to our clients.
“There is enormous opportunity for well known global brands based in China and the APAC region to expand into Australia and New Zealand.
“Thrive is unique in that we are a nimble, hands-on independent agency yet with the size, scalability and resources of the multinational agencies.”
She added: “It’s a very exciting step for us to invest in this new service offering.”
Diana Pong said: “It’s a privilege to be part of an entrepreneurial team at Thrive who are innovating with their service offering and recognising the huge potential to work with the Asian market.
“Our team will bridge the gap for inbound Chinese and global businesses, who are looking for expert communications advice and reputation management, that supports and accelerates their market entry into Australasia.
“Thrive uniquely straddles both corporate and consumer communications, enabling us to provide the full suite of capabilities required.”
Thrive is an independent PR and communications agency with five offices in Australia and New Zealand.
