Jakarta. GCG Asia Advertising has recently appointed John Darren Yaw as its new chief executive officer to helm the group's expansion into the ad tech space in the US, the company announced in a recent statement.

“We are committed to delivering innovative, creative, experience-driven solutions for our brands. I’m very excited to start this new position,” John Darren Yaw said.

The new GCG Asia Advertising CEO will also lead the charge into expanding the firm’s ad tech venture in the US with soon-to-be-announced acquisitions in late 2021.

John Darren Yaw is of the view that technology is not as something dry and lifeless, but as something that has the potential to change lives and make brands work harder. 

“That aligns perfectly with our philosophy and is the appropriate approach for GCG Asia Advertising to remain a leader in innovation Asia as well as gaining a foothold in the US,” John said.

"We live in a time of increased clutter and dwindling attention spans. It is critical for brands to cut through the noise and stand out. That is only possible through creativity. It is no longer garnishing or just decorative tinsel. That is the flesh. It is the substance, and it is the only path forward for brands,” he added.

John Darren Yaw is the founder of Capital Digital Singapore, an ad tech pioneer in Asia which was eventually acquired by GCG Asia Advertising in a pivotal move into data-driven advertising.

Over the past decade, the firm has assisted marketers in managing and optimizing millions of dollars in digital advertising spend across paid search, social, and e-commerce. 

"Our aim is to provide marketers with seamless access to customers throughout their customer experience, from the top of the funnel to the point of purchase, by leveraging our commerce data and insight,” John Darren Yaw said.

In 2021, businesses are starting to realise that beyond the creatives, there is a need to get these advertisements in front of people.  In today's fast-paced digital mediums, automation, programmatic ad purchasing, and image recognition are important, according to John Darren Yaw.

"Having billions of data points is increasingly necessary in advertising space, but it’s what you do with them that actually matters. GCG Asia has strengths in every relevant area in advertising so we can offer the skill and expertise that will optimise both the data and the creative for clients,” he said.

"In terms of creativity, digital is a gold mine that is still largely untapped. Solving brand challenges with proper insight that is supplemented by digital intuition is a powerful combination that only a small number of people are aware of, and even fewer choose to use to their advantage. This combination has always been a part of the GCG Asia Advertising DNA, and I intend to work hard to make it even more powerful,” he added.

John Darren Yaw has a vision to increase productivity and increase employee engagement as a means to drive passion and creativity.  

“In 2020, programmatic advertising was undeniably affected, especially in the first quarter. 2021 is a rather mixed bag but recovery has been noticeable. Digital advertising was able to weather storms across most advertising formats thanks to increases in digital media consumption and e-commerce,” he said.

John Darren Yaw noted that relevance is crucial to drive engagement and to achieve a higher level of relevance, advertisers must deploy contextual targeting in their ad tech solutions.

“In our experience, based on Singapore research, consumers hold firms responsible for the content that appears next to their adverts, so brands will require more control over where their ads appear,” he added.