In this weekly segment, ExchangeWire sum up key industry updates on ad tech from around the Asia-Pacific region – and in this edition: Unlockd secure £17.9m for Asian expansion; Havas acquire Indian wellness ad agency; News Corp unveil media-buying tool for Queensland; Eyeota join hands with Treasure Data; Sard Verbinnen open Hong Kong office; and AMAA unveil new board.

Unlockd secure £17.9m for Asian expansion

The Australian mobile ad platform have raised USD$23m (£17.95m) in Series B funding led by the digital services subsidiary of Malaysia's telecommunications group, Axiata.

The latest round, which also included Australian venture capital firm Alium Capital, would push Unlockd's fundraising efforts past USD$50m (£39.02m) since they were founded in 2015.

The startup said the new investment would go towards driving their expansion across Asia, in which they would tap Axiata's regional footprint spanning 10 countries, including mobile operations in markets such as Singapore, India, Indonesia, and Cambodia.

Matt Berriman, CEO, Unlockd

Unlockd currently has offices in Melbourne, New York, and London, and in April appointed Aliza Knox to the chief operating officer role, putting her in charge of their Asia-Pacific operations.

Unlockd's CEO and co-founder Matt Berriman said: "Axiata Digital's strategic and financial support provides us with an expedited pathway into one of the fastest growing smartphone regions in the world. Being able to secure agreements with their operating companies to roll out in key markets sooner than previously planned also means we could raise less capital than we originally anticipated."

Berriman further noted in a Financial Review report that the startup would work with the Malaysian telco to enable the latter's carriers and customers to benefit from their product offerings. "The partnership provides us the opportunity to operationalise their carriers and we'll be launching several key markets in the coming three to six months", he said.

He added that the new funds would be used to grow the company's headcount by 40% over the next six months, as well as support further research and development efforts.

Axiata Digital CEO Mohd Khairill Abdullah said Unlockd's technology would help the telco group lower acquisition cost, grow average revenue per user (ARPU), and minimise customer churn.

Havas acquire Indian wellness ad agency

Havas Group have acquired Indian healthcare and wellness ad agency, Sorento, in a move to grow their regional presence and widen their service offerings in India.

Havas, which did not reveal financial details related to the deal, said the Indian agency would be folded into the Havas Health & You business unit and rebranded 'Havas Life Sorento'. Co-founders Susan Josi and Sangeeta Barde would remain as heads of the Sorento team and report to Asia-Pacific CEO of Havas Health, Charles Houdoux.

Havas Group CEO Yannick Bolloré said: "[The acquisition would] create a broader health-and-wellness offering in the region for our existing global clients and provide a new infusion of energy that will allow us to expand our Asia-Pacific capabilities."

News Corp unveil media-buying tool for Queensland

News Corp Australia have launched a media-buying tool that they say will provide marketers direct access to 3.2 million consumers in Queensland, across all channels.

Called QPOWER, the new offering would bring together the publisher's media titles – including four national and metro dailies as well 17 regional dailies – under one buying platform. Through this, advertisers could access print, digital, mobile, video, programmatic, and audience insights, the company said.

News Cop Australasia's executive chairman Michael Miller said: "We aim to simplify the media marketing landscape, empowering marketers to achieve scale and local area connections, reaching 87% of Queensland’s population through one media buy.

"This is an empowering solution for businesses at a time when being local usually has to be traded off against complexity and company resources for the advertiser. Not anymore", Miller said. "QPOWER will help marketers take advantage of the trust and impact on consumers when businesses go local, especially with news media."

Eyeota join hands with Treasure Data

Singapore-based audience data provider Eyeota have inked a partnership to integrate their datasets with customer data platform, Treasure Data.

The agreement would enable marketers to tap both first- and third-party data to drive their campaigns, according to the two partners.

Treasure Data CEO Hiro Yoshikawa said: "Today's marketers face the surmounting challenge of producing relevant and engaging content for the right audiences at the right time. Without a clear understanding of their behaviours, preferences, and purchase intent, it can be difficult to draw their attention.

"Treasure Data's capabilities to collect, unify and act on first-party data, enriched by Eyeota's 3.5 billion unique profiles, will empower marketers to improve their targeting and deliver superior customer experience", Yoshikawa said.

Ron Low, Hong Kong MD, SVC

Sard Verbinnen open Hong Kong office

The communications agency have established their first Asian office in Hong Kong as part of efforts to better support their clients in the region.

Sard Verbinnen & Co (SVC) said their customer base already comprised several major Asian customers, including Alibaba Group, Didi Chuxing, and Samsung, and they had managed cross-border assignments in the region, including crisis work and litigation support.

The agency's managing director, Ron Low, would relocate from Silicon Valley to lead the Hong Kong operations, and be joined by newly appointed Hong Kong co-managing director, Rick Carew, who was The Wall Street Journal's Asia finance and deals editor based in the Asian city.

SVC's chairman and CEO George Sard said: "We have been actively engaged with clients in Asia for many years and a number of them have encouraged us to establish a formal presence there. Having a senior SVC team on the ground in Asia is increasingly important to them and to our goal of providing seamless global service around the clock to help our clients solve their most complex issues."

The Hong Kong site marked the agency's second outside the US and seventh globally, according to Sard.

AMAA unveil new board

The Audited Media Association of Australia (AMAA) have unveiled their new board of directors, headed by chairman Chris Nolan, who is COO of Publicis Media Australia and New Zealand.

The industry group said the appointment of Nolan, who already had served on the board for more than 18 months, to the chair reflected their focus on accountability and transparency.

"I welcome the opportunity to lead the refreshed AMAA board and support the industry as it deals with the challenges of measurement and accountability", said the new chairman. "The AMAA is uniquely positioned as a provider of assurance and risk minimisation services."

L'Oréal's Australia and New Zealand media director, Lyndall Campher, and Carat Australia's chief investment officer, Lyndall Campher, also joined the board.