McCann Worldgroup Malaysia launches McCann’s Millennials programme: McCann Next

McCann Worldgroup Malaysia has become the first office outside of Japan to launch McCann’s Millennials programme, to be known in the market as ‘McCann Next’.

The agency experienced dramatic growth in 2016, with key new business wins including Celcom, Petronas (below-the-line), and 11 Street, and has been building on this momentum, transforming its positioning with several senior hires and new offers such as Truth Studies on Youth and Malaysians, as well as McCann Live, a proprietary social listening tool.

McCann Next is a community platform for young millennials and innovative thinkers to come together and collaborate on creative projects. There are plans to introduce live briefs on client projects in the near future, with several brands already expressing interest in taking part.

Leading the team will be the founder of the original McCann Millennials, Shun Matsuzaka (pictured above centre), who has relocated to Kuala Lumpur from McCann Tokyo. Under his leadership, the cross-discipline innovation team there successfully created the world’s first A.I. Creative Director.

To kick-start the program, the agency has signed an MOU with Saito College, one of Malaysia’s top communications design colleges, giving its students access to McCann Next.

Matsuzaka will also hold the position of Digital Creative Director, whilst in Malaysia, reporting to the Chief Creative Officer, Ng Heok Seong.

“We are very excited to have Shun as part of our family,” said Sean Sim, CEO of McCann Worldgroup Malaysia (pictured above left). “He’s full of energy and enthusiasm. His appointment marks the next phase for our Malaysia office – that is to supercharge our growth and expand our digital footprint in the industry.”