Leo Burnett ECD Chris Chiu opens new shop in Singapore

The founder and chief creative officer of Ren Partnership said the integrated creative agency has five business partners from the digital, traditional and client servicing industries, with an average experience of 20 years. A further four partners will join the agency soon.

“For a start-up like ours, the proposition is simple. It's the people in the agency,” Chiu told Campaign. “Each and every one of us in the agency don't just believe in the Ren vision of creating work that fills heads and touches hearts, our individual portfolios coming in are representational of that ethos too.”

Literally, Ren means human in Mandarin.

“Our thinking is that work that just informs isn't usually memorable and work that's merely emotional or aesthetic without really saying anything is just art and not communication. It doesn't matter what language the work is created in, it needs to always connect,” Chiu added.

Speaking of the motivation behind the new agency, Chiu talks of the allure of being independent and able to pursue interesting projects and clients without worrying about conflict.

“Especially since I think many in the industry would agree that it takes as much time to create a great campaign as it does a mediocre one. So if it's your time and your choice, it is obvious which route many of us would pick,” he said.

Chiu has sat on juries at advertising festivals such as Cannes, Spikes Asia, New York Festivals and London International.

Ren Partnership is currently in pitch mode, having been invited to three pitches within the first two weeks of its opening. While it is looking to build the right portfolio of work that can best represent the agency, it is targeting at clients with interesting business problems in and around Singapore and Southeast Asia.

Leo Burnett Singapore has also contracted the agency on a retainer to help with some accounts. Ren Partnership is currently contracting freelance assistance and is looking for a physical office space.