Xaxis launches in Thailand; further regional expansion planned

This expansion will see Xaxis working directly with mInteraction in providing regional marketers with the full suite of Xaxis audience buying solutions. It will co-ordinate with mInteraction to provide clients with the capability to implement co-ordinated audience buying campaigns across multiple platforms and channels.

Michel de Rijk, managing director of Xaxis APAC, said the launch in Thailand was part of a bigger expansion plan in Asia, following the opening of its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore last year.

“After Thailand, we will be going into Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan and Korea this year,” he told Campaign Asia-Pacific. “That will see Xaxis having over 30 offices globally by year-end.”

De Rijk added that digital is growing fast in Thailand and that the growth is 'massive'. Its client portfolio includes LG, Nestlé and Ford.

“The Thai marketplace, like other areas in Asia-Pacific, is quickly developing in terms of publisher maturity and consumer behaviour,” he said. “This makes it a natural fit for the Xaxis products as we continue our expansion in the region.”

Niklas Stalberg, chief operating officer at mInteraction, meanwhile noted that the partnership will be an important catalyst to bring digital ad spend in Thailand to new record highs, and to provide sophisticated audience buying services to marketers.

GroupM launched Xaxis globally in 2011, led by CEO Brian Lesser. The firm incorporates the demand-side data and technology resources of WPP to enable the media agencies under GroupM to deliver targeted advertising to global audiences. It has since been launched in Hong Kong and China.