Sid Nair

Sid Nair

Creative Director at Dentsu Creative, Malaysia; Dentsu Group
Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia

About me

Unexpected works at DDB. Borderless creativity at Ogilvy. Disrupting the convention at TBWA. Truth well told at McCann. My creative thinking has been molded by the guiding principles of these great agencies. For the last ten years, I've journeyed through different countries and unearthed unique local insights to create effective work while driving business growth for brands including American Express, Coca-cola, Prudential, WWF, Four Seasons Hotel, Formula One, Nestlé, Land Rover, Manulife, Unilever and more. I'm also proud that I've been part of the jury and my work has been recognized at various regional and global award shows including The One Show, Ad Stars, Cresta, Caples and more. Notably, I got a cheeky mouse to increase Tiger numbers in India, put customers in the spotlight for the anniversary of a leading telecom network in Bahrain, created a Christmas store that only accepts the currency of Happiness for Manulife, educated the people of Vietnam on the true cost of plastic through Prudential & WWF, and helped build a stroppy chatbot with ‘tude for DDB.

On several occasions, I’ve used creativity to boost the reach and effectiveness of the agency like creating new recruitment and retention strategies, building a strong performance culture, and implementing unique training methods and creative internship programmes to groom young talent.

As ACD, my agencies have won Creative and Digital Agency of the Year titles, seven times, in three years at two different regional award shows. In 2020, DDB & Tribal Vietnam was named the 4th hottest creative agency in Vietnam and I was named the 12th hottest Creative by Campaign Brief Asia. To top that, we were ranked #1 by R3 worldwide for pitch wins and total revenue, recording an average growth of 28% YoY. Okay, I’ll be frank here. I had extremely talented teammates for support and some terrific mentors to guide me. Thank you, ladies & gents. You know who you are.

Look, there’s more to me than that. Growing up, I liked pizzas, horror movies, hip hop, and beer (don’t tell my Mum that). Today, I enjoy entertaining clients with great presentations, playing with visuals and words, and keeping an open line of communication with suits, planners and the rest. I also like writing stories and building brands with strategic (and creative) thinking. More importantly, I am a good team player, I respect honesty and I'm 100% loyal to the company I'm working for. False promises and self-promotion aside, I believe the proof is in the pudding. My work.

Sector Experience
Awards

Positions

Creative Director
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
April 2022 - Present (2 years 7 months)
Associate Creative Director
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
March 2019 - Present (5 years 8 months)
Awards & Highlights:
1. Jury - Outdoor - Ad Stars 2021
2. #12 Hottest Creative Viet - Campaign Brief Asia rankings
3. The One Show Asia - CSR
4. The One Show - Cross-platform
5. Caples - Digital B to B
6. Cresta Awards 2020 - Digital Design - Fin
7. Cresta Awards 2020 - Brand Purpose
8. AdForum - #2 in the top 5 Digital Innovation Campaigns of 2020 - Chatbot with ‘tude
9. Campaign Brief 'The Work' - APAC's best work - Chatbot with 'tude
10. Publication - https://www.brandinginasia.com/phyllis-k-robinson-looking-back-at-a-legend/
11. Publication: Manager Magazine - Leading through a pandemic

Agency:
1. #4 Hottest Creative Agency in Vietnam - Campaign Brief Asia 2020 Rankings
2. Campaign Asia - Creative Agency of the Year 2020 - Silver
3. R3 Worldwide (for pitch wins & total revenue) - 2019 Vietnam New Business League - First
4. Campaign Asia - Creative Agency of the Year 2019 - Bronze
5. Campaign Asia - Digital Agency of the Year 2019 - Finalist
6. Mumbrella Asia - Creative Agency of the Year 2019 - Finalist
7. Mumbrella Asia Award for best creative culture - Finalist
8. Bestadsontv.com - M-150 - Every Family has a Hero
9. Bestadsontv.com - Chatbot with ‘tude - Top five interactive campaigns
Associate Creative Director
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
June 2018 - February 2019 (8 months)
Awards & Highlights:
Campaign Asia Agency of the Year 2018 - Gold
Campaign Asia Digital Agency of the Year 2018 - Silver

I’m always looking for new challenges. I get a tingling sensation just by the thought of it. And no other place can throw you out of your comfort zone quite like Ho Chi Minh City. A huge contrast of sights, sounds, insights and cultures. This was my first stint as a creative leader. Big thanks to my lovely team there for the support.

Experience:
Developed and launched Manulife Vietnam's first-ever campaign - 'Happiness is in the little things of life'.

Spearheaded the launch of the 'The Happiness Store' during the Christmas season - a gift shop that only accepts the currency of happiness.

Brands:
Manulfe
Bridgestone
Vietjet Airlines
Creative Copywriter
Ogilvy
Bahrain
January 2015 - July 2018 (3 years 6 months)
Awards:
AVA Digital Awards for VIVA Fleet - Platinum
AVA Digital Awards for VIVA SkyFi - Platinum

Bahrain. A new place with a new culture, and so many interesting learnings. I loved it so much, I decided to work there for three and a half years, backed by a talented group of creatives. We tackled quite a few pitches along the way with Johan, our ECD then. Simon took over the reins a year later and nothing changed. We were as successful. Working with different people from mixed backgrounds really groomed me as a creative and as a leader. And if there’s one thing that I picked up from my gig there - good ideas transcend borders, cultures, and languages. My respect for the whole team and my bosses will stay throughout. Cheers.

My experience:
Launched multichannel campaigns, across television/video, experiential and social media, print, outdoor, and online. Responsible for the creative growth of American Express, VIVA Telecom, Four Seasons Hotel, The Westin & Le Méridien, Land Rover Experience, Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait, Formula One. Conceptualised and worked on the winning pitch for the biggest client in the network's history - Bahrain Economic Development Board.

Pitches won:
Bahrain International Circuit
Bahrain Economic Development Board
Saudi National Insurance Company
Creative Copywriter
Mumbai, India
March 2013 - December 2014 (1 year 9 months)
My second stint in advertising was smooth sailing for yours truly. Luckily, I was hired, once again, by my first boss and mentor - Sambit. This time we had an even better partnership. We worked on many pitches and won a few. But this is where I really figured out what it is to work in a big agency with overwhelming competition and demanding clients. Bates is where the ideas man in me was conceived, McCann is where I was born.

My experience:
Worked on nationwide campaigns across print, television, direct, social media, and online for brands like Coca-Cola, Nestle, Aircel, Chevrolet, and Dulux. Pitched for one of the biggest clients in the world - Dettol - and won.

Aircel:
Conceptualised and executed a national campaign for 'Save our Tigers' - an initiative that helped increase the tiger numbers considerably. Spearheaded a digital campaign 'The Mouse that saved the Tiger' - a unique concept that urged people to switch to e-bills.

Pitches won:
Dettol
Orient
Junior Copywriter
Bates Chi & Partner, New Delhi
India
October 2011 - February 2013 (1 year 4 months)
My first stint in advertising, thanks to my terrific boss and mentor - Sambit. Apart from being a great leader, he honed my thinking and writing. Here's to that. Also, I raise my glass to my fantastic teammates who were by my side even when the going got tough. I still remember working till the wee hours of the morning, writing lines after lines. Sadly, none of them worked at the time. I learnt a lot if that's any consolation. And, of course, then came the pitches. Just writing about it sends a shiver down my spine. On the plus side, I did make it out in one piece. A battle-hardened creative with thicker skin at that.

My experience:
Worked on regional and national campaigns across channels for Costa Coffee, Schneider Electric, Hitachi, Max Bupa, Delhi Police, and Fortune Magazine.

Delhi Police:
With a series of print ads, we changed the perception of Delhi Police in the eyes of the locals from bad to good. This was even covered by many national dailies.

Pitches won:
Schneider
ONGC

Education

Creativity for Business Growth

April 2020 - July 2020 (3 months)

Storytelling

November 2019 - February 2020 (3 months)
Key learnings: - Understand what stories are, where they come from and why we need to master our storytelling for brands. - Understand how and why storytelling sits at the heart of any successful brand and the science behind a successful brand story. - Key techniques and principles to help to tell better brand stories and make an immediate yet relevant connection with the target audience.

Digital Marketing

2019 (1 year)
An experience-based learning programme that covers Digital Strategy and includes four areas of study: Attraction, Activation, Conversion, and Retention. Details: - Fundamentals of Digital Marketing and why it matters - Key approaches to activation, acquisition, conversion & retention - How to create and iterate content/messaging to affect engagement - How to navigate potential customers through their journey - How to influence customers deciding whether or not to act/buy - How to influence whether customers choose to come back

Advertising and Graphic Design

2008 - 2011 (3 years)
Course details: Advertising & Strategy, Communication Design, Copywriting, Photography, Digital Media & Interactive Multimedia, Critical Study & Industry Diploma Project, Web Design, Contemporary Art Softwares: Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator Adobe inDesign Adobe Flash Adobe Dreamweaver Used design, type, illustration and photography to create stories for various global brands. Learned to write stories as short as a social media post or long as a full-page newspaper ad. Had to develop 360-degree campaigns that included performance and brand strategy.

Other professional activities

PHNX 2024

Awards Jury Member

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