Mercatus+

Mercatus+
Private limited company
Industry Branding, advertising and public relations
Founded 1992
Headquarters London
Key people
 Jonathan Hughes
Subsidiaries Media Mercatus
Website mercatusplus.com

Mercatus+ is an international branding agency with offices on four continents.[1] Founded in London in 1992 as MSM, it changed its name to Brand Mercatus in 2003. It employs brand directors, managers and consultants to work with brand owners and custodians to deliver branding solutions. The agency owns proprietary tools such as a brand DNA programme called the Mercatus Brand Foundation System.[2] It also has units that provide services in graphic design, advertising, public relations, publishing, printing and media buying. Its public relations division was known as Reputation Mercatus.[3]

In 2005, the agency was drawn into the media spotlight when a former managing director of KFC in Malaysia questioned the appointment of Brand Mercatus as KFC's public relations agent. Brand Mercatus had distributed a press release on behalf of KFC announcing the suspension of the director. The agency maintained that it was merely providing a news distribution service, and was not responsible for the content of the news release.[4]

In 2012, the agency introduced an advertising division and merged it with its branding and public relations practices. Following this exercise, the company was renamed Mercatus+.[5][6]

Mercatus is the Latin word for market, trade, business, commerce or place of business, and is the root for English words such as market, marketing, merchant, merchandise and mercantile.[3]

Asia operations

The agency has offices in Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Indonesia and Thailand.[7] It started operations in Asia in 2003 by opening an office in Kuala Lumpur, which is its regional office.[8] Its Asian operations is headed by brand strategist, Peter Pek, who is also secretary of the International Advertising Association in the country.[9] By 2008, the agency had managed over 60 brands.[10]

Clients

Clients of Mercatus+ include Mercedes-Benz,[11] Ferrari,[12] KFC, Oris,[13] Red Bull,[14] Dyson,[15] Hard Rock Cafe,[16] Harley Davidson,[17] Bubba Gump Shrimp Co,[18] luxury British spa and skincare brand Elemis,[19] Ciba Vision,[20] ELS Language Centers,[21] SousVide Supreme,[22] Rotary International,[23] Rotaract,[24] Daewoo,[25] KOTRA,[26] Swiss ironing system company Laurastar,[27] Naza,[28] Malaysian Interior Design Awards,[29] and Malaysia's highest rooftop bar, restaurant and lounge, Marini's on 57.[30]

Crisis management

Mercatus+ has a crisis management unit,[31] and has managed several crisis projects, most notably the KFC 2005 takeover crisis[4] and the Empire Shopping Gallery gas explosion in 2011.[32]

Awards and nominations

The agency won the "Best Promotional Activity Campaign of the Year" at the 2009 PR Awards for its work with Red Bull.[33] In 2010, it was a finalist for the "Local Hero Award" for the brand consultancy of the year category at the Agency of the Year Awards. .[34] In 2012, the agency won a "Silver Cube" for brand consultancy at the Agency of the Year Awards.[35] It was a finalist for both public relations agency of the year and brand consultancy of the year at the 2013 Agency of the Year Awards.[36]

Sponsorship

The agency is a sponsor of the Melaka Arts & Performance Festival,[37] the largest and only site specific art and performance festival on a UNESCO Heritage Site.[38]

References

  1. ↑ Norton, Jessica (2 May 1994). "Branding agencies predict trends". Brand Week: 18.
  2. ↑ "Strategic partnership between PARVUS Group and Brand Mercatus". Parvus. Retrieved 26 March 2006.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Brand Mercatus to expand operations to Asia". Brand Mercatus. Brand Mercatus.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sidhu, BK (13 July 2005). "KFCH executive director rebuts Johari’s claims". The Star. Retrieved 26 March 2006.
  5. ↑ "The Advertising Plus in Mercatus+". Adoi Magazine. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  6. ↑ "Malaysia's KFC head says won't quit!". Dow Jones. Dow Jones. Retrieved 26 March 2006.
  7. ↑ "Mercatus+ Locations". Mercatus+. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  8. ↑ "Company Overview". Jobstreet. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "John Chacko New IAA Malaysia President". Adoi Magazine. 1 April 2003. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  10. ↑ "Man with the brand". New Straits Times. 24 August 2008. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  11. ↑ "Opening Of Mercedes-Benz Autohaus". BERNAMA. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  12. ↑ "Media Conference Between NAZA Group & Ferrari". BERNAMA. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  13. ↑ "Launch of the first Oris Island Boutique in Malaysia". BERNAMA. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  14. ↑ "RED BULL ROOKIES DRIVER SEARCH 2012". BERNAMA. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  15. ↑ "DYSON MALAYSIA LAUNCHES NATIONWIDE TRADE-IN CAMPAIGN". BERNAMA. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  16. ↑ "London Rocks The World This Year! Hard Rock Cafe Kuala Lumpur And Melaka Will Get You There!". iNewswire. iNewswire. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  17. ↑ "Kuala Lumpur to Host Asia Harley Days in Conjunction with Harley-Davidson's Global 110th Anniversary". Online PR Media. Online PR Media. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  18. ↑ "Grand Opening Of "Bubba Gump Shrimp Co." @ Sunway Pyramid". BERNAMA.
  19. ↑ "ELEMIS MAKES ITS DEBUT IN MALAYSIA". BERNAMA. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  20. ↑ "Ciba Vision To Launch Winning Formula For Astigmatism AIR OPTIX™ For Astigmatism Contact Lenses". BERNAMA. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  21. ↑ "ELS 15TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION". BERNAMA. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  22. ↑ "Invitation To The Launch Of SousVide Supreme By MaterChef USA Winner While Introducing Healthy Eating Amongst Malaysians". BERNAMA. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  23. ↑ "ROTARY YOUTH LEADERSHIP AWARDS 2005". BERNAMA. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  24. ↑ "4TH ASIA PACIFIC REGIONAL ROTARACT CONFERENCE (APRRC) 2007". BERNAMA. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  25. ↑ "AIC SIGNS MOU WITH DAEWOO INTERNATIONAL FOR MULTIMEDIA DISPLAYS AND AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRONICS". BERNAMA. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  26. ↑ "KOREA PRODUCTS SHOW & BUSINESS MEETING 2007". BERNAMA. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  27. ↑ "INVITATION TO THE LAUNCH OF THE LAURASTAR LIFT". BERNAMA. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  28. ↑ "Media Conference Between NAZA Group Of Companies And OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad". BERNAMA. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  29. ↑ "MALAYSIAN INTERIOR DESIGN AWARDS (MIDA) 2003 PRESENTATION". BERNAMA. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  30. ↑ "Marini’s On 57 Engages Mercatus+". Adoi Magazine. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  31. ↑ "Reputation Management". Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  32. ↑ Siniah, Malati (14 Oct 2011). "Empire calls in Reputation Mercatus". Marketing Magazine. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  33. ↑ "Reputation Mercatus Wins Malaysia Public Relation Award 2009". Adoi Magazine. 3 Dec 2009. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  34. ↑ "2010 Finalists". Advertising + Marketing Magazine. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  35. ↑ "2012 Winners". Agency of the Year Awards. Advertising + Marketing Magazine. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  36. ↑ "AOTY Finalists". Advertising + Marketing Magazine. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  37. ↑ "MELAKA FESTIVAL 2012 A RESOUNDING SUCCESS". MALAYSIA WORLD HERITAGE TOURS. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  38. ↑ "Taking arts to Malacca streets". New Straits Times. 20 Sep 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2013.

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