Sun Life Asia has appointed WPP Media as its media planning and buying partner across Hong Kong, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, replacing Havas Media. Chosen for its strategic creativity and strong data capabilities, the win strengthens WPP’s regional momentum and follows key global and APAC account victories.
WPP Media has landed a major regional win with insurance giant Sun Life Asia appointing it as its media planning and buying partner across Hong Kong, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia — a high-stakes pitch concluded in July 2025 that saw multiple holding groups in contention.
The two-year mandate sees WPP Media take over from incumbent Havas Media, which had held the account since 2023. Sun Life said WPP stood out for its “strong understanding of local market nuances” and its ability to execute with consistency and intelligence across markets that are culturally, linguistically and digitally distinct.
North Asia CEO Michael Beecroft framed the win not just as an account victory, but as validation of where WPP Media is heading: “Winning Sun Life Asia is a testament to our strategic vision, creative power, and robust data platforms. We’re excited to drive their regional growth, building on our strong momentum in Hong Kong for global clients.”
Sun Life’s own words hinted at a modern marketer’s shopping list — and WPP’s apparent ability to deliver against all of it. “Your proposal stood out for its strategic approach, creativity, strong data/platform support and alignment with our goals,” the insurer wrote. “We’re confident this partnership will deliver exceptional outcomes and look forward to collaborating closely with you.”
The appointment deepens WPP Media’s regional momentum in Asia. Earlier this quarter its Mindshare unit renewed the Master Kong Beverages media business for another three years — a significant retention in China’s fiercely competitive FMCG landscape. On the global front, the wider WPP group added the Maersk account just weeks ago, a massive integrated win managed out of Copenhagen but spanning more than 130 markets including APAC.
At the same time, WPP Media is clearly positioning itself as a platform-led operator, not just an agency. Just days before the Sun Life appointment, it rolled out WPP Open — its proprietary cloud-based system that allows marketers to plan, build and publish campaigns with elevated automation, speed and control. Sun Life’s emphasis on data architecture and creative agility suggests WPP’s platform-forward pitch likely played a major role.
For Sun Life Asia, the shift also signals a sharper, more digitally enabled growth agenda in its priority emerging markets. The insurer has been accelerating expansion with a hybrid strategy that pairs legacy strength in high-trust advisory networks with aggressive digital acquisition across new consumers — especially young professionals and mass affluent segments in Southeast Asia.
What WPP now inherits is not just a media account but a region in transition: five markets with entirely different consumer journeys, stages of digital maturity and regulatory climates spanning insurance, health and wealth advisory. Success will demand hyper-local nuance delivered with multi-market precision — the very promise Sun Life called out as decisive in its choice.
With the world’s biggest network holding company now plugged into one of Asia’s most ambitious insurance brands, this partnership could become a milestone case study — not just in media stewardship, but in what modern APAC client-agency relationships are evolving to be: equal parts technology stack, cultural fluency and growth execution.
