Born: Singapore
Worked in: Singapore and throughout the Asia region
David Tang believes that creativity should be harnessed for effectiveness. And he has proved this philosophy to work over and over again. DDB is the Most-Awarded Effie Agency in Singapore, and it has consistently been ranked as Number 1 in effectiveness.
He is considered the rock upon which DDB built its agency the last 12 years in Singapore by leading outstanding work for clients like StarHub, McDonald’s, Uniqlo, UOB Bank, Health Promotion Board, Tiger Beer, Courts and M1.
His winning streak is nothing short of extraordinary. David has led DDB to be the top Effie agency eight years in a row at the Effie Singapore Awards 2004-2011. In fact, nobody has won more Effies than David, with his agency’s haul of 15 Golds, 13 Silvers and 18 Bronzes over eight years.
Interestingly, David stumbled into advertising after starting his career in management consulting with A.T. Kearney. However, after 18 years now in his adopted field, David has been an unconventional force.
An evangelist for the industry, he rallies his teams; and is an enthusiast for work that will “catchfire,” a term at the heart of DDB’s objectives. There are no sacred cows for David. He advocates that everything should be challenged; his goal is to listen – and learn.
Twice awarded Advertising Professional of the Year (by Marketing Magazine in 2009 and the Institute of Advertising Singapore in 2007), David is a practitioner at work. Characterized as a blend of poet and killer, nothing stops him from seeking a powerful idea.
Among the milestones in his career are: Founding Chairman, Effie Singapore Awards; Chairman, Singapore International Advertising Congress 2009; Marketing Chairman, Football Association of Singapore 1999-2001.
David attributes his success to the very collaborative approach at DDB Group. “It is just amazing when very bright talents work together – creatives, digital CRM, activation or shopper marketing – with less of the ego and more of the energy in the work. It makes for more intelligent, breakthrough marketing solutions; it makes it easy for our clients – integration as we want it.”
As a marketing agency, DDB Group focuses on marketing and advertising, digital engagement, data-mining, channel planning, direct response, design and identity, promotion and content development. DDB Group in Singapore is part of DDB Worldwide, the fourth largest communications network in the world, with more than 200 offices across 90 countries.