Tarun Deo Launches Progressive Communications
- The firm raises S$500K at a S$3 Million valuation.
- Earned-first, creativity and storytelling to be at the core of Progressive’s public relations and communications offerings.
- Singapore-headquartered fresh and packaged fruits giant Dole Sunshine Company is a launch client.
- Progressive establishes footprint in Singapore/SEA, North America and India/South Asia via partnerships with Peppercomm and First Partners. Speciality data analytics firm — Simply Thought — to provide data-driven thrust.
SINGAPORE, 31 August 2021 — Former Managing Director of GOLIN & Fleishman Hillard Singapore and Southeast Asia/India Tarun Deo has launched Progressive Communications, his own public relations and communications agency with a data-driven, earned-first public relations and communications philosophy.
Progressive has raised S$500K from external investors at a S$3,000,000 valuation. The new agency already has a retainer with Dole Sunshine Company, providing services in PR strategy, planning, executive profiling, and counsel across Asia.
Tarun Deo, Founder and Managing Director, Progressive Communications, said: “Progressive, as the name suggests, symbolises what the firm will be in our industry. We want to be a progressive public relations counsel and partner to our clients, empowering them to tell their stories in a simple yet compelling and persuasive way across platforms and mediums. Consumer insights, data analytics and creative excellence will fuel our approach in designing online and offline audience interactions that matter.”
Progressive launches with a team of five employees, and to begin with has inked and is working with strategic partners — namely Peppercomm in the United States and the United Kingdom, and First Partners in India — to provide its clients in Singapore with key multi-market perspective and scalability. Its sharpened data-centric and consumer insight approach and offering come to life via its partnership with Simply Thought.
“Being able to support Dole’s needs in Asia, and Singapore specifically, had become increasingly important as we expanded our relationship together. We knew that finding a partner in the region who would match our culture, understand our storytelling approach, and be able to hit the ground running was critical,” said Steve Cody, founder and CEO, Peppercomm, on why they’ve chosen to partner with Progressive Communications as a US counterpart. “Tarun and his team at Progressive have quickly and seamlessly become an integral part of the Peppercomm team. We congratulate Progressive on this launch, and look forward to expanding our affiliation and finding great opportunities to produce breakthrough work together.”
Atul Ahluwalia, Founding Partner, First Partners, added: “Having established a successful run in India over the last 5 years, at First Partners we have been looking at opportunities to expand internationally with a virtual agency model most relevant in the post COVID era. We are glad to have found in Tarun a great partner with shared values, a stellar track record as an industry leader and a commitment to deliver cutting edge, industry-defining work besides looking at novel ways of growing the agency business. The coming together of this partnership brings alive a vibrant network of specialists with footprints in India, Singapore/Asia and the US, allowing us to offer a unique proposition to our clients.”
Kristian Hoareau Foged, Founder and Director of Analytics & Strategy, Simply Thought, said: “At Simply Thought, we’re big believers that partnering with leading experts and agencies is the best way to create custom solutions that meet each brand and client’s unique communications challenges. Wherever they are in the world, our partners share our vision of comms that is led by robust data and human insight — which is why we love partnering with Tarun and the Progressive Comms’ team of progressive PR and communications experts in Singapore.”
Visit the Progressive website to learn more about our values and services or follow us on LinkedIn for the latest updates on our work.
Media Enquiries
Elainn Gey, Associate, Progressive Communications
Email: egey@progressive-comms.com
Tel: +65 9628 2323
About Progressive Communications
Progressive Communications builds and executes integrated communications programmes to help brands achieve their reputational goals across multiple touchpoints. Marrying data and creativity on a foundation of functional expertise, Progressive develops impactful ideas that cultivate love, loyalty, and reputation for brands.
Follow us on LinkedIn for the latest updates on our work.
About Peppercomm
Peppercomm is an independently owned, integrated communications and marketing agency headquartered in New York with offices in San Francisco and London. The firm combines 27 award-winning years of expertise serving blue chip and breakout clients with forward-thinking service offerings and the freshness of a start-up. This unique mix of experience and energy attracts and empowers teams with a creative edge and a passion for promoting, protecting and connecting clients in a fast-changing marketplace.
We offer a fully integrated suite of services that reach and influence our clients’ audiences along the paid, earned, shared and owned spectrum. Our approach enables clients to both anticipate and capitalize on change. And as our culture has evolved, we’ve adapted our services to better address our clients’ growing needs — whether it is navigating a societal crisis, changing the perception of a brand or product or attracting and retaining top talent.
About First Partners
First Partners is a premier communications consultancy from India which focuses on driving business outcomes through communication. The firm has been founded by industry veterans, Atul Ahluwalia, Ex-Vice Chairman, Weber Shandwick India and Dilip Yadav, Ex-Managing Director Client Services, Weber Shandwick India and Managing Director, Creation (now Current Global) along with Santanu Gogoi, Ex-Vice President Corporate Practice, Weber Shandwick India.
First Partners clients comprise of leading multinationals, Indian conglomerates, leading non-profits, prestigious Government of India projects, associations and emerging technology companies among others.
What sets First Partners apart is the firm’s Business Outcome Communications (BOC) proprietary tool-set which has at its core the convergence of communications and business outcomes. At present, the firm has offices in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata, with an execution delivery network totalling to 31 cities across India.
About Simply Thought
Simply Thought is a communications strategy consultancy specialising in data analytics and human insight. We combine the latest analytics tools with traditional research methods to answer your critical marketing and communications questions, helping you build an understanding of your audience, brand, competitors and category to provide meaningful intelligence to build effective communications strategies.
