Nick Binns Joins Abintus as SVP APAC

We’re thrilled to announce that Nick Binns has joined Abintus Consulting as Senior Vice President APAC on a part-time basis, leading our media consulting expansion across the Asia-Pacific region with a particular focus on China.

Nick brings over 25 years of media industry experience, having held some of the most senior media investment and trading roles across Europe and Asia, including Chief Investment Officer APAC at WPP, and senior leadership roles in Shanghai, Bangkok, and Hong Kong.

His arrival marks a significant milestone for Abintus, as we step up our ambition to offer advertisers in the APAC region (and Chinese advertisers seeking to go global) a credible, expert-led alternative to legacy media consultancies.

A Proven Leader in the APAC Media Landscape

Nick’s reputation precedes him.

As Chief Investment Officer for WPP Asia-Pacific, Nick was responsible for the entire regional media buying strategy, overseeing pricing, auditing engagement, principal media trading, client deal-making, and compliance.

He understands the realities of the market (not just the theory) and brings with him a vast network of client and agency relationships that span the region.

Over the course of his career, he has led media buying and investment strategy across more than 17 countries, managed over $19.1 billion in media billings.

His track record includes successfully delivering media buying KPIs across highly competitive and complex markets, especially in China, where he lived and worked for several years.

He has worked with some of the world’s most recognisable advertisers (Unilever, Huawei, LVMH, Dyson, Haleon, Pepsi, Nestle and L’Oréal to name a few) helping them navigate the unique challenges and opportunities of media trading across Asia Pacific.

Why This Matters Now

The media industry in Asia-Pacific is undergoing profound change.

China is now the second-largest advertising market in the world, with digital accounting for over 85% of all media spend, the highest share globally.

In markets like India, ad spend is growing by over 10% per year. Yet navigating these landscapes remains extremely complex for advertisers, especially Western brands operating in China or Chinese brands expanding abroad.

At the same time, there is a growing appetite among advertisers for more transparent, independent, and actionable support when it comes to media investment decisions.

That’s where Abintus comes in.

With Nick’s appointment, we are now perfectly placed to support two types of advertisers:

1. Western Advertisers Operating in China and APAC

If you’re a global or regional brand with operations in China or Asia-Pacific, there’s now a new kind of partner on the market.

With Nick’s leadership and local expertise, Abintus has adapted our full suite of services — including holistic media auditing, agency pitch management, performance tracking, and PRF (Performance-Related Fee) management — to meet the nuances of the Chinese and APAC media markets.

We understand that media in China involves:

• Complex supply chain with multiple intermediaries

• Opaque pricing and rebate structures
• Rapid digitisation, especially in programmatic buying
• The increasing use of broker models and principal-based trading

Abintus offers clarity, integrity, and independence, to help advertisers better govern their media supply chains, challenge media agency practices, and ensure pitch promises are delivered over time.

In short, we’re not just here to audit — we’re here to empower.

That’s our promise to advertisers active in Asia.

2. Chinese Advertisers Expanding into Europe and Worldwide

For ambitious Chinese brands planning to enter the European market (or expand globally) Abintus is your ideal growth partner.

With a presence across 60+ markets worldwide, and deep experience managing regional and global media agency pitches, we help Chinese advertisers:

• Select the right agency partners in key markets

• Design performance-based contracts that ensure ROI

• Track delivery vs. pitch promises through custom-built performance dashboards

• Navigate procurement and compliance challenges across different territories

From TV and digital to retail media and performance campaigns, we ensure your media investment strategy is future-ready, commercially sound, and locally relevant.

Whether you want to launch your first campaign in Germany, building brand awareness in the UK, or running a multi-market agency pitch across Europe, Abintus brings you a proven process and an amazing team of media experts to deliver the best possible results.

A Smarter Kind of Media Consulting

What sets Abintus apart?

We’re not just another media auditor. We’re a media transformation partner.

Our name (Abintus, Latin for from within) reflects our belief that the best results come from optimising both the advertiser and the agency.

That’s why our services are built around transformation, not just diagnosis.

With Nick now on board, our transformation capabilities stretch deeper into China and Asia-Pacific than ever before.

We also bring a few things that legacy consultancies often lack:

• Agility: We're boutique by design. That means faster onboarding, flexible delivery, and customised solutions.

• Expertise: Our team is made up of ex-agency and client-side professionals, people who've done the job, not just audited it.

• Integrity: We only work for advertisers, never agencies, and always with full transparency and full respect for all parties involved.

Ready to Talk?

We’re already active in the region with global clients such as BSH and Savencia, and we’re now ready to support more advertisers who want a different kind of partner in APAC.

If you’re a Western advertiser operating in China, or a Chinese brand expanding globally, we’d love to present our credentials and hear about your challenges.

Nick is already speaking with a number of advertisers across industries (from beauty and fashion to tech and FMCG) and we’re open for business.

Let’s talk.