• WedgeThe 'In Search of Incredible' platform is 13 years old in 2026 — argue for a creative platform refresh tied to the AI-PC inflection (Copilot+, on-device AI, agentic PCs) rather than another tagline extension.
• WhyBates CHI&Partners is not visibly credited in any 2024–2025 ASUS press releases, award mentions, or trade-press write-ups searched — a striking gap for a 13-year incumbent on a 14-market global account.
• WhoRex Lee · Global CMO & APAC GM

1. W1The 'In Search of Incredible' platform is 13 years old in 2026 — argue for a creative platform refresh tied to the AI-PC inflection (Copilot+, on-device AI, agentic PCs) rather than another tagline extension.
2. W2ASUS's roster has fragmented (Bates global, Mirum/JWT digital legacy, Tonic AU, Thrive PR ANZ, ROG specialist shops, in-house NA video). Pitch a 'WPP One ASUS' integrated solution — single P&L, single creative + media + PR + commerce stack.
3. W3ROG is run separately and is now a TIME World's Best Brand. Pitch a parent-brand benefit architecture that lets ROG retain its edge while ASUS corporate captures the AI-PC halo — Bates lost this connection.
4. W4First-party data + personalized retargeting (28% conversion lift claimed) is ASUS's stated marketing edge. Pitch a Choreograph/GroupM data-led creative practice that productizes this into always-on, AI-personalized creative — not occasional CES moments.
5. W5Co-CEO Samson Hu has publicly hedged on AI PC near-term ('a year or two from fulfilling promise'). Pitch a multi-year brand-led education campaign that builds AI PC category demand rather than chasing quarterly product peaks.
6. W6Tariff-driven 5–10% price increases mean ASUS must defend premium perception. Pitch a brand-equity defense campaign (creator/ProArt halo, ROG community, ESG/Transcendence narrative) that justifies the price step-up.
7. W7Localization gap: Quadir-Hegde's 'global DNA + local resonance' philosophy is winning at regional level. Pitch a hub-and-spoke creative operating model with HQ-built modular assets that regional teams (and partners like Tonic) can localize — replacing the implicit Bates lock-in.

• Bates CHI&Partners is not visibly credited in any 2024–2025 ASUS press releases, award mentions, or trade-press write-ups searched — a striking gap for a 13-year incumbent on a 14-market global account.
• ASUS AU formalized Tonic The Agency as creative AOR in August 2025 after 'over a year' of project collaboration — suggesting global Bates work was being supplemented (or bypassed) locally before being institutionalized.
• Even-larger fragmentation: Mirum (with JWT/WPP) was appointed for PC digital globally in 2015; Thrive PR runs ANZ PR; ROG runs an entirely separate creative track. The 'global AOR' narrative is increasingly fictional in operational terms.
• ASUS marketing voice externally is dominated by regional heads (Quadir-Hegde ANZ, Howe AU consumer, Wen NA) rather than HQ — consistent with localization momentum and reduced reliance on a single global creative shop.
• CES 2024–2026 events use 'Always Incredible' as the event brand while the corporate platform remains 'In Search of Incredible' — possible internal tension between event-marketing simplification and the 12-year-old platform line.
• No identifiable Cannes Lions / Spikes Asia wins for ASUS work from Bates CHI&Partners surfaced in searches across 2024 and 2025 — the agency has not been generating award credit on this account in the public record.
• Co-CEO Samson Hu's Bloomberg-Computex 2025 framing ('AI PCs still a year or two away from fulfilling promise') reads as a comms hedge — a potential mismatch with the bullish 'Always Incredible' campaign tone.

• Rex LeeChief Marketing Officer, ASUS & General Manager (APAC)

  since unknown

  Singapore-based. Global APAC CMO referenced as ASUS senior marketing spokesperson on PC market conditions (Gizmochina 2022) and across trade press through 2025. Leads a marketing org of ~789 employees per RocketReach. Effectively the most senior marketing voice publicly attached to ASUS HQ-level brand decisions.

  Source ↗
• Farzeen Quadir-HegdeHead of Marketing, ASUS (ANZ) — Executive Marketing Leader

  since 2019

  Joined Oct 2019 to localize an HQ-centric program for ANZ. Profiled in Ortus Club CMO Chats (2024) and CMO Australia. Drives the 'localize global DNA' philosophy that selected Tonic AU and retained Thrive PR. Visible voice for ASUS marketing strategy externally.

  Source ↗
• Bradley HoweHead of Consumer, Systems Business Group (SYS BG), ASUS Australia

  since unknown

  Quoted Aug 20, 2025 announcing Tonic The Agency as Australian creative AOR. Endorsed Zenbook A14 and CoPilot TikTok work for reaching younger audiences. Functional client decision-maker for consumer creative in AU.

  Source ↗
• Tsaiwei WenDirector of Marketing, North America (USA)

  since unknown

  Regional marketing lead for the largest English-language market. Relevant to any global creative pitch as a regional veto-holder.

  Source ↗
• Jenny ChangDirector of Marketing, ASUS Computer International

  since unknown

  LinkedIn references a first full year in leadership in 2025, suggesting a recent step-up.

  Source ↗
• Chris HwangCreative Director, Video & Brand Strategy (ASUS North America)

  since unknown

  In-house creative leadership for video/brand strategy — signals ASUS keeps meaningful creative production in-house, which Bates and Tonic supplement rather than replace.

  Source ↗
• Jeff YangASUS Marketing Director (historic — quoted at 2013 Bates CHI&Partners global appointment)

  since 2013

  Quoted as ASUS marketing director awarding the 2013 global remit to Bates CHI&Partners after a three-way pitch across 14 markets. Current role at ASUS in 2026 unverified — listed as historic context for the Bates relationship.

  Source ↗

Globally-coded but increasingly regionally-executed. ASUS holds onto the 12-year-old 'In Search of Incredible' platform as corporate equity while event marketing flexes to 'Always Incredible' and product narratives are subsumed under 'Ubiquitous AI. Incredible Possibilities.' Aggressive Copilot+ AI-PC push with category-leading specs (lightest Copilot+ PC, ProArt creator story) tied to ~$1.1B 2024 marketing spend, 60% digital, anchored on first-party data and personalized retargeting. Strong digital/ecommerce performance signals, but the brand voice across markets is fragmenting between HQ corporate, ROG specialist track, and proliferating regional AORs (Tonic AU, Thrive PR ANZ, in-house NA creative).

• Always Incredible — CES 2025 Copilot+ PC Lineup2025 · unknown · Virtual launch event + global PR + product hero films + digital

  ASUS positioned itself as a 'total AI solutions provider' with the Zenbook A14 (world's lightest Copilot+ PC under 1kg), Vivobook 14/16 and refreshed ROG and ProArt lines. Theme: 'Ubiquitous AI. Incredible Possibilities.' Streamed Jan 7, 2025.

  Source ↗
• Always Incredible — CES 20262026 · unknown · Virtual global launch event Jan 6, 2026, 09:00 PST

  Next chapter of the 'Ubiquitous AI. Incredible Possibilities' platform, announced Dec 8, 2025. Brand line still rooted in the long-running 'Incredible' equity.

  Source ↗
• In Search of Incredible: Transcendence — CES 20242024 · Bates CHI&Partners (presumed, as global AOR for the 'In Search of Incredible' platform) · Virtual launch event + sustainability/ESG storytelling + product reveals

  Wrapped ESG and carbon-offset narrative around the AI-supported portfolio. Confirms the 'In Search of Incredible' line is still in active use in its 11th year, even if event branding sometimes flexes to 'Always Incredible' for CES moments.

  Source ↗
• Zenbook A14 national launch (Australia)2025 · Tonic The Agency (AU) · Integrated local launch — digital, retail activation, social, PR

  Local adaptation of the global Zenbook A14 / Copilot+ story. Cited by ASUS AU consumer head Bradley Howe as the work that earned Tonic AOR status in August 2025.

  Source ↗
• CoPilot TikTok campaign (Australia)2025 · Tonic The Agency (AU) · TikTok-led social creative aimed at Gen Z / younger buyers

  Localized AI-PC storytelling for the AU youth/student segment. Used as proof point to convert Tonic from project to AOR.

  Source ↗
• For Those Who Dare: Transcendence — ROG CES 20242024 · unknown (ROG runs a separate specialist track) · Virtual launch + gaming press + influencer/esports

  ROG flagship CES moment. ROG also ran a TGS 2024 commemorative microsite and tied campaigns to NVIDIA partnership ('ROG x NVIDIA: The Ultimate Play').

  Source ↗
• Unlock the ROG Lab: For Those Who Dare — ROG CES 20252025 · unknown · Virtual launch event + product reveals + influencer/streamer amplification

  ROG's CES 2025 set piece. Brand named one of TIME's World's Best Brands 2024 (US) heading into the event.

  Source ↗
• ROG Phone 9 series global launch2024 · unknown · Global hardware launch + esports tie-ins

  Continued separation of ROG mobile/gaming narrative from corporate ASUS line.

  Source ↗
• Create the Uncreated — ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED2024 · unknown (originally launched 2021; refreshed for 2024) · Global creator-targeted campaign — film, digital, creator partnerships

  Secondary marketing analyses claim a 22% sales uplift and 350M+ impressions, plus a Cannes Lions Gold for Brand Experience — figures sourced from marketing-strategy aggregator sites and not independently verified against the official Cannes Lions database.

  Source ↗
• Ubiquitous AI. Incredible Possibilities — Computex 20252025 · unknown · Trade show keynote, booth experience, Expert P-series Copilot+ commercial launch with AMD

  B2B-skewed AI PC moment — ExpertBook P3, ExpertCenter P700, ExpertCenter P600. Co-CEO Samson Hu used the Bloomberg slot to flag tariff/pricing pressure (5–10% increases) and that AI PCs are 'still a year or two from fulfilling promise.'

  Source ↗

• Rex LeeGlobal CMO & APAC GM
  ↗
• Samson HuCo-CEO (sets AI PC strategy and likely signs off on global brand investment)
  ↗
• Farzeen Quadir-HegdeHead of Marketing, ANZ (proof-of-concept for localization model)
  ↗
• Bradley HoweHead of Consumer SYS BG, ASUS Australia (recent agency-appointment decision-maker)
  ↗
• Tsaiwei WenDirector of Marketing, North America
  ↗
• Chris HwangCreative Director, Video & Brand Strategy, ASUS North America (in-house counterpart that any pitch must respect)
  ↗

Do not pitch as if ASUS is a single-HQ, single-agency client — internally it operates as a federation (corporate ASUS, ROG, ProArt, regional consumer marketing) with multiple agency partners. Do not propose killing 'In Search of Incredible' outright; it's brand equity and Jonney Shih / founder-era heritage. Avoid framing ROG as a creative afterthought — it is a TIME World's Best Brand 2024 with its own gaming-native creative needs and likely its own internal champions. Do not lean on award-show vanity (Cannes/Spikes wins are not in evidence and may not be a 2026 board-level priority). Do not promise to centralize everything to one global hub — Quadir-Hegde's ANZ playbook and the Tonic AU appointment show ASUS is moving toward more localization, not less. Do not pitch generic 'AI marketing' — ASUS sells AI PCs, so the work must feel category-leading, not category-following. Avoid touching the WPP-owned Bates incumbency narrative defensively; if Bates is being quietly displaced, position the new WPP offer as the natural evolution of the relationship, not a replacement.

• Acer (2353 TWSE) — closest Taiwan-HQ PC peer, identical channel structure, direct ROG-vs-Predator gaming face-off
• Lenovo (HK 0992) — global PC #1, aggressive Copilot+/AI PC marketing under Yoga and Legion
• HP Inc. — Copilot+ leadership push, OmniBook line, strong US commercial
• Dell Technologies — XPS / Alienware overlap on premium and gaming
• Apple — premium creator and consumer notebook segment (M-series MacBook Pro/Air vs Zenbook/ProArt)
• MSI — direct ROG competitor in gaming notebooks/desktops/peripherals
• Razer — premium gaming/lifestyle competitor for ROG
• Samsung — Galaxy Book Copilot+ entrant in AI PC narrative

• ? Is Bates CHI&Partners still the named global creative AOR on 'In Search of Incredible' in 2026, or has the platform quietly devolved to regional shops and in-house ASUS teams? No 2024–2025 public credit was found.
• ? Who specifically owns global brand strategy inside ASUS HQ in 2026 — Rex Lee personally, a Taipei brand director below him, or a committee with Co-CEO sign-off?
• ? Is 'Always Incredible' a CES event sub-brand only, or is it gradually replacing 'In Search of Incredible' as the master line?
• ? Which agency makes ROG's global hero films and CES launch content? MRM Worldwide (USA) was credited for older ROG work — current 2024–2025 ROG agency is unverified.
• ? Did ASUS actually win a Cannes Lions Gold for 'Create the Uncreated' Brand Experience? Claim appears only in secondary marketing-strategy aggregator sources; not verified against canneslionsarchive.com.
• ? What is the size and structure of ASUS's in-house creative function under Chris Hwang (NA) and equivalents in Taipei? This determines how much creative work an agency can realistically win.
• ? Has there been a global creative review post-2023? No public RFP or pitch reporting was found, but the proliferation of regional AORs (Tonic 2025) is consistent with a quiet, market-by-market re-pitch.
• ? Where does ASUS Smartphone / Zenfone marketing sit in the agency map after the 2024 reorganization that shifted phone development toward ROG?
• ? What is ASUS Taiwan-domestic creative agency relationship? (Local Taipei shops, in-house, or Bates Taipei?)