About · Sydney · AUNZ, APAC, ASEAN, MENA and India
About Roma Singhal
Roma Singhal, The Smiling Strategist™, is a Sydney-based brand and creative strategist with 20+ years at Ogilvy, Publicis Groupe, McCann, BBDO and American Express across Sydney, Singapore and Mumbai. She founded Brandself, whose brands include The Smiling Strategist, and created Brand Game™.
EFFIE Gold
EFFIE Australia judge
Miami Ad School strategy teacher
APG UK Head of Planning Forum
UNSW and Assisterhood mentor
hipages Empower Women in Leadership programme
Manifest columnist
20+
years in brand, design and digital strategy
3 cities
Sydney, Singapore and Mumbai, covering global, AUNZ, APAC, ASEAN, MENA and India markets
EFFIE judge
First-round judge, EFFIE Australia
Experience and recognition
A strategist the industry trusts
She has judged EFFIE Australia, sits on the APG UK Head of Planning Forum, teaches strategy at Miami Ad School and mentors at UNSW and Assisterhood. Her writing has appeared in Campaign Brief, AdNews and B&T, and she writes a regular column for Manifest.
- First-round judge, EFFIE Australia
- Member, APG UK Head of Planning Forum
- Strategy teacher, Miami Ad School
- Mentor, UNSW and Assisterhood
- Selected in 2024 as one of four women leaders for hipages group’s Empower Women in Leadership programme, recognising leaders who have broken down societal barriers
- Advertising columnist, Manifest
Career at a glance
Where the experience comes from
Networks and agencies
Ogilvy McCann BBDO Publicis Groupe Starcom Clemenger BBDO Wunderman Thompson Marcel American Express
Recent agency collaborations include Landor & Fitch, Leo Burnett, VMLY&R, Edelman, VCCP, whiteGrey, Topham Guerin, SGK, oOh!media, Nunn Media, Republic of Everyone, the projects*, Landini Associates, Jack Morton and Boldinc Brand Innovation.
Awards and recognition
EFFIE Gold
Cadbury Bournvita, Best Ad Campaign, with Ogilvy Mumbai
Ogilvy Hero Gold
Cadbury 5 Star, Best Integrated and Digital Campaign, Ogilvy Mumbai
Ogilvy Hero Bronze
Home Centre MENA, Best Integrated and Digital Campaign, Ogilvy Mumbai
Empower Women in Leadership
hipages group, 2024–25: one of four women in Australia selected
American Express Town Hall Award
Super Star for three consecutive months, Mumbai
EFFIE Australia judge
First-round judge
Education and learning
Master of Marketing
UNSW, Sydney · Distinction
Bachelor of Business Administration
RMIT, Sydney and Singapore · Distinction, top 15%, Golden Key International Honour Society
Ongoing learning
The Marketing Academy Virtual Campus, Marketing Week Mini MBA in Brand Management, Harvard Disruptive Strategy, London Business School Brand Management, Cannes Lions Behavioural Science and IDEO Design Thinking
Languages: English, Hindi and French.
What Roma does now
One strategist, four ventures
Brandself
Founder and strategy partner.
The Smiling Strategist™
Strategy projects, fractional leadership, workshops and mentoring for agencies, brands and founders.
Brand Game™
A gamified training platform for brand strategy, for individuals and teams, available in Australia.
Selfconcept
A humanitarian initiative using brand insight to drive social impact. Its Mojomover process guides her personal growth mentoring.
Writing and press
In print
Partners
Who she works with
DO. Agency
Seen Agency
SGK
Stickybeak
Miami Ad School
Plus One Agency (India)
Assisterhood (mentoring)
UNSW (mentoring)
Practera (mentoring)
Always open to new partnerships. See partners.
Beyond strategy
Outside strategy, Roma runs The Smiling Stays, Airbnbs in Paddington and Pyrmont, and The Smiling Store, a gift shop for independent artists. She also writes poetry, plays the guitarlele and paints on square canvases.
Work with Roma
Strategy projects, fractional leadership, workshops or mentoring. Start with a short call.