Ogilvy & Mather regional chairman Miles Young said around 200 of 141’s staffers will accompany the shift, many relocating to Ogilvy Action offices. In addition, 141 COO Glen Cullen will lead the new Ogilvy Action unit, which consolidates Ogilvy’s activation units in Asia.
According to BatesAsia president Jeffrey Yu, Cullen will not be replaced at 141, with local Bates/141 managers reporting directly to Yu and BatesAsia COO Digby Richards.
Yu pointed to Nokia, Heineken and HSBC as 141’s key remaining businesses — leaving the agency’s Singapore, Hong Kong and Philippines offices largely unaffected by the shifts.
“We are looking at 141 slightly differently from how we did before,” said Yu. “We are looking at a much more integrated 141 within Bates-Asia.”
Yu denied that the development would be seen as a rollback in investment in 141. “As Bates grows, 141 will have to handle a lot of conflict business from other WPP activation companies,” he said. 141 Southeast Asia CEO Anthony Pounds, meanwhile, is to relocate to an Ogilvy Action role in Japan, leaving 141’s Singapore office under the leadership of new GM Craig Mapleston, previously regional director of public relations.
BAT’s business with its other global incumbent, Grey, is not affected by the development. Prior to the shifts, 141 accounted for approximately one-third of BatesAsia revenues. The migration of BAT and Unilever is expected to primarily affect 141 operations in Indochina, Japan and Indonesia.
In India, meanwhile, Bates will integrate new acquisition Sercon into 141.
Separately, Bates Asia has announced a raft of new hires — including Mike Wong as head of strategy for North Asia, based in Shanghai. Wong comes aboard after departing the Eight Partnership last year. In addition, Bates has hired Scott Patterson from M&C Saatchi Australia to run its Nokia business across Greater China.
The agency has also named two new executives in Singapore for Nokia’s lifestyle product business. Frederique Covington joins from Ogilvy New York as planning director, while Ed Pank arrives from Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R to take on the role of global brand director.
