SHANGHAI Omnicom's interactive network Agency.com will continue a year of rapid expansion by opening a Shanghai office - its first outpost in Asia - next month.
The 12-person office will take over the digital work currently run out of Tequila\Shanghai, and will likely be headed by Jason Kuperman, director of interactive and entertainment practice at Tequila\Los Angeles.
Agency.com is looking to capitalise on China's booming advertising market and satisfy demand for TBWA's existing and potential clients for interactive expertise, said David Eastman, Agency.com worldwide CEO.
"The move will strengthen our capabilities as a provider of global interactive marketing solutions, as clients increasingly look for agency networks that can work for them internationally to create seamless communications," said Eastman.
The new office, set to officially open on January 1 in the same building that houses TBWA\Shanghai, is the latest in a string of openings for Agency.com as it moves to strengthen its global presence. Since March, the agency has opened outposts in Brussels, Dublin, Milan and Paris. The Shanghai office will be the agency's eleventh. Future expansion plans for 2007 will initially focus on Europe, Eastman said.
Eastman said the agency has looked to markets with high client demand for a specialist interactive agency for expansion.
TBWA\China group CEO Gavin Heron said the arrival of Agency.com will help meet growing requirements for dedicated digital work from clients such as adidas and Pernod Ricard, makers of Chivas Regal, which have large segments of their consumer base online.
'To not have that discipline and understanding within the agency would be remiss on our part," Heron said.
