Susie Sell
Nov 9, 2012

AKQA ventures into Japan, opens Tokyo office

TOKYO – Digital agency AKQA has expanded into Japan, marking its first office launch in Asia following its acquisition by WPP earlier this year.

Ajaz Ahmed, founder and CEO of AKQA, and Rei Inamoto
Ajaz Ahmed, founder and CEO of AKQA, and Rei Inamoto

AKQA has been rapidly expanding its footprint in 2012, with its office in Tokyo the fourth to open this year.

The agency said its venture into Japan was driven by client demand and the opportunity to attract world-leading talent. Indeed, the agency opens in Japan with Nike and Nissan as launch clients.

Rei Inamoto, CCO/VP, AKQA, said Japan is the most advanced market globally where “the future happens”, adding that the agency aims to deliver “ground-breaking experiences” to consumers in the market.

“Japan in many ways is a country that is advanced but is also physically far away and there is a language difference,” he said. “We would like to use our global footprint to do the kind of initiatives that are made in Japan but are celebrated globally.”

WPP announced plans to acquire AKQA in June in a deal tipped to be worth $540 million. At the time, it was said the deal was likely to be the digest digital acquisition since Publicis Groupe paid more than $500 million for Razorfish in 2009.

Inamoto denied WPP’s acquisition was directly related to AKQA’s expansion, adding that the move had been in the pipeline for around a year.

“These things don’t happen overnight, they take years and years of planning," he said. "It’s definitely great to have WPP and the infrastructure its has to rely on, but the reality is we were already planning this.”

The Tokyo office employs 10 people now, but it is hiring design, strategy, creative and project management roles. Within the first half of 2013, it plans to recruit an additional 30 people.

AKQA was founded in 2001 and was Campaign’s digital agency of the year in 2010 and 2011. It also has offices in London, San Francisco, New York, Washington DC, Shanghai, Amsterdam and Berlin.

Source:
Campaign Asia

Related Articles

Just Published

21 hours ago

The anti-trend trend: How Starbucks aspires to use ...

THE CMO'S MO: Inspired by Apple, Starbucks Asia's marketing head, Samuel Fung, is blending tradition and innovation with a back-to-basics approach to build loyalty in a competitive market.

22 hours ago

STB partners with NBA to attract fans from the region

The Singapore Tourism Board seeks to make the city state an attractive destination for sport fans, as it looks further afield to boost its ambitious goals for inbound visitors.

22 hours ago

X partners with Magnite to boost programmatic ad sales

Magnite joins Google and PubMatic as official third-party sellers of X’s ad inventory which can help fill unsold inventory and attract more advertisers.

22 hours ago

Love looks different in Asia now, and so should ...

More people in Asia are choosing singlehood; it’s time brands moved beyond dated romantic tropes to catch up with times for V-Day marketing, argues this writer.