Neither 10AM CEO and ECD Lim Sau Hoong or Bates CEO Digby Richards would comment on the news.
10AM will continue to operate as a separate entity, but will be aligned to the Bates network. The agency will benefit from Bates’ scale for clients with international ambitions, such as CCTV.
Bates, meanwhile, will gain from 10AM’s creative firepower, particularly in pitches. 10AM earned international recognition when it won the regional Sony Ericsson account in 2003, and Bates needs to replace Nokia, which it lost last August. 10AM has recently been courted by a number of holding companies, including WPP and Omnicom Group.
