The move, coming after several months of discussion, was aimed at exploiting local and international synergies between the the two agencies, according to BBDO Asia-Pacific chairman, Raymond So.
"BBDO has been in Taiwan for a while, but hasn't had the scale to grow. And our emphasis was on international clients, said So.
Harvest, on the other hand, focused on local clients but lacked an offshore network, which prevented the agency pitching for business from Taiwan companies expanding in mainland China.
As a result, So stressed that the deal was not about one agency buying another, "it was about the merging of two agencies". He said this key aspect of the deal was underlined by the agency's new name, BBDO Harvest International, and the fact that many top Harvest executives would play a key role in the company's future development.
Harvest co-founders C.C. Huang and Taddy Ho were named president and chief executive officer, respectively. BBDO executive Kenny Yeh was named general manager, with Harvest's Venus Huang appointed as his deputy. According to So, the choice for the management line-up was not about "power or authority", but about "making a contribution to the new agency".
"The merger will make us the 15th largest agency in Taiwan with combined billings of NT$1 billion (about US$30 million), said So. "It will increase our staff from 35 to 86."
BBDO and Harvest were ranked 30th and 23rd, respectively before the merger, according to a 2001 survey by Brain Magazine.
