Akane Akiba and Taihei Hayama have both joined as group account directors from TBWA and BBH respectively, while on the creative side, Yasushi Ogata has come on board as CD from Ogilvy & Mather.
Akiba will work on the recently-won Lipton business; Hayama on Philips and Mont Blanc; and Ogata across the agency’s full list of clients, including Exxon Mobil.
Additionally, Takashi Takeda, who was appointed CEO in February, has also changed the agency’s name from DDB Tokyu Agency Creative to DDB Japan. “We wanted to make sure the DDB name was more single-minded and reflected our commitment to the market,” said Takeda.
“In terms of the appointments, all have strong backgrounds and experience in bulding unconventional communications programmes. They will help to grow a more interactive and integrated capability, particularly through the network’s Tribal brand.”
While declining to be drawn on future plans, Takeda pointed to several new hires to be made in the coming months.
