They are Datviet VAC Media Corporation (VAC Media), a Vietnamese media investment management agency, Dong Tay Promotions Corporation (DTP), a promotions and content agency, and TKL Corporation (TKL), a programming and media buying and planning operation.
The deal is thought to include buying and trading, along with content and sponsorship, and is expected to give WPP control of around 40 per cent of Vietnam’s media buying market.
GroupM agency MEC in Vietnam has been managed by VAC; control will now go back to GroupM.
VAC had been in talks with various holding companies on and off since August, when news of a proposed merger first emerged (Media 22 August). Among them was Omnicom, which has had a buying arrangement with VAC through OMD.
Omnicom has a relationship with VAC on the creative side through DDB Vietnam Advertising. This arrangement will now end, and DDB will be spun out as a stand-alone agency backed by Omnicom, according to a source. Its name will also change.
Based in Ho Chi Minh City, VAC Media, DTP and TKL employ 128 people.
GroupM buys into Vietnam media firms
HO CHI MINH CITY - GroupM is acquiring a 30 per cent stake in three media companies within Datviet VAC Group Holdings (DVGH).