The agency reportedly has major clients already lined up along with a staff of 12, details of which will be released soon. M&C Saatchi will be hiring up to 35 people initially. Chris Jaques (pictured), CEO Asia of M&C Saatchi, said that now was the time to expand into the Japanese market, as there remained huge potential.
“Clients in Japan are turning away from the larger Japanese agencies such as Dentsu, Hakuhodo and ADK preferring local shops which offer more creative solutions, and with the economic slowdown clients are seeking creativity to strengthen business,” he said.
“M&C will be serving local clients with local creativity,” Jaques added. He said Western agencies in Japan had, until now, been serving predominantly Western clients. He acknowledged that competition from large domestic players remained stiff, pointing to the closures of BBH and Publicis, which were rolled into Saatchi & Saatchi.
This is the first time M&C Saatchi has launched in the Japanese market. “We’ve been affiliated with local shops who were assigned to handle specific clients that needed service on-the-ground,” said Jaques. “But we’ve never had a M&C Saatchi-owned or managed agency there before.”
