It came as the Government lifted restrictions on multinational advertising firms, paving the way for J. Walter Thompson to become the first totally foreign-owned agency to be issued with a media-buying licence.
Ray Dempsey, McCann area manager for Southeast Asia, said he would be taking "a whole new look at the situation because previously teaming up with a local agency was the only way to get a media-buying licence.
Currently, McCann-Erickson has a 25-person representative office and was planning to merge it with Viet Linh, which has about four staff.
Viet Linh would gain 30 per cent equity with the remainder going to McCann Erickson, with clients including Nestle and Coca-Cola.
Meanwhile, JWT is in the midst of establishing a local Mindshare office, which will have 30 employees making it the biggest media agency in the country, according to Chu Thi Hong Anh, president of JWT Vietnam.
The new shop will handle media buying for Unilever, Ford and San Miguel as well as all of Ogilvy & Mather's clients.
Chu takes on the extra role of MindShare Vietnam chairman. The agency has also begun looking for an MD.
She said the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City issued the licence, with approval coming from the highest echelons of the Vietnam government.
Chu said the government owns the major media companies in Vietnam but remains concerned about foreign companies buying media space because they fear advertisers would destroy Vietnam's local culture.
She said JWT had to convince ministry officials advertising "is not about changing local culture rather it is about understanding the local culture and ensuring the marketing communication reflects that.
