Based in Singapore, Mc-Kenzie will be joined by a digital specialist from the UK to run the unit - to be named M&C Saatchi Digital - which will include 12 staff, counting affiliate partners.
Kim Walker, M&C Saatchi Asia president and CEO, said the agency was looking at alliances to bolster the digital team permanently.
The news comes shortly after McCann Worldgroup launched its own regional digital hub under the MRM Digital name in Bangkok (Media, 22 August). The unit will behave as a regional centre of excellence for clients including AIS, FHM, Nestlé and Pernod Ricard.
Separately, M&C’s Shanghai office has won a brief to promote a commemorative Olympics Visa card for Bank of China. The business was awarded without a pitch through an existing relationship with The Distillery, M&C’s brand consulting unit.
M&C Saatchi handles RBS in the UK, which acquired a 10 per cent stake in Bank of China in 2005.