Publicis-Fallon integration boosts Soh's role

<P>Publicis Groupe agency Fallon Asia is to integrate its Singapore HQ and Hong Kong office with sister agency Publicis Worldwide, in a move that will see Fallon president Calvin Soh take on an additional regional CD role at Publicis.</P> <P>The partnership, as it is being dubbed, will see Fallon staff housed at Publicis offices in the two cities, and will be driven by the two agencies' joint stewardship of Citibank's global business (Media, 19 May). However, the integration is limited to Fallon's Asian presence.</P> <P>While Soh stated that there would be no staff attrition as a result of the move, he did confirm that Fallon Asia GM Juanita Tom is departing the agency, in a separate development, to return to Hong Kong.</P> <P>At Publicis, the alignment is being viewed as a means to improve the network's creative product across the region. "It took me 10 years before appointing a regional creative director because I wanted to be sure to find the right person," said Publicis regional chairman Guillaume Levy-Lambert. "Patience has its rewards, which we will share with our clients and teams, who will benefit from an increased focus on the quality of our delivery."<BR><BR>Soh will continue to report to Fallon co-founder Pat Fallon, but will also work closely with Publicis regional COO Matthew Godfrey. </P> <P>Despite global business from the likes of Citibank and United Airlines, Fallon has struggled to gain a significant foothold since Soh launched its Asian presence four years ago. Recently, however, it secured new business from Nike (Media, 11 August).<BR></P>