Saatchi & Saatchi to merge their Singapore and Malaysian operations to make single structure
EXCLUSIVE – Saatchi & Saatchi is planning to merge both their Singapore and Malaysian agencies together to create one single operation. The move is driven by “large new business wins which will be announced in the new year” according to Saatchi & Saatchi regional ECD Andy Greenaway.
He told Campaign Brief Asia the network would retain both offices in each market but the businesses would run as a single entity. As such Malaysian ECD Adrian Miller (pictured far left) will now take on ECD duties across Malaysia and Singapore and current Singapore ECD Richard Copping (pictured left) will move into a regional Head of Art role as well as a seat on the management board. Dean Taylor continues in his role as CEO across both markets.
Greenaway said this consolidating of the two offices will see huge growth for Saatchi & Saatchi over the next 12 months: “Asa network we have reinvented ourselves and this has seen a massivetransformation in how we work throughout the world,” said Greenaway.
“Wehave taken a massive shift towards the digital future and our network’sfuture is about creating big campaigns in each market that we operatein worldwide. As one structure Singapore and Malaysia is best suitedfor the future demands of our clients, many of whom view both countriesas a single market.”
According to CEO Dean Taylor Saatchi & Saatchi is wrapping 2009 up with some big announcements. They have won the Nippon Paint account along with a huge regional win that will be hubbed out of Singapore, but on which Taylor would only say the announcement would come in the new year.
“We have made fantastic progress the in the Singapore office, we now need to look to boosting our team and leadership,” said Taylor.
“The regional nature of our new appointment means that the logical thing to do is to strengthen our creative alliance with Malaysia. With this in mind, and in the spirit of both offices, we will be making Richard Copping Head of Art across Singapore & Malaysia and Adrian Miller becomes the ECD in both Singapore and Malaysia. Richard is a brilliant art guy and phenomenal creator of work. He has steered us towards great global creative work on the Space Hoppers campaign for Sony Ericsson.
“Adrian is nothing short of a creative revelation. He has taken the Malaysian office to Number one in their market and Number 5 in Asia overall. He is an inspirational leader who is fantastic at giving people direction and dealing with organisational complexity. He has that rare gift of decisiveness that all truly great team captains possess.”
24 Comments
Boleh! Big news.
Surprised Richard Copping didn’t get the ECD job though.
Congratulations Adrian!
Doubt ‘large business wins’ have anything to do with it…more like ‘harsh business realities’.
Come on Saatchi, only idiots and hacks are obsessed about new business……keep winning awards, the business will come automatically!!!
which office will roger makak be working in?
Head of art of an agency that is banned from entering awards and doing print work. Is that Juggi on the phone Richard?
A decision that was needed to made. Anyone who has worked there knows that Singapore has been in big trouble since HP moved. No clients, no revenue, no good scam, no future.
Banned from entering awards, you say 6.26pm…..what else can these guys do?
On another note what happened to Joel Clement i thought he was regional head of art.
And Im not surprised Miller was picked over Copping.
Adrian, BOLEH!
Big trouble since HP moved?? I do remember a time when Saatchi Singapore was Agency of the year, every year 2006, 2007 and 2008 even after HP left. It can be done, maybe just not right now.
The Singapore office is going so well that it has to merge with the Malaysian office?
Of course.
Sad….theyre now paying for sins committed by others who’ve long left the company after plundering it for personal glory.
After years of ‘proactive’ they now have to get their people into rehab for doing some real work…..should be hard and painful…but ultimately rewarding…..in a few years maybe.
I have heard their Singapore office hasn’t turned a profit in a decade. While their KL office earns good profit. So they must have merged them on paper to keep Singapore alive.
On another note, what a pathetic shortlist.
http://www.haymarketasia.com/media/campaign2009/Event/AOY/AOY09_Final_Shortlist.pdf
12:18, “…theyre now paying for sins committed by others who’ve long left the company..” What are you talking about? The two people pictured are the ones most known for scam in Asia.
Saatchi are evolving so very good luck to them. They are moving on from their scam print reputation and even though we may look cynically at their motives for this let’s wish them good luck.
I do think Andy Greenaway and S&S should not now be critical of us all in our agencies who decide to continue to create good print work. It worked for mr Greenaway for the past 15 years so for him to be saying some of the things I read in Adobo is very two-faced of him.
Print is over, done, finished. Very few clients have the money to run ads in newspapers and magazines any more.
So that is a good step.
And a good thing too, because it is the easiest medium to scam in.
Good move on Andy’s behalf. Adrian, game, set, match.
Way to go Adrian and Richard!
Note to saatchi: if you dont have good people who have the acumen for solving real problems with panache and articulation, then you can do all the re-jigging you want…merge offices, create stupid new titles and send out all the clever PR you want….and all you’re doing is prolonging the inevitable. Clients aren’t dumb, many ad folk work for them now and there are no secrets any more…they know all about your obsession with scam and inability to do much else….so…. Spot the idiots whose brains only work on scam projects and re-think if you still want to pay them huge salaries for wanking off to an image of themselves. The solution to your problems lies somewhere there, not in merging offices.
“I have heard their Singapore office hasn’t turned a profit in a decade. While their KL office earns good profit. So they must have merged them on paper to keep Singapore alive.”
Truth be told the Saatchi Malaysia has been sinking for ages. Having lost several key people in creative and account management as well as a couple of big accounts.
This info on the Singaporean office is news to me though. I wonder what happens when you glue two sinking ships together.
I totally agree with you
good decision for merging
More power to them… Good decision.
Leo Burnett already shares a CEO. Only a matter of time before they go down the same path. Makes sense.