Dentsu’s Mcgarrybowen opens first Asian office in Shanghai

Andree said the new China office is a response to strong client demand. "The Asia market, and especially the China market, received trememdous interest from all marketers around the world," he said. "Looking to the future, the next 50 years is going to be led by GDP growth from Asia."

Shanghai is the third new office Mcgarrybowen has opened this year, following international outposts in the UK and Germany, which opened earlier this year.

The 25-person Mcgarrybowen Shanghai office includes a management team with experience serving global, regional, and local clients in China and Asia-Pacific. Andy Ho is the founding MD, Takeshi Miyazawa is director of integration, Anna Ng is director of client service, Troy Sullivan is ECD and Roland Zhu is MD of business development.

The new office is already working for global clients United Airlines, J.P. Morgan Chase and Mondelez International. Local clients include Weight Watchers, as well as some fashion and consumer packaged goods clients.

Andree, whose colourful career includes time as senior vice-president of marketing and communications for the National Basketball Association, and vice-president and GM of marketing and communications for Canon USA, said that Dentsu has extensive operations in China, with more than 20 different agencies and  about 16,000 employees. However, its clientele is mostly clients from Japan.

"It is a very exciting opportunity for us in China, serving our global clients in more markets," he said. 

He added that of the big four or five global agency organizations, Dentsu is the only one with Asia as its HQ. The networks acquisition of Aegis should close early in 2013.

Andree said that its Shanghai office is in a startup stage and more focused on the local market in China. "But I could envision a day when we could be a good platform for local Chinese clients that are hoping to expand to the West," he said.

“We want to help set a new standard for quality of ideas, and quality of execution, for the next generation of Chinese marketing—working with both multinationals as well as local Chinese brands “ said Ho.

He added that the agency is not merely a new startup on the scene. "We have global backup with 16,000 people in Dentsu China and global resources in the US and Europe," he said. For example, for its first local client Weight Watcher, the agency is working with Mcgarrybowen team members in New York, accessing "the latest technology and best standards in the world".