Rapp Collins Manila closes as agency changes focus

Lulu de la Pena, the officer-in-charge and creative director Karen Fernandez, have reportedly resigned from the agency.

It is understood the Rapp Collins Manila had 15 staff, four of whom have been absorbed by DDB. The remaining eleven have been retrenched.

Mohammed Sirajuddeen (pictured), CEO of Rapp Asia denied Rapp Manila’s closure and said the move was part of a restructure and Rapp’s increased focus on data and analytics.

“We have not dissolved Rapp, but we are definitely changing it,” he said. “Rapp Collins has always been a direct marketing and promotional agency. The new Rapp Philippines, like the other Rapp agencies from around the region, will now be focused on data driven marketing - this is our future. With this in mind, we have moved most of the staff back into DDB - as their core skill set was advertising. This allows us to search out and invest in new talent the skills in data, analytics and digital.”