W+K merges with creative agency ‘A’ to officially launch W+K Delhi from Nov 2007
Wieden+Kennedy (W+K) has kept its India entry deadline. The agency has merged with creative agency ‘A’ to commence W+K India operations with the launch of W+K Delhi. The transition period, following which the brand name ‘A’ would dissolve, has been almost completed, and W+K Delhi marked its official launch on November 1, 2007.
Wieden+Kennedy (W+K) has kept its India entry deadline. The agency had announced earlier in the year that it would commence the W+K India operations by end October-November 2007, as a standalone agency. Now W+K has merged with the three-year old Delhi-based creative agency ‘A’, and has appointed ‘A’s partners V Sunil and Mohit Dhar Jayal as profit-sharing partners in the W+K global network.
With this, ‘A’ merges with W+K to create W+K Delhi, which is the eighth W+K office worldwide, and the only one in India. W+K Delhi has been operational since November 1, 2007, and has made the official announcement of its operation on November 7, 2007. As is known, the agency already had Nokia in its fold even before it had officially launched.
The brand name ‘A’ dissolves with this merger, and ‘A’ has already informed the development to its clients over the last week. Mohit Dhar Jayal explained that in W+K, typically three people comprised the leadership team that headed the operations of a particular office. Sunil and Jayal are the two members of this leadership team in India, and they are looking at adding more names in second and third rungs in the days to come.
“It is always our goal when opening a new full office to find talent in the local market that would embody the culture of Wieden+Kennedy,” said Dan Wieden, Founder and Global Executive Creative Officer for W+K in a prepared statement. “From the first time I chatted with both Sunil and Mohit, the synergies were obvious. Their success in India is unprecedented, and coupling that with our commitment to developing groundbreaking creative for our clients is what makes this union so exciting,” he added.
All of A’s current clients and A’s employees are expected to transition with Sunil and Jayal. In addition, W+K Delhi will immediately begin servicing the Nokia account. Sunil and Jayal will be part of the team building the global Nokia brand and will be servicing the local needs of the Nokia brand in India as well.
One of the more strong murmurs in the industry has been about the W+K international clientele that has names like Nike, Coca-Cola and recently more from P&G, and whether clients such as these would eventually move to W+K India. Jayal explained, “We don’t expect any automatic alignments and I don’t think that this is the W+K way of operating, or even an efficient way of operating for that matter. If the clients feel the need for our particular skill set, then we would be certainly interested in approaching.”
Speaking on the merger, Dave Luhr, Global COO, W+K, said, “W+K Delhi is an exciting addition to our global network. With the expertise and creativity of Sunil and Mohit, we will have immediate impact in this all-important market. The opportunities in India are enormous for this agency.”
Sunil has held key positions in India’s foremost advertising agencies, including Contract and McCann Erickson. Prior to founding ‘A’, he served as Creative Director at O&M Delhi. During his tenure at O&M, Sunil created and launched several major marketing initiatives, including ‘Incredible !ndia” and the Hutch campaign. Sunil has won over 25 international awards at Cannes, One Show, Communication Arts, the New York and London festivals, Campaign Brief and Asia Ad Fest.
“It’s very rare when mindsets and beliefs are so similar. It makes growth very pure, very painless, with no dilution of culture. The formation of W+K Delhi is a fantastic opportunity for the creative community here,” said Sunil about joining W+K India. Jayal has held key positions at agencies in India and abroad, including Leo Burnett London and Euro RSCG India, following which he established his own brand development agency in a joint venture with the Madison Group. During his career, Jayal has helped create positioning strategies and sub-brands for corporations across the world.
A’s work includes the likes of the Incredible !ndia global campaign. Some of the clients it has are Royal Enfield Motorcycles, HCL Technologies, A1 Grand Prix Team India and IndiGo airline. Other recent projects include the ‘Made for India’ and N-Gage TV campaigns for Nokia, the 2006 global brand identity programme for Nepal Tourism and the 2007 global “Incredible !ndia” and “India@60 in New York” campaigns for the Government of India.
This addition will bring the number of W+K network offices to eight, including Portland, New York, London, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing and now Delhi. Wieden+Kennedy, founded in Portland, Oregon, is one of the largest independently owned advertising agencies in the world. A full-service, creatively led communications company, W+K has helped build some of the strongest global brands, including Nike, ESPN, Starbucks, Honda, Electronic Arts, P&G and Coca-Cola.
Also see:
Wieden+Kennedy gets incorporation certification; to enter India as a standalone agency
