by Herman Manson (@marklives) Hellocomputer Cape Town and FCB Cape Town have merged to create a new agency: HelloFCB+. The combined agency provides a full-service offering with a staff count of 90+ people. No jobs are affected.
The merger has been a long time coming, says HelloFCB+ managing director Robyn Campbell, previously MD at both Hellocomputer and FCB Cape Town. In the past, the two agencies collaborated on several shared clients and found that the merged teams produced better work across all channels. Not only will the merger offer scale and a more-diverse offering, it also makes sense to run off a single backbone in a tough economy — a key demand of clients, anyway.
What had previously kept the agencies from combining was conflict work through clients Distell (FCB Cape Town) and Pernod Ricard (Hellocomputer). Distell recently moved its business to new WPP bespoke agency, Liquid, and to Publicis, removing any impediment to a merger.
“Future-forward approach”
“With a future-forward approach of weaving data, technology and insight into our process, we’re able to put creativity at the heart of every piece of communication, to connect with the right people at the right time — making us an invaluable partner to our clients and their business,” says Campbell in the statement announcing the merger, which was only made known to staff late this afternoon (Thursday, 25 April 2019).
“By combining the skill sets of FCB Cape Town and Hellocomputer Cape Town, we are now, more than ever, able to address the full spectrum of our clients’ needs across the entire customer journey,” says HelloFCB+ chief creative officer Mike Barnwell, previously CCO at both Hellocomputer and FCB Cape Town. “As a result, we are building even stronger bonds between our clients’ brands and their customers at each and every touchpoint.”
The new agency’s management team consists of Camilla Clerke (@Milz_rara) as executive creative director and Lesego Masite as head of finance, as well as Campbell and Barnwell.
Herman Manson (@marklives) is the founder and editor of MarkLives.com.
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