DAN unites Dentsu and mcgarrybowen with new leads

Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) has launched dentsumcgarrybowen, bringing together Dentsu and mcgarrybowen. The new agency is led by global co-presidents Merlee Jayme (pictured left), chair and chief creative officer at Dentsu Jayme Syfu in the Philippines, as well as Jon Dupuis (pictured right), mcgarrybowen’s global president. Both will report to Jean Lin (pictured below right), global CEO, creative, DAN.

Gorden Bowen (pictured below left), founder and global chairman of mcgarrybowen will helm the role of global chairman of dentsumcgarrybowen, in addition to his role of chief creative office, DAN.

The new entity brings together over 3,000 employees in 33 offices across 24 markets. Among the list of clients that dentsumcgarrybowen will serve include Ajinomoto, American Express, Asahi Breweries, Canon, Disney, Hershey, Kao, Marriott, Shiseido, Subway, The Coca-Cola Company, Toyota, and United Airlines. Dentsumcgarrybowen is part of the newly formed creative line of business at DAN that includes creative, content, design and experience agencies outside of Japan, including Dentsu brand agencies Isobar, John Brown, and Dentsu PR agencies, including Mitchell. 

DAN told Marketing that there will be no impact on jobs in Singapore and that Dentsu Singapore will be dentsumcgarrybowen. Phil Adrien will continue to lead the creative line of business in Singapore as MD. 

"This does not change our strategy focusing on a unified go-to-market approach here within the creative line of business in Singapore. We will continue to bring the best of our brands within the creative line of business to further establish ourselves as an integrated experience agency of the future," DAN added.

The new brand will launch this month in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and South Korea. For the other markets the timing will vary, DAN said, adding that Dentsu One, Dentsu Impact and Dentsu Top will continue to deliver local and regional creative solutions. The network added that this was "a carefully crafted strategic decision months in the making, and long before COVID-19 impacted its people, its clients and communities across the world. "We have gone forward with the new agency as we believe the strengths of Dentsu and mcgarrybowen will position us to support our clients better," the network told Marketing.

Jayme said it is excited about evolving into dentsumcgarrybowen and the team looks forward to entering this new chapter with our teams across the world to deliver unparalleled work for all our clients.

Meanwhile Dupuis said it is creating a next generation global creative agency built on a fundamental premise: that clients deserve better.

“Our goal is to build a network for the client needs of today and tomorrow and meet their requirements for strategic and creative expertise, delivered at global scale. We will partner with clients to create ‘work that wins in the world’, helping them find their unleveraged advantages and applying them to help brands win—beyond their category, in culture and with consumers,” he added.

Bowen added that the vision for DAN is to be idea-led, data-driven and tech-enabled. “We are determined to be the best in class partner for our clients with a passionate team, who I believe to be among the best in the business,” he said.

Meanwhile, Lin said the move is a critical next step for DAN’s ambition to grow a world-class global creative and experience offering and idea-led practice with innovation and technology at its heart.

“The formation of dentsumcgarrybowen, together with the rich experience capabilities of sister agency Isobar, will enable DAN to deliver powerful global solutions for our clients through creative experiences at scale across the customer journey,” she added.

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