Saatchis to merge with Fallon in Japan

The merged agency, Saatchi & Saatchi Fallon (SSF), will be launched at the end of the month. Fallon Tokyo head Phil Rubel will assume responsibility for the agency as chief executive, with his counterpart at Saatchi & Saatchi, Sam Cassels, acting as managing director. Rubel’s partner at Fallon, Mit Kubota, will serve as chief operating officer.

According to a statement issued by Saatchi & Saatchi’s regional chief executive Ian Rowden (pictured), who will also become chairman of SSF Tokyo, the move will combine Fallon’s “local creative, strategic and entrepreneurial skills with the network resources and global reach of Saatchi & Saatchi throughout Japan”.

“We see this as part of the evolution of our capabilities in Japan,” added Rubel. 

The two agencies have recently worked in tandem on several projects in the market, including a Starbucks account.

It is believed that Saatchi & Saatchi Japan’s portfolio of around 15 clients, including Toyota, Novartis, Emirates and financial consultancy Beam, will accompany the agency in the move. Rowden said that an absence of conflict meant there would be “no impact” on the clients at either agency.

Rowden confirmed that the merger would result in restructuring at both agencies, but did not specify how many staff would be retrenched. Fallon Tokyo is understood to employ around 50, Saatchi & Saatchi around 30.

The development comes just over a year after Cassels took over from Jack Mickle as chief executive of Saatchi & Saatchi in Tokyo. Cassels was previously head of Publicis Japan, which was folded into Fallon and Beacon Communications at the end of 2007.

The global SSF alliance between Saatchi & Saatchi and Fallon was established as a mini holding company in 2007.