Singapore - Saatchi & Saatchi today announced the acquisition of 100% of Arachnid, one of Asia's leading and most highly awarded digital agencies, and one of the region's most coveted acquisition targets for many years.
The acquisition will see Arachnid rebranded Saatchi & Saatchi Arachnid, as the agency becomes aligned into the Saatchi & Saatchi network in Asia Pacific. The management team of Arachnid will continue to lead the business as Saatchi & Saatchi Arachnid.
"The marriage of Saatchi & Saatchi and Arachnid signifies a major scaling up of digital capabilities in the Saatchi & Saatchi network across the region. The past 18 months have seen us make significant investments in digital capabilities, particularly in our regional management hub in Singapore, and now through the union with Arachnid's exceptional expertise and capabilities, we are even better placed to deliver the unreasonable power of creativity for our Clients across the full multitude of consumer channels," said Chris Foster (right), Chairman & CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Asia Pacific.
Arachnid was one of the region's first digital agencies, founded in 1996 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Since then it has grown rapidly to service blue-chip clients such as Toyota, Lexus, Petronas, Dutch Lady, MINI and Reckitt Benckiser and has been ranked three times on the Deloitte Asia Pacific Fast 500 ranking of the 500 fastest growing technology companies in Asia Pacific. In the last four years alone, it has also won 11 titles in the client marketer-judged Advertising + Marketing Agency Of The Year Awards in five agency categories including Digital Agency of the Year, Direct Marketing Agency of the Year and Creative Agency of the Year.
Chin Weng Keong (left), Founder and Managing Director of Arachnid commented on the acquisition, "We've explored becoming part of a global network for a while and Saatchi & Saatchi has proven to be the right fit. Firstly, we share a common vision, values and strategy as we evolve beyond pure-play digital and as Saatchi has evolved in the region. Secondly, partnering with the Singapore regional hub allows us to grow beyond Malaysia, leveraging the regional and global experience we've developed over recent years. We've also taken the time to work at a practical level to integrate our capabilities into a new generation agency that will see an exciting shared future."
"Weng Keong and I have known each other for many years, and I have always professionally admired Arachnid and their fantastic body of work. The acquisition of Arachnid, and the close working relationship based on mutual trust and respect that we have already built will further enhance our ability to deliver powerful integrated campaigns for our Clients together in this strategically important region," said Paul Roebuck, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore & Malaysia.
The acquisition will initially see Arachnid embed a number of their key personnel in the Singapore office of Saatchi & Saatchi, with the bulk of the sixty plus Arachnid personnel across creative, technology, strategy, social and account management functions remaining in the organisation's Kuala Lumpur headquarters. Saatchi & Saatchi Arachnid will continue to operate separately from Saatchi & Saatchi Malaysia.
Guillermo Vega, multi-award winning CCO of Saatchi & Saatchi London, is a man in a hurry. His career includes setting up and growing W+K Sao Paulo from 3 to 100 employees in 4 years. He talks about learning to be patient, the Super London way.
Tide 2021 Superbowl spot: Saatchi & Saatchi New York
Publicis Groupe hires Natalie Lam
Daniel Lobatón is the first chief creative to be promoted from within at Saatchi & Saatchi New York.
Launched in 2012, Team One’s The Legacy Lab™ is a thought-leadership platform exploring the dynamics of long-term brand building in a short-term world. The Legacy Lab has researched influential brands including The Bluebird Cafe, It Gets Better Project, Girls Who Code, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, The Championships, Wimbledon and Taylor Guitars among others, and publishes many of its learnings online.…
Saatchi & Saatchi London has hired Guillermo Vega, the former ECD of 72andSunny New York, as its Chief Creative Officer. Joining on October 1, Vega will lead the agency’s creative department and build on its existing creative success. His appointment completes the Saatchi & Saatchi London management team, alongside Sam Hawkey (Chief Operating Officer), Richard Huntington (Chief Strategy Officer) and…
Cannes Lions 2018 saw Saatchi & Saatchi offices around the network pick up a total of 17 awards. The wins were split across Saatchi & Saatchi New York, Saatchi & Saatchi LA, Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand, Saatchi & Saatchi Germany and F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi Brazil. Winning clients were Tide, National Down Syndrome Society, Toyota, Elanco, Sadia and the…
SKS365, a leading international betting company, has chosen Saatchi & Saatchi Italy, led by CEO Simone Masè, to handle the creative account for its sports betting and gaming brand, PlanetWin365.
Today Saatchi & Saatchi announces taking the pledge, and joining Free the Bid as a global network.
Publicis One Croatia today announces the appointment of three award-winning creative talents to Saatchi & Saatchi, promoting growth and creative excellence goals in Croatia and throughout the Adriatic. The three new appointments, who have extensive creative experience, will spearhead a re-energizing process of the agency in Croatia. Appointed are Ivan Tanić, who joins as Creative Director, Nebojša Cvetković as Art…
Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand has been appointed as Tourism Fiji’s global brand agency of record, following a selection process and creative pitch that began in mid 2017. Saatchi & Saatchi will lead the creation of a revitalised brand platform and global campaign to attract visitors to Fiji from all over the world, focusing on key markets – Australia, New…
Kraft Heinz China recently appointed Saatchi & Saatchi Shanghai as their lead creative agency in China for all Kraft Heinz brand categories. Saatchi & Saatchi Shanghai won this business after a fierce multi-way pitch against other agencies over the past months. Saatchi & Saatchi Shanghai will lead creative services for all brands under the Kraft Heinz China umbrella. This covers…
Saatchi New York’s “It’s a Tide Ad” campaign for Super Bowl LII got the stamp of approval from a group of top advertising creatives today, winning the Super Clio, honoring the game’s best work.
Saatchi & Saatchi London have been named ‘The Best and Bravest Agency on the Planet’ by Contagious Magazine after topping their 2018 Contagious Pioneers agency rankings. The list recognises the top ten agencies round the world who consistently set the standard for creativity, innovation and excellence in marketing. The Contagious Pioneers list is based on an analysis of the Contagious I/O intelligence…
