The venture will combine TBWA\Tokyo with Hakuhodo\G1, the Hakuhodo agency that services Nissan, to form a new agency 40% owned by Omnicom and 60% by Hakuhodo.
TBWA\Hakuhodo will open its doors on July 1 and will be headed by CEO Hiroshi Ochiai, who is currently president and CEO of Hakuhodo\G1. Gary Wenzel, president and CEO of TBWA\Tokyo, will take on the role of chief operating officer.
Ochiai said: "Our greatest commitment is to our partner clients, whom we will provide the kind of bold and novel global-quality ideas that only come from an environment where free and considered thinking are actively encouraged."
Hakuhodo and TBWA have a 16-year history of working together in a relationship that began in Europe in 1990 centring on the Nissan Europe account. In March 2000, the two agencies established a joint venture agency, G1 Worldwide, to support the global branding activities of Nissan.
This was followed in December by Hakuhodo and TBWA\ establishing another joint venture in TBWA\Hakuhodo China.
As well as handling Nissan, the new agency will also have existing TBWA\Tokyo clients such as Adidas, Masterfoods and Haagen Dazs. The new agency and its clients will also have access to TBWA's other agencies in Japan including Tequila, J-Focus, and E-Graphics as well as to Hakuhodo's other group companies.
Wenzel said: "This is a people business. Several of us on the new management team have worked together for a number of years. We have great respect for each other, and we share the same vision and values for our exciting new venture. TBWA\Hakuhodo will be something very different and very special in this market."
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .