Wunderman is eyeing up a number of acquisitions across the Middle East and North Africa as it seeks to drive its regional operations forward.
The agency, which is part of Menacom in the region and has traditionally specialised in direct marketing, is also restructuring, with a number of key appointments being made. Amongst them is the promotion of Faysal Abdul Malak to the position of client services director and the appointment of Piotr Chrobot as executive creative director.
Nassib Boueri, CEO of Wunderman MENA, said: “The only constant is change, and with that in mind, Wunderman recently has embarked on a full restructure of the agency in order to better deliver and improve on the creative product. We have also established a presence in Kenya, with plans to expand more in Africa along with our South African office. Acquisitions will also be key for us in 2014.”
The changes follow a period of staff attrition, with between 15 and 20 people having left the agency in the past nine months. Boueri said all had been replaced, whilst the agency itself is moving towards a 360-degree offering.
In collaboration with Wunderman’s South African office, it is also expected that further operations will be launched in Nigeria and Ghana by the end of the year.
The arrival of Chrobot as executive creative director follows the departure of Kerry Platts, who had been with the agency for a number of years and had won a gold at Cannes for the agency back in 2006.
Chrobot, who is Polish and was previously regional creative director for EMEA at Interactive Solutions in Warsaw, said: “I didn’t pack my whole life into three suitcases to make banners in Dubai. Wunderman has big potential and I just want to use it in a right way. I have great support from Nassib and there are a lot of brilliant minds here already, so I believe next year we will be back in the top three [agencies] in the region.”
Wunderman’s regional parent company, Menacom, is part of WPP and is headquartered in Dubai. The group includes ad agencies Y&R and Partnership, and PR firm Asda’a Burson-Marsteller.