Droga5 Embarks on International Expansion With Tokyo Office

Droga5 is going global. The Accenture-owned creative agency is opening a new Tokyo office, with plans to expand to Brazil and China over the course of the next year. Two years after Accenture Interactive acquired the agency and five years since opening up shop in London, Droga5 is initiating a strategic push for global expansion, fueled by both the resources of its parent company and recent growth. In a statement, Accenture Interactive group chief executive Brian Whipple called the expansion "an investment for our clients, in our people and in our belief in the potential of the new disruptive agency model we've pioneered." "Brands are built on a series of customer promises—ones that are brought to life through creativity, technology and overall by a holistic experience," he continued. "Our expansion into Japan—and, later this year, into Brazil and China—gives us an even stronger platform in experience-led transformation globally." Droga5 COO Susie Nam told Adweek that "it's the right time, the right place and the right constellation of factors" for this progression to happen, "largely due to the partnership with Accenture and what they’ve been able to do to set the table in those regions." The team leading Droga5 Tokyo combines top local creative talent with veteran Droga5 leaders. Masaya Asai will lead Droga5 Tokyo as CCO following 15 years with TBWA, most recently as global creative lead for TBWA\Hakuhodo. Chris Burgess, most recently business lead for Allstate and Chase (two of Droga5's largest clients), will serve as general manager. Dan Ng, previously brand strategy lead for Droga5 clients including Facebook and former client Mailchimp, will serve as head of strategy. "Accenture is the biggest digital agency in Japan," Droga5 founder and creative chairman David Droga said, calling Accenture's intersection with the creative agency's offering "very complementary" as it seeks to build on existing Accenture relationships and pursue new client opportunities. He said that the expansion into Japan was both "thrilling" as an exciting creative market as well as "intimidating," adding, "It is a challenge for us. There’s no assumptions there, and creative people and companies are made better by challenges." Long-term ambitions, pursued cautiously While now may be the moment the stars are aligning, Accenture and Droga5's expansion plans date back to not long after the acquisition. When Adweek named Droga5 its Agency of the Decade in December 2019, global CEO Sarah Thompson was clear about her vision for the agency's future growth: "We’re really interested in a more global footprint," she told Adweek at the time. While its London office is now firmly established on the global stage (and was even named Adweek's International Agency of the Year in 2020), global ambitions had been a complicated topic for Droga5 in its pre-acquisition days. It took several years and the arrival of creative chief David Kolbusz in 2015 for the office to find its footing. But 2015 also saw David Droga make what he described as a "very difficult decision, both professionally and personally": the closure of the Droga5 office in his home country of Australia. For a variety of reasons, he said in announcing the closure, the Sydney office, "sadly, no longer consistently represents the Droga5 brand." Droga5 hasn't had an official presence in the Asia Pacific region since then until the Tokyo opening—and the agency took a measured approach to expanding its reach, David Droga explained. "We’ve always been cautious," he said. "We've never opened an office around clients. You have to open it around the offering and the people and what your context in that market will be." Adcolor Names Droga5 Its Creative Agency of Record A model for what's to come Droga5's leaders explained that the Tokyo office's combination of top local creative talent with veteran Droga5 leaders provided a template for its future expansion plans, starting with Brazil and China. "Accenture Interactive would like us to open in many more markets. If anything, we're pacing ourselves," Droga5's Nam said. "We want to be studious about where, when and how, and with whom," she added. "These [three] markets are most potent for us … but there will be more."

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Droga5 Embarks on International Expansion With Tokyo Office

The Accenture agency plans to open additional offices in Brazil and China

Erik Oster

David Griner

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Erik Oster

David Griner