Dan Wieden: ‘never say to never’ on Wieden + Kennedy Australia re-launch
Wieden + Kennedy co-founder Dan Wieden has said that he wouldn’t rule out a return to Australia for the famous agency brand.
“We’ve had people in Australia before, and we’d would love to set up there again,” he told Mumbrella in Cannes today.
Wieden + Kennedy had a presence in Australia 12 years ago.
A lone staffer was based in Melbourne for the 2000 Olympic Games to service Nike, a client the agency has worked with for 30 years. The was wound up after the Olympics.
“At the moment, regional work is done out of our Shanghai office, and there isn’t the need to launch in Austraila. But never say never.”
Portland-based Wieden + Kennedy, which was set up to service lynchpin client Nike in 1982, is run as a micro-network, with offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, São Paulo, Delhi, Shanghai and Tokyo.
Wieden’s comments follow those of BBH boss Nigel Bogle, who said yesterday that Australia’s agency scene is too crowded to be worth the agency launching.
The Australian agency scene might be too crowded by volume but there are certainly opportunities for more quality creative agencies that actually stand for something and see it through in the work. I’d love to see W&K and BBH here for that reason – agencies that are more particular about what company they keep, because of their beliefs around the kind of work that works. It’ll challenge clients to think harder about the work too, and, consequently, what kind of agency they need: creative experts, or just servants. More competition like this will be great for us all (apart from those that don’t up their game to compete).
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