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Decision to close Clemenger Adelaide down to shrinking market says Robert Morgan

robert morgan clemengerClemenger BBDO remains committed to its Brisbane and Perth offices as it closes doors in Adelaide due to the marketing shrinking, chairman Robert Morgan has told Mumbrella.

Earlier this week Morgan confirmed the closure of the agency in South Australia, which had clients including Fantastic Snacks, BankSA, the University of South Australia and several state government departments on its roster.

“We’re very much committed to Brisbane and Perth as we are to Melbourne and Sydney. Adelaide, we’ve been there a long time, these decisions are never taken lightly, but we felt in the long term, this is the right sort of move,” Morgan said.

Morgan declined to comment on which clients were transferring across from January 1, but said the majority of the agency’s staff are expected to move to KWP, which Mumbrella understands sits between 20 and 25.

On the decision to close doors in Adelaide he said: “We’ve had a fantastic run in Adelaide over a long time. Adelaide as a marketing city has seen a lot of clients move interstate, it’s become a much smaller market. We were looking at options, one of them was we’d take over KWP, the other was the opposite. In the end we agreed to their proposal.

Clemenger BBDO and KWP!“Now you’ve got an agency of some size and resources that can be competitive not only locally but across the country.

“It was the logical thing to do. We’re sad to be leaving Adelaide but this is the right decision for most of our people and our clients.”

At the time the move was announced, it was said the agency’s were entering into a “strategic alliance”, which Morgan clarified did not involve a “financial relationship going forward”.

“Fundamentally we would like to think we’re friends with them and when we need help in Adelaide we’d want them to be our strategic partner,” he said.

KWP is best known for its tourism work for South Australia, including the recent Adelaide campaign and the Kangaroo Island ‘Let yourself go’ work.

Miranda Ward

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