Hasta La Creative!

Adweek Global Agency of the Year Grey has announced it is re-entering South Africa with immediate effect, with the acquisition of a majority stake in The Volcano Group, one of South Africa’s fastest growing independent agencies. The Volcano Group will rebrand as Grey Africa as a result of the acquisition and will focus on developing a strong local presence for Grey in South Africa as well as leading Grey’s expansion in key African markets.

Volcano’s group managing director, Paul Jackson, said he was proud to be associated with Grey, adding, “The decision to take on the exciting opportunity of re-establishing Grey in South Africa and across the continent is one that is met with great enthusiasm by both parties, and we look forward to being an integral part of the continued global success of Grey.”

David Patton, President and CEO of Grey EMEA was equally excited about the acquisition, saying, “The most important outcome of this exciting partnership is the acquisition of talent and expertise that will re-ignite our efforts in establishing a dynamic South African presence for Grey and will also allow us to truly focus on serving international clients across the African continent.”

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According to Campaign, HSBC has finally made its decision on who will handle its approximately $650 million global ad account and it’s sizable enough so that it will be not one, but three of the five agencies that were shortlisted last year (McCann dropped out in November and BBDO was the other). The financial institution has chosen incumbent JWT, Grey London and Saatchi  Saatchi, with the first two taking on lead agency duties while the third will service HSBC’s  premier and wealth business globally.

Regarding the five-month process to get to this point, HSBC group GM/global head of marketing Chris Clark,  tells Campaign, among other things, “This has been an exhaustive and thorough review, with input from our four global businesses and five regions, and we’re extremely grateful for the contributions and professionalism of all the agencies involved.”

Check out the full story here.

Update: We’ve received a memo from sources that went out globally to staff today from JWT Europe/London CEO, Toby Hoare, who has been with the agency since 2005. Peep it after the jump.

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Advertising Agency: GREY WORLDWIDE, Dubai, UAE
Creative Director: Alisdair Miller
Copywriter: Vidya Manmohan
Art Director: Prasad Pradhan