Accenture Interactive's Droga5 kicks-off Asia Pacific expansion

Droga5, a creative advertising agency headquartered in New York and owned by Accenture Interactive, is building a base in Asia Pacific. The firm has launched a Tokyo office, and plans to open a China outfit within the next year as well.

Brand strategy and design, media planning, communications, marketing and social media curation are all core competencies at Droga5, which was acquired by Accenture Interactive in 2019 for the affinity of its proposition. 

The New-York-headquartered firm has so far operated with one additional office in London, although expansion is now very much on the cards. A new Tokyo office will cater to Accenture Interactive’s rapidly growing client base across APAC, to be supplemented with a China office – also a high growth market for the firm – within 12 months. 

“Droga5’s expansion builds on the success of the new disruptive agency model we’ve pioneered and is a reflection of our continued investment in our clients and people in Asia Pacific,” said Accenture Interactive’s president for growth markets Flaviano Faleiro, who lauded the firm’s reputation of being “creative, insightful and purposeful.” 

“By adding Droga5’s unique capabilities and thinking to our market’s repertoire, we continue to strengthen the value and portfolio of experience-led transformation that we’ve been entrusted to run in the region.”

The team

Accenture Interactive’s newly appointed Tokyo managing director and creative lead Asai Masaya takes over as chief creative officer at Droga5 Tokyo. Masaya has been at TBWA for roughly 15 years – most recently as global creative director – leading several high-profile projects including for Apple, Facebook and Uniqlo. He left TBWA to join Accenture Interactive in April this year.

Supporting Masai in his new role are two Droga5 executives flying into Tokyo from New York. Dan Ng has been a strategy and planning executive for TBWA, SS+K, DDB London, Ogilvy, Anomaly and BBDO – among others – over a 25-year plus professional career. He has spent the last five years as New-York-based group strategy director at Droga5, and joins the new Tokyo office as head of strategy. 

Chris Burgess is a former media professional who spent three years as account director at marketing firm J. Walter Thompson. He joined Droga5 in New York in 2016 as account director, and now takes over as general manager of the Tokyo office.

“The structure of our leadership team at Droga5 Tokyo allows us to be more locally and culturally fluent, so our work will have maximum impact,” noted Masaya. “We're also entering the market standing on the shoulders of a robust and talented workforce at Accenture Interactive Japan that is already helping hundreds of clients grow their businesses by leveraging data, technology and innovation.” 

While a China office is set to follow, Droga5 founder and creative chairman David Droga explained how Tokyo was the first point of contact due to Japan’s position as “a source of inspiration for anyone creative.”

“It’s home to so many brands and visionaries known for their innovation, ingenuity, and integrity. It's a natural place for us to open our next office. We are grateful and excited for this future.” 

Meanwhile, the firm has also announced plans to launch a Brazil office in the next twelve months.