Independent agency network Local Planet opens in APAC

Independent agency network Local Planet has expanded into Asia-Pacific, tying up with nine agencies across the region.

The nine agencies will combine expertise to service clients in strategy, media planning and buying, performance marketing, brand consultancy, e-commerce, content creation and production, mobile marketing, social media and data analytics.

The agencies include Nunn Media in Australia, BlueFocus International in China, Percept in India, Media Muscle in Indonesia, Ad-Comm Group in Japan, Entropia in Malaysia, The Huddle Room in Philippines, The Media Shop in Singapore, and Nasmedia in South Korea.

Local Planet will act as the central network for the agencies, and will establish its APAC HQ in Singapore.

The international network, founded in 2016, was established to serve multinational clients that want the spirit and mindset of independent agencies, along with international capabilities and systems.

It claims to be the world’s largest privately held agency network, and the only owner-managed international agency network.

Local Planet now has 54 agencies in its fold operating in 67 markets worldwide. It services 46 international clients, and claims to hold a global market share of 4.6%, making it the fourth largest agency network in the world. Its agencies have a combined turnover of US$15.7 billion.

Global chief executive Martyn Rattle said the network will take a "local up approach" to APAC.

“For decades and decades, traditional global networks have merchandised a deeply oversimplified view of Asia and its people—a view that is homogeneous, uniform and frequently Western," he said. "Local Planet is designed to flip the whole picture and take a local up approach."

The network will be pitching itself to clients who want to expand across the region as well as internationally.