Leagas Delaney will be adding three European shops to its London
and San Francisco operations next year in response to the needs of its
global client, Adidas.
The agencies, based in Paris, Barcelona and Rome, will join the agency’s
London headquarters and the one-year-old San Francisco shop. They will
produce local work to supplement Adidas’s global campaigns created in
London. Management at the three European offices will report to the
London agency.
Bruce Haines, the chief executive of Leagas Delaney, admitted a year ago
to plans to launch an office in the Far East. However, these appear to
have been put on the back burner while the European expansion takes
place.
Haines said: ’They will be set up expressly to service the local market
requirements of Adidas in France, Italy and Spain. And we have set up
our team there at the client’s request. We are pleased that the dramatic
rejuvenation of the Adidas brand has caused us to take these steps.
’Our work featuring Tim Henman and Prince Naseem was produced for the
UK. France, Italy and Spain have similar requirements and, in discussion
with our client, we felt these would be produced to greater effect with
local talent under our control.’
Paris will prove a vital market next year as Adidas and the two other
leading sportswear brands, Reebok and Nike, compete in the run-up to the
1998 World Cup.