FCB South Africa Restructures as FCB Africa

FCB has announced changes to the way in which it structures its business on the African continent.

FCB South Africa, currently the head office for the network in Africa, has been renamed FCB Africa. This change signifies the network’s intent to bring the FCB Africa network close together.

It’s not merely a symbolic change; the agencies affiliated to the network have also signed new contracts with IPG that ensure their status is on a par with other agencies in FCB Worldwide’s global network.

In addition, the new contracts link the agencies more closely with the head office and as a result, all agencies in the network have added the prefix ‘FCB’ to their names.

Further, the co-ordinating agency in the network will be renamed FCB Connect, with Philip van Rensburg continuing as managing director. Van Rensburg also has the support of the FCB group exco through Eric D’Oliveira, managing director of FCB Cape Town, whose exco portfolio includes FCB Connect. Brett Morris will continue to hold CEO responsibility for all FCB agencies on the continent.

At the press conference in Johannesburg last Thursday November 19, Morris stressed that the change is far more than ‘just a rebrand’.

He said it represented an important philosophical paradigm shift which puts all agencies on the continent on an equal footing with their global counterparts, and heralds a more symbiotic relationship between the African agencies.

“As an African, I am thrilled that we have unified our business in Africa in this way,” he said. “Requiring all agencies within the network to commit to the same contract not only highlights the importance of individual markets within Africa, putting them on a par with their international counterparts underlines how valuable Africa is as a market for the global FCB business.

“Strengthening the links between Africa and the FCB Worldwide in this way also commits FCB Worldwide to enhanced levels of support for agencies and their clients on the continent, and will spark a new era of collaboration between these agencies and others on other continents.

“On a personal level, I cannot tell you how excited I am by the new challenges I see facing the network, and I am honoured to lead FCB Africa, engage with its teams and clients, and work hand-in-hand to positively influence the future for our mutual benefit,” he said.

“I see us exchanging ideas more regularly, sharing knowledge and best practice on a daily basis, exploring options and building new teams. At the end of the day, this is the communications industry, and those that work in it want to be challenged – creatively and strategically. This is set to take us and our clients to a whole new level.”