Brodeur Expands Agency Network to Vietnam

January 23, 2007 | 9:00 am

BOSTON, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Brodeur, a leading strategic communications agency within the Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMC), today announced the appointment of Vietgate Communications as its exclusive partner in Vietnam. The partnership extends Brodeur's reach to 14 Asian countries and provides clients with new access to one of Southeast Asia's fastest growing markets.

Vietnam has benefited from increased integration into the global economy and just last week it became the 150th member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The country has seen huge growth and international investment as more and more companies move in to take advantage of Vietnam's skilled labor force coupled with inexpensive manufacturing capabilities and a highly educated and literate population.

Rick Allen, President of Asia Pacific for Brodeur, commented on the timing of the partnership: "As Vietnam continues on its growth trajectory, we are seeing an increased requirement for local PR and marketing communications support from both our existing clients and new prospects around the world. We wanted to formalize a partnership with a team of local market experts that could augment Brodeur's strategic brand marketing and PR services."

Vietgate Communications is the leading independent PR agency in Vietnam and has offices in Hanoi and Ho Chin Minh City. Founded just two years ago by Managing Director Hung Nguyen Duc (a former British Petroleum Communications and External Affairs Director) and Doan Quoc Tam (the former Media and Public Affairs Director for Ford Vietnam Ltd.,), the agency already boasts an impressive client roster of global brands from across the technology, aviation, healthcare, finance and FMCG sectors.

Brodeur CEO, Andrea Coville, says that Vietgate's intensive local knowledge of media and politics contributed to Brodeur's partnership decision.

"Brodeur has a history of building successful relationships with local market leaders who bring unparalleled insights of a market to international companies. Vietgate's extensive corporate and brand marketing knowledge will greatly contribute to Brodeur's ability to manage diverse projects and issues for clients throughout the region."

Brodeur has branded offices in Hong Kong, Korea and India and affiliate partners in Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and The Philippines. The Brodeur|Pleon worldwide network has a presence throughout the United States, Asia Pacific and Latin America.

"We are delighted to align our strengths with a network that has such a well-respected presence in the region and a worldwide reputation for client service excellence. We are looking forward to providing PR services to clients of Brodeur|Pleon and its affiliates that have operations in Vietnam," said Vietgate's Hung Nguyen Duc.

Founded in 1985, Brodeur (www.brodeur.com) is a leading strategic communications group with offices and partners around the world. Brodeur specializes in public relations, marketing and corporate communications in sectors such as technology, finance, health care and consumer. Brodeur is a recent PR Week Agency of the Year, part of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC), and is headquartered in Boston, Mass.