Edelman has entered Vietnam and Switzerland, via agency acquisitions in each of the markets.
NEW YORK--Edelman has entered Vietnam and Switzerland, via agency acquisitions in each of the markets.
In Vietnam, the firm has bought leading independent AVC Communications, which will be renamed AVC Edelman. The deal makes Edelman one of the first international PR firms to enter a rapidly growing market; Ogilvy PR previously acquired Vietnam’s T&A Communications in 2009.
Thanks to steady GDP growth and increasing foreign investment, Vietnam’s PR industry has tripled in size over the past five years, reflecting the market’s evolution beyond above-the-line advertising. AVC will form part of Edelman’s Southeast Asia sub-region, reporting into Bob Grove, managing director of Edelman Southeast Asia.
In Switzerland, meanwhile, Edelman has acquired Zurich-based K Comms, whose CEO Alexander Fink takes charge of Edelman Schweiz. Fink also becomes corporate practice lead for the DACH region, and deputy chair of the EMEA corporate practice.
In the French-speaking region of Switzerland, the newly-created agency will continue its co-operation with FTC Communication, based in Lausanne.
Edelman EMEA CEO Robert Phillips said that a Swiss presence marks an important strategic step for the firm, given the number of corporate headquarters located in the country, for such clients as Ebay, HP, Novartis and Roche.
Edelman has made several agency acquisitions in recent years, including Significa in Brazil, US firm Vollmer, and digital agencies in Europe.