Dentsu axes Russia; Omnicom 'still assessing' situation

Dentsu International has joined the growing exodus of marketing services companies and global brands from Russia in protest at the invasion of Ukraine, with plans to transfer ownership of its joint venture to its long-term local partner.

Dentsu Russia has been in business for 25 years and has more than 1,500 staff.

Japanese-owned agency group said: “We are in the process of transferring ownership of our joint venture in Russia to this local partner who will operate independently moving forward.

“More than 90% of the business in Russia services local clients. We have not made this decision lightly as we have 1,500 people in Russia who have supported Dentsu and our clients over many years. We stand unequivocally with Ukraine and the global community who are calling for the restoration of peace.”

Dentsu also has 500 affiliate employees in Ukraine. The company said: “Our Dentsu teams around the world, and particularly in EMEA, have stepped up to provide humanitarian support to those impacted in Ukraine including transporting team members and their families from Ukraine borders to Poland, securing job transfers and secondments to other areas in our network and providing legal and housing support.”

Dentsu’s exit follows Publicis Groupe, WPP, IPG and Accenture which have all pulled the plug on Russian operations. Havas has an affiliate relationship but no staff in Russia.

However, Omnicom – whose Russian agencies include Rapp Moscow, TBWA, DDB and OMD – has yet to make a decision about its operations in the country.

A spokesman said: “We have 2,000 colleagues in Russia and are continually assessing the most appropriate course of action that takes into account the gravity of the situation and the welfare of our people.”