Agency.com Opens In Rome

Continuing its overseas expansion, Omnicom's Agency.com has opened an office in Rome. The shop now boasts 10 offices globally, up from six last year.

"The past 12 months have been about European expansion," said David Eastman, Worldwide CEO of Agency.com. Last August, Agency.com opened its first Italian satellite, in Milan. Other locations in which the shop has recently opened include Brussels and Dublin. Eastman added that Agency.com plans to set up in more locales in Europe and Asia.

Franco Ricchiuti, amministratore delegate--or managing director--of Agency.com's Milan office will add Agency.com Rome to his list of responsibilities, overseeing both Italian outposts. The shop does work in Italy for clients including Nissan and Sony PlayStation.

"Rome is a significant marketplace for our industry, and it is important that Agency.com creates a presence there as part of the TBWAItalia group," said Ricchiuti.

Agency.com's global expansion has mirrored that of its rivals over the past year. Seeking to expand through partnerships and acquisitions, aQuantive's Avenue A/Razorfish last year acquired NDA in the U.K., Amnesia in Australia, Neue Digital in Germany, and the Hong Kong-based interactive agency e-Crusade.

Also, earlier this month, Avenue A secured a 19.4% stake in Dentsu's digital agency Digital Palette. Dentsu, easily the largest ad agency in Japan, has also agreed to change Digital Palette's name to Dentsu Avenue A/Razorfish.

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