Aussie expats on the move in Asia as Publicis takes minority stake in Singapore-based Arcade

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Nick Marrett.jpgArcade, the Singapore-based agency with offices in Shanghai, Tokyo and Jakarta, has sold a minority stake to Publicis.

The four founders of Arcade – Aussie expats Nick Marrett, Gary Tranter and Matt Cullen together with Mark Taylor – felt the time was right to bring a global shareholder on board to help their expansion into markets like China, India and Africa and support their existing ventures in Singapore, Indonesia and Japan.

“We have been looking for a partner who loves what we do, how we do it and wants to be a part of it – not change it,” said CEO Nick Marrett (above). “In the Publicis Groupe, we believe we have found that partner. Like us, they have a great entrepreneurial spirit and believe in the Arcade business model. They have seen it succeed as a viable, sustainable alternative to the traditional agency model, one that attracts the best storytelling talent and adapts quickly to an ever-changing world. To use an Arcade pinball analogy, it’s the same game but with a new multi-ball feature.”

Arcade currently employs more than 100 staff across the region. In addition to planned expansion China, India and Africa, they are about to launch in the Vietnamese market.