左: Roger Strack 右: Marc Finsterlin

2015年9月15日，歐洲最大的獨立廣告公司 Serviceplan Group 以大股東身份入股數字代理商水瓶座亞洲 (Aquarius Asia)。從而擴大了其在中國的版圖。Serviceplan 現在除了北京，還有第二個辦公室在上海。

Roger Strack作為總經理將會負責兩個地點。在北京，Jan-Philipp Jahn, 將會出任Serviceplan 中東（迪拜）的總經理。Kathrin Guethoff 還是繼續負責創意部門。除了中國大陸，Serviceplan 還會負責香港的辦公室。在上海和香港，水瓶座亞洲的創始人和總經理 Marc Finsterlin 將會出任他在 Serviceplan 里的新角色，負責上海和香港兩個辦公室。

此次收購意味著 Serviceplan 的中國陣營又擴增了80位成員。這一2013年中期在北京成立的企業從最初的2人發展為如今的200人(收購后)。

Serviceplan 在北京成立之初以寶馬中國業務為目標，因為其是寶馬全球 Lead agency 之一。“幸運的是，我們后來的確贏得了寶馬中國業務”，Strack補充說。“但是一直以來我們都清楚一定要在上海開設第二個辦公室，因為我們的大多數客戶以及潛在客戶都在上海”。

水瓶座一直的定位是客戶的“數字全案服務合作伙伴”，其客戶包括博世、Hugo Boss (香港)、Alexander McQueen、Balenciaga (香港)、Fendi、Lorenz Snackworld、Victorinox (香港)、清華大學以及Lam Soon (香港)。以上海和香港為基地，在策略、概念、創意、技術及媒介上為客戶提供全方位的服務。

而Serviceplan的原有客戶包括BMW 寶馬、Shell 殼牌、Paulaner 柏龍、WMF 福騰寶、Metro 麥德龍、Continental 大陸以及多個中國本土品牌。

“這是我們自2006年推行的國際化戰略中的一個重要里程碑”，Serviceplan Group (總部位于德國)首席執行官 Florian Haller 表示說。“我們希望以創意、數字和媒體業務為核心，在中國這兩個城市都打造所謂的‘溝通中心’”。

Strack表示：“文化合得來，一切很順利，因此收購很快就完成了”。

Finsterlin補充說，此舉顯然會加強Serviceplan作為獨立代理商網絡在中國市場與國際大型創意集團競爭的實力。Serviceplan 的亞洲版圖還包括新德里及首爾。

Serviceplan opens second office in China

As of September 15, 2015 the Serviceplan Group, Europe`s largest independent agency, broadens its presence in China by acquiring the majority of the high profile digital agency, Aquarius Asia. Serviceplan has now, in addition to Beijing, a second office in Shanghai. Roger Strack is responsible for both locations as managing director with immediate effect. In Beijing, Jan-Philipp Jahn, formerly general manager at Serviceplan Middle East (Dubai), takes over the management. Kathrin Guethoff remains responsible for creation. In addition to Mainland China, Serviceplan is also represented with an office in Hong Kong. In Shanghai and Hong Kong, Marc Finsterlin, founder and managing director of Aquarius Asia, takes over his new role within the Serviceplan Group, and is responsible for both offices.  Thus Serviceplan China has grown from two to 200 people since launching its business in China two years ago.

Munich/Shanghai, September 17th 2015 — A Chinese success story. Within two years Serviceplan has grown its employee count from two, at its start in mid-2013, to around 200 employees now. On September 15th 2015, Serviceplan opened its second office in Shanghai, China with around 75 employees as well as an office in Hong Kong following the take-over of the majority share of digital agency Aquarius Asia. The office in Beijing continues to be led by Kathrin Guethoff (creation) and from now on, together with Jan-Philipp Jahn (General Manager), who is new on board in China. Roger Strack moves to the Shanghai office and is responsible, with immediate effect, as Managing Director for all locations in China. Marc Finsterlin, founder and former CEO of the digital agency Aquarius Asia, is now Managing Partner of Serviceplan Shanghai and Hong Kong. At all Chinese locations, Serviceplan offers full service 360-degree communication.

Aquarius Asia was founded in Hong Kong by Marc Finsterlin together with Aquarius Munich (Germany) in 2009. In 2011 Aquarius extended to Mainland China by opening a Shanghai office as a significant second and important future mainstay in Greater China. Aquarius has positioned itself as a digital full-service partner and has been working for Bosch and Hugo Boss since 2009 in Greater China as well as the whole Asia Pacific region. Over the past six years, Aquarius has been able to win more international (e.g. Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Fendi, Lorenz Snackworld, Victorinox) and national clients (Tsinghua University Beijing and Lam Soon) and currently has a team of 80 employees in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Aquarius is a full-service agency with a strong focus on digital; its service portfolio reaches from strategy, concept, creation, and its own technical development, to media planning and booking. From its two offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong, Aquarius looks after multinationals in Greater China and more than ten countries in the Asia Pacific region.

In Beijing, Serviceplan China's clients include BMW (lead agency), Shell, Paulaner and various local clients. In Shanghai, the new merged team's clients include WMF, Metro and Continental in addition to Aquarius clients Bosch, Fendi, Mammut, Alexander McQueen, Lorenz Snack World and Richard Wolf. In Hong Kong, the local team takes care of regional customers Balenciaga, Hugo Boss, Lam Soon and Victorinox.

Florian Haller, CEO of the Serviceplan Group: "In two years, we have grown from 2 to 200 employees in China. It is a great success and an important milestone in our internationalization strategy. We are planning to build our Houses of Communication at both locations in Mainland China, with the core disciplines creation, digital and media. Hong Kong is also for us, as it is still for many international companies, an important strategic location in Asia".

Markus Noder, Managing Director Serviceplan International adds: “Shanghai is an extremely important location for us in China. Therefore, I am very pleased to be working with Aquarius Asia, to jointly the success story of the Serviceplan Group in Asia”.

Marc Finsterlin, Managing Partner Serviceplan Shanghai and Hong Kong, is looking forward to the merger: "Through the merger with the Serviceplan Group, we have formed a 100 percent integrated full-service agency in China that meets the needs of Chinese consumers. Together with Serviceplan, we are strengthening our position in the market, and have access to an international network of tools, experts and disciplines, thus strengthening our competitiveness, especially against international creative agencies and agency networks".

Internationalization of the Serviceplan Group

In 2006, Serviceplan Group CEO Florian Haller began to implement his vision of Serviceplan becoming the first global agency group with its origins in Germany. Since 2011, Markus Noder has been responsible as managing director of Serviceplan International for the internationalization of the agency group. In addition to its German locations in Munich, Hamburg, Bremen, Berlin, Frankfurt and Cologne, Serviceplan has established Houses of Communication in Vienna, Zurich, Paris, Milan, Brussels and Dubai. It also has branches in Moscow, Delhi, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul. The aim is to develop Houses of Communication at all its sites, combining all communication disciplines under one roof.

Due to its close cooperation with other partner agencies, the Serviceplan Group is also present in all major global business centres. Through a close relationship with the Creston agency group, the Serviceplan Group is also represented in the UK (London) and the United States (New York). Latin America is covered by the partner Ariadna with locations in Buenos Aires, Bogota, Lima, Mexico City, Miami, Panama City, Santiago de Chile and Sao Paulo, and Publips in Spain has offices in Madrid and Valencia.