Interview by Anna Gamboa
Merlee Jayme talks to adobo magazine about the recent incarnation of Dentsu JaymeSyfu—dubbed DeJaFu by one industry wit.
Now an 84-person-strong agency, Dentsu JaymeSyfu’s clients include Smart Telecommunications, ADP Pharmaceuticals, Cignal, Tanduay Rhum, Toyota, Uniqlo, Ajinomoto, Belo Essentials, Pascual Laboratories, Vistaland and others. Welcoming 2016 with two major pitch wins: 13 brands from Unilever’s homecare and personal care division, and Jollibee’s digital business—the year is off to a promising start.
Chairmom and CEO Merlee Jayme will represent the Philippines in the Dentsu Creative council for Asia Pacific. Alex Syfu is Managing Partner and Chief Relations Officer, while Ronald Barreiro is Managing Partner & General Manager. Joining the management team are Titus Arce ,Masaaki Kobayashi, and Carlo Ople, Managing Director for Dentsu Di9it.
Jayme addressed some questions from the word on creativity, and calls the acquisition of JaymeSyfu by Dentsu as a homecoming of sorts—after all, her grandmother is Japanese, with an honorable lineage traced back to a samurai clan.
On their new tag:
Russel Molina coined our industry nickname “DeJaFu”. In many ways, it does feel familiar -as if we’ve experienced starting an agency with the same hunger, excitement and anticipation in the past and it’s happening again!
What do she expects out of the partnership with Dentsu in terms of flexibility/creativity/accountability:
I was once asked if “letting go” (of my previous agency) was tough. For me, it wasn’t at all about “letting go”. This partnership is all about entering a brand new world.
It’s an exciting world of endless possibilities. Our very own brand of creativity will become stronger as we discover what drives Dentsu: the positive change for people and society plus good innovation.
How DeJaFu hopes to distinguish itself from its fellow Dentsu agencies:
Dentsu and Jayme Syfu is the merging of two strong worlds:
The out-of-this-world high technology merges with our world-class resourceful innovation.
Two inspiring cultures come together:
The zen meets the fearless
Dentsu Jayme Syfu’s strength is its equity of being fearless. Fearless in making changes in everyday process, client servicing and creating ideas. We will continue to drive the “spirit of being small” despite a bigger headcount. A strong culture of accountability will be instilled–with less layers, productive and empowered people, that will result to a fast turnaround of work.
How will Dentsu Di9it and Dentsu DNA operate? Who will be assigned to the new arm?
Dentsu Digit is our 3 year old, award winning Digital division headed by Carlo Ople. Dentsu DNA is our new division to handle Design, and Digital Activations. We are still in the process of finalizing assignments. I am very excited however, to showcase these teams’ creative ideas for our recent big pitch wins: Jollibee and Unilever brands both homecare and personal care.
Will she still retain the title of “Chairmom”? (If yes, why is this important.)
My title today is Dentsu JaymeSyfu Chairmom & CEO. The Chairmom position is close to my heart. It reminds me of who I am and how I should be to my agency:
A Chairmom loves her employees like family.
She nurtures talent and skills and gives them advice to improve themselves.
Strict at times, and loves to instill discipline, she teaches the value of respect, integrity, and humility.Her leadership is fun, fearless and super efficient.
She dreams big and she wants everyone to dream with her.And when she wins, everyone is a winner.
