INDEPENDENT AGENCY NETWORKS PARTNER TO CREATE UNPRECEDENTED  ALLIANCETAAN and SJN join forces to give clients global access, localized expertise
BOSTON/CHICAGO (February 21, 2010) – The Transworld Advertising Agency Network (TAAN) and the San Jose Network (SJN) have announced a global alliance that will share resources and expertise through the cooperative operations of both networks. TAAN is a leading global independent agency network, and SJN is the largest MARCOM group servicing cultural convergent markets in the U.S. and Latin America. The alignment will create a significant footprint of expertise that spans every continent, with a combined network of 69 agencies in over 65 countries and 87 markets. The networks total $1.1 billion dollars in combined global billings.Executives from both networks met in Mexico this past week to formalize the alliance and develop plans for leveraging their combined footprint to bring even greater opportunities to their members and clients. The global alliance of TAAN and SJN will allow member agencies and their respective clients to meet the challenges of an increasingly global marketplace with strategic and actionable solutions. “This alliance is truly a game-changer for today’s brands and will provide expertise, local knowledge and insight into economically important regions and cultures,” stated Peter Gerritsen, president of TAAN.  “Some of our members were looking to tap into the growing U.S. Hispanic and Latin American markets, and SJN delivered the best model to achieve that objective. Joining forces enhances all of our members’ expanded reach and capabilities,” he added.All members of both networks are independent agencies, highly regarded in their respective markets. Clients who engage the networks for marketing programs in multiple markets can centralize all activity through TAAN and SJN Members instead of having to work with multiple agency partners around the world. The member agencies offer a unique agility by being specialists in their local markets, without the overhead costs and corporate bureaucracy of traditional multinational agency models.  “While the world has become smaller, media fragmentation and consumer sophistication have grown exponentially.  This alliance allows each of us to converge our diverse marketing and channel expertise, from traditional advertising, to the full spectrum of digital and public relations, to better serve our clients in an incredibly complex marketplace,"  said George L. San Jose, president & COO of SJN. Speaking to the uniqueness of this new alliance, San Jose added, “As Peter and I first started talking, we quickly realized that we shared the same objective —  to provide our Clients with the kind of powerhouse talent, spirit, innovation and agility that you can only find in best-in-class independent agencies."TAAN (Transworld Advertising Agency Network) is one of the world’s oldest, largest and most successful networks of carefully selected independent advertising agencies. Today there are TAAN member agencies operating on every continent, in more than 47 markets worldwide. The TAAN network is built with the concept that shared knowledge and intelligence creates powerful insight in addressing the goals of agencies and marketers throughout the world.The San Jose Network (SJN) is the largest marketing communications group servicing multicultural convergent markets in the U.S. and Latin America. Made up of best-in-class, independently owned agencies, SJN offers clients access to local expertise in 18 countries via a centralized management approach. For more information visit www.thesanjosenetwork.com.  ###Media contacts:Peter Gerritsen, TAAN President. [email protected]  1-617-795-1706