FOR BETTER FOR WORSE?(Brief Article)

Paul O'Kane speaks to the latest ad agencies in-Dublin to get hitched to the large networks

Does tying the knot with a big network mean tying your own agency in knots? Not necessarily, according to Eddie O'Mahony, the chairman and managing director of Owens DDB. O'Mahony believes that "the day of beating the drum of being totally Irish-owned is over", following his agency's partnership with DDB.

Many Dublin-based agencies now have a connection with one of the majors and O'Mahony believes that hooking up with an international player makes sense. "Things have moved so fast that you could be out in the wilderness by doing that [staying on your own], particularly on the media side," he says. "Every company will eventually be aligned to someone."

Owens DDB, whose clients include Volkswagen, McDonald's, Esso, Carlsberg and the Irish mobile phone operator Digifone, formed an initial affiliation with DDB in 1988. What's more, four years ago, the agency formerly known as Peter Owens struck a more formal association with DDB. Following a management buyout at the Irish company two years ago, the agency became Owens DDB, although its nine senior executives still retain 100 per cent ownership of the business.

O'Mahony said the decision to take the DDB name even …