The agency was founded in 1970 in Paris France by William G. Tagros, Claude Bonnage, Uli Wiesendanger, and Paolo Ajroldi. The first letter of each founder's last name became the company name. They were purchased by the Omnicom Group in 1993 and today their headquarters are in NYC with other offices in Los Angeles and around the world.
The website describes the company thus:
TBWA creates and manages brand behavior in the modern world through Disruptive Ideas brought to life across the Media Arts landscape. Our focus is not only to be the best advertising agency network but to be one of the most creative companies in the world. This 21st century goal is ambitious and it has proven to be a catalyst in uniting over 11,000 people, operating in 274 agencies, in 100 different countries and across 22 specialty disciplines including Design, Digital, Retail Activation and Theatre, Sports Sponsorship, CRM, CSR and Cause Related Marketing, Custom Publishing, Mobile Utility, Event Marketing and Brand Amplification to name just a few.
And with the world, and our network, growing even more complex, it is important to have common ground. Disruption is always our starting point for any brand, global or local. Not only does it drive the strategic development of our client solutions by challenging and overturning the conventions of any marketplace, it also creates a common language and understanding across our network for the brands we lead. Defining the Disruptive Strategy, however, is only half of the equation. The other half is to make sure that we craft an idea brief from the right perspectives and then engage the right disciplines so that we make full use of the Media Arts landscape.
Every agency in the TBWA network is fluent in Disruption and Media Arts. It means that we are all constantly evaluating and documenting the shifts in the media landscape and its impact on audience behavior. And it is this commitment that allows us to serve global brands differently than our competition. TBWA is ranked as a Top-Ten worldwide advertising agency and was recognized by Advertising Age in 2010 as the "Best International Network of the Decade." Fast Company magazine placed TBWA 24th on its 2009 list of “The Worldʼs 50 Most Innovative Companies" and as an Innovation All-Star in 2010. TBWA is part of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com), a leading global marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicomʼs branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, digital and interactive marketing, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over.TBWA currently has 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.
The Gunn Report, established in 1999, combines the winnersʼ lists from all of the major advertising award contests in the world and has consistently ranked TBWA as the third most awarded network over the last 10 years
TBWA has been awarded the most Grand EFFIES of any agency network. The Effie Awards honor the most significant achievement in marketing communications: ideas that work. Of the 38 given since 1980, TBWA has won 12 times
