SAN FRANCISCO — Hotwire and the Hoffman Agency have struck a deal to partner in Asia, boosting Hotwire’s ability to serve clients across the region.

Under the agreement, Hotwire will collaborate exclusively with Hoffman’s offices in Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Indonesia. Before the partnership, Hotwire — which has 11 offices across North America, Europe and Australia — did business in Asia by tapping independent affiliate agencies on an as-needed basis.

The partnership with the Hoffman Agency allows for greater collaboration and alignment, said Hotwire Group CEO Barbara Bates.

“These things only work when there are shared values and you can connect on a people-to-people perspective,” said Bates, who has known Lou Hoffman, founder and CEO of his eponymous agency, for more than 20 years. “There is just a very simpatico feeling,” she said.

Hoffman said there are benefits for his agency, too, including the opportunity to serve a larger base of clients while retaining the flexibility and nimbleness of being a mid-sized agency.  

"We will continue to compete in markets like the US and Europe,” Hoffman said. “But there is no reason we can’t collaborate in Asia in a way that benefits both of us.”