WPP – Two November Deals – Cleartag in Lebanon – Helder Marketing & Communicatie B.V. in the Netherlands

November 23, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

(1) J. Walter Thompson Company to acquire a majority stake in creative digital agency Cleartag in Lebanon
November 23, 2015

WPP’s J. Walter Thompson Company, a global marketing communications agency, is to acquire a majority stake in Cleartag, an independent full service digital marketing consultancy in Lebanon and the UAE.

Founded in 2000, Cleartag offers a broad range of digital consulting, user experience, advertising and campaign services. The agency employs around 65 people in Beirut and Dubai.

Cleartag’s unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 December 2014 were US$3.6 million with gross assets of approximately US$1.5 million as at the same date.
UK, London & Lebanon, Beirut & UAE, Dubai

(2) WPP’s Maxus to acquire Helder Marketing & Communicatie B.V. in the Netherlands
November 16, 2015

WPP’s Maxus, a media investment management agency that is part of GroupM, WPP’s global media investment management division, is to acquire Helder Marketing & Communicatie B.V., a media buying agency based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Founded in 2006, Helder is a value-added media agency with a focus on direct response and ROI evaluation services. Helder specialises in DRTV but also offers marketing consultancy, creative services and print management services to its clients in the Benelux. Helder’s revenues for the year ended 31 December 2014 were approximately €1.13 million with gross assets of approximately €1.14 million as at the same date.

From 1 January 2016 Maxus will legally merge with Helder to create Maxus + Helder.

UK, London & Netherlands, Amsterdam

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9 new WPP acquisitions: Aug 27, 2015 to November 16, 2015

November 16, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

wppAugust 27, 2015 – Webling Interactive: WPP’s wholly owned subsidiary J. Walter Thompson Australia has acquired a majority stake in Webling Interactive, an independent digital agency based in Sydney.

Webling offers an end-to-end service covering strategy, ideation, design and development across web, mobile, social, digital OOH and experiential channels. The agency has delivered milestone projects winning major awards including IABs, AIMIA and the Festival of Media.

Founded in 2004 by Deniz Nalbantoglu and Darren Clark, the agency’s clients include Acer, Amex, Coca-Cola, Coles, CommSec, Fuji Xerox, Google, Mirvac, QIC Shopping Centres, and Australian gardening supplies company, Yates.

For the year ending 30 June 2015, Webling’s revenues were A$4.4 million, with gross assets of A$1.3 million, as at the same date.

August 28, 2015 – Rapid Media Services Pty Ltd: WPP’s MediaCom, part of its global media investment management arm GroupM, has acquired a minority stake in Rapid Media Services Pty Ltd, a media communications agency in Australia with offices in Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Founded in 2001 as part of full service advertising and communications agency, Rapid Media, Rapid Media Services specialises in media planning, strategy and buying across all traditional, digital and emerging channels.

Rapid Media Services has been affiliated with MediaCom in Australia since 2001. The company will continue to operate as an independent and stand-alone business led by Managing Director Vaughan O’Connor.

September 1, 2015 – nudeJEH: WPP’s wholly owned operating company Grey Group, the global communications network, has agreed to acquire nudeJEH, an advertising and digital agency in Thailand. Following the acquisition, nudeJEH will join Grey Group Thailand and be known as GREYnJ United.

Founded in 2011 through the merger of Nude Communication and JEH United, nudeJEH provides creative, branding, strategy consultation, web design and production services. The company also owns digital agency Nine Dotz.

Combined revenues for nudeJEH and Nine Dotz for the year ending 31 December 2014 were THB 239 million with gross assets of THB 123 million, as at the same date. nudeJEH employs more than 60 people.

Key clients include Ananda Development, Bangkok Airways, Bangkok Dusit Medical Services, Bio Consumer, Tesco Lotus and Puriku.

September 10, 2015 – Ideal Group: WPP has acquired a majority stake in Ideal Group, a digital branded content creator and public relations and public affairs firm comprising Agência Ideal Comunicação Ltda. and Concept Agência de Comunicação Ltda. in Brazil.

Ideal Group collectively employs 200 people and is based in São Paulo with an office in Rio de Janeiro. It was founded in 2007.

Ideal’s clients include Facebook, GE, Nike, Monsanto, Diageo, Dell, Goodyear, Spotify, AstraZeneca, 3M, Rio2016 and Whirlpool. Ideal will merge with H+K Strategies, WPP’s wholly-owned international communications consultancy, in Brazil. The new company will be known as Ideal H+K Strategies.

ConceptPR’s clients include top Brazilian and global brands such as Mondelez, Oakley, Itaú, JBS, Ultragaz and Metrô São Paulo. Following the investment, ConceptPR will merge with Ogilvy Public Relations, WPP’s wholly-owned operating company, in Brazil. The merged entity will operate as Ogilvy PR in the market.

September 14, 2015 – Jüssi Intention Marketing Ltda.: WPP’s wholly-owned operating company Ogilvy, the global marketing communications agency, has acquired a majority stake of Jüssi Intention Marketing Ltda., an online performance, programmatic and conversion marketing agency in Brazil.

Jüssi’s clients include Allianz Global Assistance & Corporate, Amazon, Decathlon, FNAC, Google, LinkedIn and Terra. Founded in 2010, the company employs 120 people and is based in São Paulo. Jüssi will be part of the Ogilvy Group in Brazil (Ogilvy & Mather, David Agency, Nine, Etco and Foster) and will continue to operate under the Jüssi name.

September 29, 2015: WPP’s wholly owned operating company Cohn & Wolfe, a brand communications agency, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Six Degrees PR, a full-service public relations agency, and its content and integrated marketing subsidiary Alphabet Consulting.

Founded in 2009 and with offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, Six Degrees has extensive public relations, public affairs, crisis management and digital media experience. The agency also delivers content and integrated marketing campaigns through Alphabet Consulting. Clients include regional and multinational companies such as Amadeus, Cushman & Wakefield, Dalmia Bharat Group, Hughes, Ingersoll Rand and Nokia.

November 4, 2015 – Essence Digital Limited: WPP has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Essence Digital Limited, the global digital agency and the world’s largest independent buyer of digital media.

Essence blends data science, objective media and captivating experiences to build valuable connections between brands and consumers. Clients include Financial Times, Google, HP, Viber and Tesco Mobile. Essence will continue to operate as an independent brand within WPP and GroupM, WPP’s global media investment management division.

Founded in 2005 in London, with offices in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Singapore and Tokyo, Essence employs 500 people and deploys campaigns in more than 70 markets, managing media spend of over US$700 million.

November 11, 2015 – Yonder Media: WPP’s GroupM, the media investment management group, has acquired a majority stake in mobile marketing agency Yonder Media in South Africa.

Established in 2005, Yonder Media is a mobile-first digital and social media agency. Yonder Media’s proprietary technology framework supports a broad range of services covering mobile and social media strategy, media planning, buying and management and application development. Based in Johannesburg, the agency employs around 30 people.

Yonder Media’s unaudited consolidated revenues for the year ended 28 February 2015 were approximately ZAR 20 million, with gross assets at the same date of approximately ZAR 18 million.

November 16, 2015 – Helder Marketing & Communicatie B.V.: Maxus, WPP’s media investment management agency that is part of GroupM, WPP’s global media investment management division, has agreed to acquire Helder Marketing & Communicatie B.V., a media buying agency based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Founded in 2006, Helder is a value-added media agency with a focus on direct response and ROI evaluation services. Helder specialises in DRTV but also offers marketing consultancy, creative services and print management services to its clients in the Benelux. Helder’s revenues for the year ended 31 December 2014 were approximately €1.13 million with gross assets of approximately €1.14 million as at the same date.

From 1 January 2016 Maxus will legally merge with Helder to create Maxus + Helder. Current clients will continue to work with their familiar teams but will benefit from a broader base and a substantial expansion of in-house knowledge and services.

 

UK, London & Australia, Sydney & Australia, Melbourne & Thailand & Brazil, São Paulo & India, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore & South Africa, Johannesburg & The Netherlands, Amsterdam

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Axel Springer and ProSiebenSat.1 acquire shares in the American virtual reality specialist Jaunt VR

September 21, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

Axel Springer SE and ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE have each acquired a minority shareholding in Jaunt, an American start-up that specialises in the creation and distribution of virtual reality content.

Working with media companies, advertisers and artists, and using in-house developers camera and software technology, Jaunt produces high-quality virtual reality content and releases this via the Jaunt distribution platform. To date, videos are primarily receivable through the Jaunt Smartphone app using Cardboards. In future they will however also be available directly on Virtual Reality headset displays such as the “Oculus Rift”.

Following the joint Media-for-Equity shareholding in the DEAG subsidiary MyTicket and the co-investment in Klaus Hommels’ LAKESTAR II Internet fund, the participation in Jaunt is a third measure in the joint initiative by Axel Springer and ProSiebenSat.1 to promote digital growth companies.

Alongside Axel Springer and ProSiebenSat.1, The Walt Disney Company, Evolution Media Partners and China Media Capital are also taking part in the current investment round in Jaunt. Other investors include Google Ventures, Highland Capital, Redpoint Ventures and Sky, as well as prominent angel investors such as Jared Leto.

Anton Waitz, Managing Director of Axel Springer Digital Ventures Inc.: “Jaunt is an exciting new component in the portfolio of our early-stage investments. We are investing in a market, which can change media use over the next few years: Virtual Reality will provide creative pioneers in the entertainment and news industry with completely new ways of pleasing their audiences.”

Dr. Hanno Fichtner, Chief Digital Strategy Officer of ProSiebenSat.1 in San Francisco: “The investment in Jaunt is an investment in the future of entertainment for ProSiebenSat.1. Virtual reality will trigger an entertainment revolution similar to what our core media of TV did. Jaunt is perfectly positioned in this market and has raised the quality of virtual reality experiences to the next level.”

Jens Christensen, CEO and co-Founder of Jaunt: “We are excited to have Axel Springer and ProSiebenSat.1, two leading and innovative media companies, as a part of this strategic investor round. As we continue to build upon our leadership position, delivering amazing virtuality reality experiences to audiences worldwide, we are pleased to have these strong European partners on our side.”

Germany Berlin & USA, Palo Alto, CA

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WPP June acquisitions update – Poster Conseil (Paris), WANDA Digital (Turkey), Chemistry Media (New Zealand), TechEdge (Denmark), Greenhouse Group B.V (The Netherlands), SET Creative (USA)

June 30, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

WPP’s Kinetic and GroupM acquire majority stake in Poster Conseil

WPP’s wholly-owned operating companies, Kinetic and GroupM, have acquired a majority stake in Financiere Poster.

Poster Conseil manages media planning and buying for agencies and direct clients, and provides planning and measurement technologies to both agencies and vendors. It employs 25 people and is based in Paris.

Poster Conseil will continue to be led by CEO Xavier Sorato. The agency’s consolidated revenues for the year ended 31 December 2014 were EUR9.8 million, with gross assets of EUR8.5 million.

UK, London & France, Paris

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WPP’s J. Walter Thompson Company acquires minority stake in WANDA Digital in Turkey

WPP’s J. Walter Thompson Company has acquired a minority stake in WANDA Digital, one of the leading independent digital agencies in Turkey.

Founded in 2006 and employing 80 people in Istanbul, WANDA’s clients include Turkcell, L’Oreal, Nestle and Unilever.

WANDA offers a range of services including campaigns, social media, platform development and games and apps.

Unaudited net sales for the year ended 31 December 2014 were approximately US$ 3.4 million, with gross assets at the same date of approximately US$ 2.3 million.

Following the transaction, WANDA and J. Walter Thompson’s local office, Manajans J Walter Thompson Turkey, will operate independently.

UK, London & Turkey, Istanbul

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WPP’ GroupM acquires Chemistry Media in New Zealand

WPP’s wholly owned operating company GroupM has acquired Chemistry Media Ltd., a leading media agency based in New Zealand.

Chemistry Media is a media planning and buying agency with operations in Auckland and Wellington. Key clients include Bank of New Zealand, Fonterra, Nestlé, and Restaurant Brands.

Since 2010, Chemistry has been affiliated with the MediaCom network, and currently trades under the name MediaCom. Following the acquisition, Chemistry will continue to trade as MediaCom.

UK, London & New Zealand, Auckland

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WPP increases its stake in TAM analysis software company, TechEdge in Denmark

WPP has increased its stake from 20% to 49% in TechEdge, a supplier of software that enables the analysis TV audience measurement (TAM) data.

TechEdge licenses a range of software products to broadcasters and media companies, enabling users to analyse, interpret and action respondent level TAM data. For example, broadcasters can review TV audience patterns, whilst media companies use TechEdge’s products to optimise advertising allocation by channel and time of day.

TechEdge was founded in 2000 by Andreas Velter (CEO) and Henrik Sahlholt (CTO). MEC, (part of GroupM, WPP’s Data Investment Management division) invested in the company in 2001.

Unaudited net sales for the year ended 31 December 2014 were approximately US$ 13.6 million, with gross assets at the same date of approximately US$ 6.3 million.

UK, London & Denmark, Copenhagen

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WPP’s GroupM acquires Greenhouse Group B.V in The Netherlands

WPP’s holy owned operating company GroupM has acquired Greenhouse Group in The Netherlands.

Greenhouse Group provides digital media and marketing services through its four operating companies: Blue Mango Interactive and Fresh Fruit Digital (online marketing agencies), We Are Blossom (social media), and Source Republic (SEO and content marketing).

Greenhouse Group was founded in 2007 and employs more than 150 people. Unaudited revenue for the year ended 31 December 2014 was EUR 10.1 million, with gross assets of EUR 14.1 million as at the same date.

Greenhouse Group will operate as a stand-alone business within GroupM and will continue to be led by CEO Marion Koopman and CFO Frank Sanders.

UK, London & The Netherlands, Eindhoven

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WPP acquires majority stake in SET Creative in the US

WPP has acquired a majority stake in SET Management, LLC (SET Creative). US-based SET engages consumers with brands through physical experiences in retail stores, pop-up stores, trade shows and live events. SET Creative continues that engagement digitally via apps, content creation and social media.

SET Creative’s revenues for the year ended 31 December 2014 were approximately US$38 million with gross assets of approximately US$18 million at the same date. Clients include Arc’teryx, BMW, Google Glass, Jordan, Nike, Red Bull and Uniqlo. Founded in 2009, SET Creative is headquartered in Portland, Oregon, with offices in New York and Los Angeles. The agency recently acquired a UK operation, called Flourish, to be renamed SET Live, concentrating on live events, exhibitions and environments. In total, SET Creative employs around 120 people.

SET’s management, led by founder Sabina Teshler, will remain in place, reporting in to Simon Bolton, co-leader of WPP’s branding & identity division (B to D group), who will oversee SET as part of a newly-formed collective focusing on all elements of brand experience.

Bolton commented: “SET creates world class physical and digital brand experiences, making it an ideal partner to Brand Union and FITCH. The three agencies provide a complementary set of services, from brand strategy, to retail, design and events, collectively creating a roadmap for agile omni-channel brands.”

UK, London & USA, Portland, OR

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WPP’s GroupM acquires majority stake in directComm Marketing Group in Turkey

WPP wholly owned operating company GroupM, has acquired a majority stake in directComm Marketing Group, a leading provider of integrated direct marketing services in Turkey.

directComm specialises in digital marketing, customer relationship management, events and social media. Clients include Türk Telekom, Siemens and Sony Mobile. Founded in 2000 and based in Istanbul, directComm employs around 70 people.

Unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 December 2014 were approximately US$ 6.5 million, with gross assets at the same date of approximately US$ 3.2 million.

UK, London & Turkey, Istanbul

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WPP’s Kantar Media invests in data analytics firm BIScience

WPP’s wholly owned operating company Kantar Media has invested in BIScience (2009) Ltd., a data analytics firm that specialises in platforms for cross-channel and multi-country digital media monitoring, planning and optimisation.

BIScience’s global coverage spans over 60 geographies, with competitive cross-channel intelligence and analytics for display, mobile, video, and programmatic media covering more than 500,000 publishers worldwide. Clients include Conduit, Digilant, Funbox, Matomy and the Media Initiatives Group. Founded in 2009, BIScience employs over 35 people and is based in Tel Aviv with an office in New York.

UK, London & Israel. Tel Aviv

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Market Track acquires New Momentum

April 20, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

MarketTrackMarket Track, a provider of advertising, promotional, and pricing intelligence solutions in North America, has acquired New Momentum (NewMo). The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

newmoBased in the San Francisco Bay area, NewMo provides online brand protection and eCommerce price monitoring services to many of the world’s most respected brands.

Commenting on the NewMo acquisition, Paul Salay, Market Track’s President, said, “NewMo has developed a proven expertise in helping companies reduce online fraud and protect their valuable brand equity. The unique combination of the two companies’ technology platforms coupled with NewMo’s unique, data-driven solutions will enable us to offer enhanced services to our clients through industry-leading innovation and thought leadership in this ever-changing digital landscape. The NewMo acquisition is just one of many investments Market Track is making to support our clients’ evolving needs across pricing optimization, competitive intelligence and assortment planning.”

USA, Chicago, IL & San Francisco Bay, CA

 

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WPP acquires Medialets in the US

April 15, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

wppWPP announces has acquired Medialets Inc., creator of technology that helps marketers manage and measure the complete return on investment of mobile ad campaigns.   The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Medialets’ clients include American Express, HBO, Johnson & Johnson and SKY Sports television. The company employs almost 50 people and is based in New York with sales operations in Los Angeles, Chicago and London. Medialets was founded in 2008.

UK, London & USA, New York, NY

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Merkle acquires digital analytics consultancy Pointmarc

April 7, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

MerkleMerkle, a performance marketing agency, has acquired Pointmarc, a digital analytics consultancy headquartered in Seattle, WA. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

pointmarcMerkle’s interest in acquiring Pointmarc was based on its expertise in highly specialised, sophisticated data architecture and engineering, as well as the immediate scale that it will bring to the agency’s existing site analytics and channel optimisation capabilities.

Founded in 2006, Pointmarc has achieved double-digit percentage growth every year since its inception. Clients include Microsoft, Williams-Sonoma, and T-Mobile. The Pointmarc team of more than 100 digital analytics professionals will all join Merkle.

“From a cultural perspective, Pointmarc’s leadership and management philosophy are very similar to Merkle’s own. We were immediately attracted to their high-growth, entrepreneurial spirit and their focus on building long-standing client relationships with top-tier brands,” said David Williams, Merkle chairman and CEO. “With Merkle’s focus on performance marketing and the expanding mid-funnel, Pointmarc’s capabilities in digital data architecture, marketing platform implementation, and site optimization across key industries will perfectly complement the value we bring to our clients’ channel marketing efforts.”

USA, Columbia, MD & Seattle, WA

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WPP’s Xaxis acquires mobile advertising and e-commerce company ActionX

March 30, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

wppWPP‘s wholly-owned operating company Xaxis, a programmatic media and technology platform, is to acquire Action Exchange, Inc., a mobile performance-based marketing business with an e-commerce orientation in the United States.  The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

ActionX’s proprietary mobile-first data, audience targeting and dynamic creative advertising technology allows its clients to engage customers on multiple screens on the path to the point of purchase. Clients include e-commerce and media subscription companies such as Forbes, JackThreads and Hearst. ActionX employs 25 people and is based in New York.

UK, London & USA, New York, NY

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WPP to acquire minority stake in FlowNetwork in Sweden

March 10, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

wppWPP is to acquire a minority stake in FlowNetwork, a Swedish broadcast content provider. FlowNetwork delivers its programmes via the internet and supplies Sweden’s regional newspapers with technology and content.

Newspapers served by FlowNetwork include Norrköpings tidningar, Folkbladet, Motala Vadstena Tidning, Norrländska Socialdemokraten, Östgöta Correspondenten, Norrbottens-Kuriren, Västervik-Tidningen, Hela Gotland and UNT. FlowNetwork is co-producer of the new Swedish drama series “Gåsmamman”.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

UK, London & Sweden

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Haymarket Media acquires Group DCA

March 3, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

haymarket_groupHaymarket Media, Inc. has acquired Group DCA—an interactive digital communications agency specialising in multi-channel engagement of health care providers—from PDI Inc. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Group DCA staff will relocate from Parsippany, NJ to Haymarket’s Paramus, NJ office.

The assets acquired include Group DCA’s proprietary DIAGRAM (DIAlog, GRAphics and Motion) Platform and The Medical Bag, a general interest website for health care professionals (www.themedicalbag.com), along with the staff to support the business. The website will continue to run as an independent platform that also supports e-detailing programs.

Ron Scalici, the first Group DCA employee to join the organization in 1999 and most recently Chief Innovations Officer at PDI, will oversee Group DCA’s day-to-day operations. Group DCA will operate within Haymarket’s custom medical communications division, PRI Healthcare Solutions (PRI HCS). Group DCA will retain its name, and its operations and services will remain intact.

“Adding Group DCA to our already robust digital offerings will position us strategically for continued leadership in health care communication,” said Haymarket CEO Lee Maniscalco. “Group DCA’s products naturally complement our own digital products and services, and our cultures of high-energy creativity and innovation are highly compatible and mutually reinforcing. It is a perfect strategic and cultural fit, one that will help to accelerate our growth.”

USA, New York

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