InMobi acquires Overlay Media

January 9, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

inmobiIndependent mobile advertising network InMobi has acquired Overlay Media. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Overlay Media is a developer of mobile data analytics based technologies. The company’s flagship product, the Context Engine, enables intelligent on-device behaviour, wiser use of battery power and increased personalisation.

Naveen Tewari, Founder and CEO at InMobi said, “We are excited to add amazing talent to InMobi. This overlaylogoacquisition, along with Metaflow Solutions and MMTG Labs, will help us to continue to be at the forefront of delivering highly engaging content to consumers globally.”

The Overlay Media team will be based from the InMobi London EMEA HQ.

Singapore & UK, London

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Adobe acquires creative social media platform Behance

January 3, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

adobeAdobe Systems Incorporated has acquired privately held Behance, an online social media platform that enables creatives to showcase and share their work.

According to TechCrunch, Adobe paid slightly more than $150 million in cash and stock, with certain growth goals to attain over multiple years.

“When we launched Creative Cloud earlier this year, we committed that we would give members new value on an ongoing basis.  Last week, we launched new training features, file synchronization and sharing capabilities, digital publishing services and significant updates to a number of our tools, including Photoshop,” said David Wadhwani, senior vice president and general manager, Adobe. “Behance will play a key role in Adobe’s efforts to serve the creative world in the years to come and will accelerate our efforts to enable a more open and collaborative creative behancecommunity.”

In the last 30 days, portfolios on Behance-powered sites have received over 90 million views and today there are over 3 million projects hosted on the Behance platform.

As well as providing a showcase for creative work across industries and disciplines, Behance also powers the portfolio display for thousands of other websites around the Web, including AdWeek, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and The Smithsonian National Design Awards. As Behance has grown, it has evolved into more than a destination that creatives use to forge connections. Behance has now become a place where creative professionals also find work and market their unique skills.

Adobe plans to integrate Behance’s community and portfolio capabilities with Adobe Creative Cloud, allowing members to seamlessly create content, seek feedback, showcase their work and distribute it across devices.

Further details

USA, San Jose, CA

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WPP’s GroupM acquires majority stake in PLAY Communication

January 3, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

group m_0WPP‘s wholly owned operating company, GroupM, WPP’s global media investment management arm, has acquired a majority stake in PLAY Communication Pty Ltd, a leading experiential marketing agency based in Sydney, Australia.

Founded in 2002, PLAY offers activation, sponsorship, digital and branding services. The company employs around 23 people and clients include Optus, Volkswagen, Qantas, Coty, Tourism Queensland, Charles Darwin University, ASOS and others.

PLAY’s unaudited revenues for the financial year ended 30 June 2012 were approximately A$4.1 million, with gross assets at the same date of approximately A$2.8 million.

UK, London & Sydney, Australia

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WPP acquires stake in Globant

January 3, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

wpp-globantWPP is to acquire a 20% stake in Globant S.A. Globant provides both technical expertise and design and creative capabilities in the development of software products that can be applied to digital marketing campaigns on a global scale.

Headquartered in Buenos Aires, Globant is a rapidly growing business employing 2,700 engineers, marketing specialists and designers in 21 offices across 14 cities in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, the United States and the United Kingdom. The company’s approach is unique in that it provides clients with both the infrastructure and technical support that drive digital marketing campaigns, combined with the creative and design skills usually found alone in digital agencies.

Globant’s net revenues for the year ended 31 December 2011 were US$90 million and net revenues for the six months to 30 June 2012 were US$56.9 million with total assets of US$69 million as of 30 June 2012. WPP will invest approximately $70 million in acquiring the Globant stake.

“Increasingly, clients want better coordination between their IT departments and their marketing departments, between their Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and their Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs),” said WPP Chief Executive Sir Martin Sorrell. “There are many consulting companies or digital agencies that are expert in one function or the other. Few, if any, do both and even fewer can integrate deep technical and creative capabilities on a global scale as Globant does. Partnering with Globant will allow our companies to increasingly provide our clients with insights and skills that will make their digital marketing efforts even more effective and simpler to manage at both the front and back ends.”

Globant has deep experience in working in state of the art digital marketing spaces including, but not limited to, mobile, gamification, social networks, cloud computing, big data and e-commerce. Globant’s clients include American Express, JP Morgan Chase & Co., LinkedIn, Electronic Arts, Google, Coca-Cola, National Geographic, Zynga and Sabre Holdings, as well as a number of WPP companies, such as JWT, Young & Rubicam, Grey, GroupM and Kantar.

UK, London & Argentina, Buenos Aires

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Publicis Groupe acquires US digital agency Rokkan

December 20, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

PublicisPublicis Groupe has acquired Rokkan Media LLC, a full-service digital agency in New York that works with top global brands.

Founded in 2000, Rokkan – which borrows its name from the Japanese word for intuition or “sixth sense” – focuses its expertise on creating innovative campaigns with strong cross-platform appeal in e-commerce, loyalty programs, digital marketing, mobile and social media. Rokkan’s core services include Strategy & Planning, User Experience, Visual Design, Technology, 3D and Motion Graphics, Marketing, Game/App Development and Emerging Media.

Rokkan will operate as an autonomous unit within Publicis Groupe, and its co-founders – CEO John Noe , Chief Experience Officer Chung Ng , and Chief Creative Officer Charles Bae – will continue to lead the agency.

France, Paris & USA, New York

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Publicis Groupe acquires mobile agency Monterosa

December 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

PublicisPublicis Groupe has acquired global mobile agency Monterosa. The agency will report into Bartle Bogle Hegarty.

The move follows Publicis Groupe’s expansion into the mobile advertising market with its acquisition of Phonevalley in 2007. Like Phonevalley, Monterosa is exclusively committed to mobile marketing and communications.

Founded in 2009 by four Swedes – Johan Hemminger , Johan Ståhle, Anton Holmquist and Carl Norberg – Monterosa has offices in New York, Singapore and is headquartered in Stockholm. The agency’s 30-strong team works with some of the world’s biggest brands, including Carlsberg, Google, Mercedes Benz , Samsung and Vodafone. Award-winning work has included Mini Cooper’s ‘Getaway’ campaign (2011) and a number of global apps such as Buick Encore’s ‘Hide and Seek’ in China,  Lufthansa’s ‘Anywake’ in Scandinavia, AT&T’s ‘Daybreak’ in the US and the Pan-Asian Axe ‘Dare’ app for Unilever.

Monterosa will keep its name and the agency will work with its own clients as well as other advertising agency partners throughout BBH and Publicis Groupe. Carl Norberg , a co-founder of Monterosa, will continue to manage the agency and will report to BBH Group’s CEO, Gwyn Jones .

“The ubiquity and intimacy of smartphones make mobile campaigns an entirely new way to communicate with consumers,” said Gwyn Jones , CEO of BBH Group. “Mobile ads can be uniquely useful and pertinent – but they can also be perceived by consumers as disruptive. It’s vital that we help our clients develop campaigns that are not just technically seamless, but also friendly and relevant. We’ve been working with Monterosa for 18 months now. They have a great team, and a culture and approach that fit well with ours. We’re very excited about the potential for this strategically important move.”

France, Paris & Sweden, Stockholm

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Nielsen to acquire Arbitron

December 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

nielsenNielsen Holdings N.V., a provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy, is to acquire Arbitron Inc., an international media and marketing research firm.

Nielsen will acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Arbitron for $48 per share in cash, representing a premium of approximately 26 percent to Arbitron’s closing price on December 17, 2012. Nielsen has a financing commitment for the total transaction amount.

“U.S. consumers spend almost 2 hours a day with radio. It is and will continue to be a vibrant and important advertising medium,” said Nielsen Chief Executive Officer David Calhoun. “Arbitron will help Nielsen better solve for unmeasured areas of media consumption, including streaming audio and out-of-home. The high level of engagement with radio and TV among rapidly growing multicultural audiences makes this central to Nielsen’s priorities.”

Arbitron generated total revenues of $445 million and adjusted EBITDA of $131 million for the 12 months ended September 30, 2012. Cost synergies are reported to be at least $20 million and will be largely driven by the integration of technology platforms and data acquisition efforts.

USA, New York, NY

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WPP to acquire a majority stake in Filmworks China

December 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

wppWPP’s global media investment management arm, GroupM, is to acquire Filmworks China, a leading entertainment marketing agency in China, subject to regulatory approval.

Founded in 2010, Filmworks’ service offering includes marketing of entertainment media properties, merchandise licensing, tie-in promotion, product placement and celebrity endorsements. It has a blue-chip client list that includes Electronics Arts, DreamWorks, TCL Television, Li Ning and Yili Group.

Filmworks’ unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 December 2011 were approximately RMB 12 million, with gross assets at the same date of approximately RMB 11 million.

London, UK &  China

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Nasdaq OMX Group to acquire the investor relations, public relations, and multimedia solutions units of Thomson Reuters Corp for $390 million

December 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

The NASDAQ OMX Group is to acquire the Investor Relations, Public Relations and Multimedia Solutions businesses of Thomson Reuters for $390 million in cash. The businesses provide insight, analytics and communications solutions to more than 7,000 clients worldwide. They will be integrated into NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions.

“In one acquisition, we accelerate and achieve our Corporate Solutions long-term objectives, while maintaining our balanced strategy of delivering value to shareholders,” said Bob Greifeld, Chief Executive Officer, NASDAQ OMX.

“We believe that NASDAQ OMX is the ideal fit for our Investor Relations, Public Relations and Multimedia Solutions businesses,” said Michael Cotter, Global Managing Director of Corporate Services, Thomson Reuters.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2013

USA, New York, NY

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Publicis Groupe acquires UK digital agency Outside Line

December 13, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

PublicisPublicis Groupe has acquired British digital agency Outside Line, a specialist in social and experiential media. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 2000 and based in London, Outside Line has become one of the top 5 independent social agencies in the UK according to New Media Age (Top 100 agencies report). The skill-set of the agency’s 68-strong team ranges from digital design and development to content creation, customer relations management and experience-driven social media marketing. Outside Line’s client list includes Andy Murray , Arla Foods (Cravendale and Lurpak), British Gas, Queen and Virgin Galactic, and its award-winning campaigns include “Music Inspired” for Beck’s, “Newsroom Blog” for British Gas, “Milk Matters” for Cravendale, and “Food Beats” for Lurpak.

Outside Line will be integrated into the Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide network, working alongside the Saatchi & Saatchi London office and further improving the agency’s ability to deliver highly creative and effective multi-channel digital output at a faster, more efficient and cost-effective rate. Ant Cauchi and Lloyd Salmons , in addition to their current roles as Outside Line’s co-founders, will take senior roles as digital directors at Saatchi & Saatchi London , and will be responsible for integrating existing business and growing digital revenue. They will work closely with Saatchi & Saatchi’s creative partners Kate Stanners and Paul Silburn , director of strategy Richard Huntington , as well as the director of integration Matt Groves , while reporting to Saatchi & Saatchi London’s CEO Magnus Djaba .

“Outside Line is a perfect cultural fit for Saatchi & Saatchi,” said Magnus Djaba, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi London . “Both our agencies share an exciting vision. We’re driven to create interactive social currency that is world-class, both online and offline – work that people share online, tweet about, and talk about in pubs, playgrounds and by the coffee machine. We’re thrilled to be able to seize this opportunity to strengthen our digital core and further boost our service to clients in this crucial sector.”

France, Paris & UK, London

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