NEW YORK, Oct. 24, 2007 -- WPP has acquired Vancouver-based Blast Radius, a strategic interactive agency with offices in Amsterdam, New York, London, Toronto and San Francisco. Following Closing, Blast Radius will be aligned with WPP's Wunderman network, the second largest marketing services and relationship marketing network*. The move marks a continuation of Wunderman's strategy to grow its digital operations both in breadth of capabilities and geographies and become the industry's leading digital player.
Blast Radius, recognized as a leader in the transformation from traditional online advertising towards creating engaging customer experiences, offers a vast suite of services including marketing strategy, experience design and optimization, technology implementation and social media to Fortune 500 companies including Nike, Whirlpool, Newell Rubbermaid, UnitedHealth Group and Starbucks. Wunderman is a division of WPP's network of advertising and marketing companies.
Recognized by Forrester Research for its unique approach to social networking, Blast Radius is one of a handful of top agencies with detailed customer relationship maps at the core of their processes. This adds a critical dimension to Wunderman's digital expertise, which already includes digital relationship marketing, Web analytics and data integration.
"Wunderman is already a leader in Relationship Marketing. As marketers increase their dependency on digital channels, Wunderman and Blast Radius are well situated to provide unparalleled online relationship marketing capabilities to meet the growing global demand. With its focus on creating interactive experiences with the customer at the core, Blast Radius will add a unique expertise to our growing digital platform," said Wunderman Chairman and CEO Daniel Morel.
Earlier this year, Wunderman expanded its digital footprint by acquiring interactive agencies in South Africa (Aqua Online) and Belgium (These Days) and bolstered its data infrastructure by acquiring a controlling interest in DataCore Marketing in the U.S.
"At Blast Radius, we advocate to our clients the need to move beyond traditional marketing approaches and treat the web as not just another channel to push polished messages," said Gurval Caer, CEO and president, Blast Radius. "It's about brands becoming innovative experiences that make people's lives easier, better, richer. With Wunderman, we will continue to help clients create customer-centric brand strategies but will now be able to do so on a more global basis."
Caer continued, "At the core of Wunderman lies phenomenal customer data and insights which when combined with our interactive customer engagement strategies allows us to bring brands and people together like never before. This combination of Data, Insights and Engagement is the DNA of the agency of the future and will help us fulfill Lester Wunderman's vision that 'we must create relationships or else.'"
Blast Radius was founded in 1997, originally working with video game manufacturers in Vancouver. Over the past 10 years it has worked with top global brands in the automotive, consumer goods, travel and transportation and financial services industries and has been named one of Canada's Best Managed Companies. Blast will continue to have the autonomy needed to stay creative and remain independent at heart while accessing the resources of the Wunderman network to continue to grow.
Montgomery & Co., LLC acted as financial advisor, and Farris, Vaughan, Wills and Murphy LLP acted as legal advisor to Blast Radius Inc.
About Blast Radius
Blast Radius is a strategic interactive agency that builds long term relationships with major consumer-facing brands to deliver innovative and profitable customer experiences that realize the promise of the connected world. It does this by combining business savvy, experience design, and industry-leading technologies, including its on-demand Customer Experience Platform. Based in Vancouver, Blast Radius has offices in San Francisco, New York, Toronto, Amsterdam and London.
About Wunderman
Wunderman is the original and most diverse marketing services network in the world. Our powerful creative campaigns reach customers wherever they are- online, on-the-move or in their homes or offices-and incite action, lifelong relationships and measurable business results. Since 2002, Wunderman work was recognized with 25 Lions at the prestigious International Advertising Festival-Cannes Lions, including the coveted Direct Grand Prix two years in a row. In 2006, The Wunderman Network was recognized with nearly 300 awards. This year, The Wunderman Network ranked 4th in Advertising Age's Top 10 Digital Agencies and our expertise is acknowledged regularly in the press and by industry analysts. Wunderman, part of Young & Rubicam Brands, is a member of WPP.
