Dentsu Aegis Network adds 'MKTG' to global brand network

Following the 2014 acquisition of US-Based MKTG Inc, the network is framing up its sports and entertainment, experiential and lifestyle marketing offerings.

Dentsu Aegis Network has announced the formation of a ninth global network brand, MKTG, the lifestyle marketing agency it acquired in August 2014. The move further strengthens the network's sports and entertainment, experiential and lifestyle marketing capabilities and continues its expansion around the globe.

In addition, Out-of-Home agency Posterscope's experiential arm, psLIVE's offices across Europe and Asia Pacific, South Africa's Crimson Room, Australia/New Zealand's Apollo Nation and US-based sports and entertainment consultancy Team Epic will be realigned as part of MKTG over the next 12 months.

Leveraging its collective experience, global network and resources, the realigned agency will provide clients with an integrated through-the-line service offering including sports and entertainment consulting, experiential marketing, sponsorship identification, negotiation and activation, hospitality, strategy, research and insights, custom measurement, digital and creative capabilities, content development, design and retail marketing.

Jerry Buhlmann, CEO Dentsu Aegis Network and Executive Officer of Dentsu Inc, says," The tremendous growth and importance of lifestyle marketing made it clear that strategically it was time to unify our like-minded businesses as one single brand. We are completely committed to building out our lifestyle marketing offering and integrating the combined strength of these services to deliver on a far larger and broader scale."

Annie Rickard, Global Brand President, Posterscope; Global Chairman, MKTG, says, "Something that sets Dentsu Aegis Network apart is that we are constantly re-evaluating our businesses and are willing to reorganise ourselves to best serve our clients. With this realignment, we can now provide a seamless offering across lifestyle, sports and entertainment for our clients, and allow all of our agencies to benefit from this platform."

Charlie Horsey, Global Brand President, MKTG, and CEO MKTG USA, says,"The realignment will also greatly benefit our current long-standing client base and our employees who now have the ability to plug into resources and opportunities around the globe."

Ashish Bhasin, chairman & CEO South Asia - Dentsu Aegis Network, chairman Posterscope and psLIVE - Asia Pacific said, "In India, the lifestyle marketing solutions market is growing at twice the rate of the ATL market. With Fountainhead, a leading player in India and MKTG, a leading global player, we now will have the best offering of global standards, through Fountainhead MKTG. This is another big step forward in helping us achieve our mission of being the second largest agency group by end 2017 in India, overturning for the first time the existing ranking which has historically been in place for over 80 years in India."

As the agencies transition towards operating as one global brand, MKTG will grow from 450 full time employees and 7,000 brand ambassadors in the United States, to nearly 1,000 full time employees in 14 countries. MKTG will be headquartered in New York City.