Dentsu Aegis Network acquires digital media and marketing agency DWA
Dentsu Aegis Network has acquired B2B digital media and marketing agency DWA which has nine offices globally, including one in Sydney.
DWA: Now a Merkle company
The acquisition will expand the B2B offering at DAN’s “people-based marketing agency”, Merkle.
As part of the acquisition, DWA has been rebranded to DWA, a Merkle company.
According to a release: “DWA applies expertise in ad-tech, real-time insight, and management decision support to a range of integrated, global media including: programmatic, search, social, and demand generation.”
DWA was established in 1996 and is headquartered in San Fransisco. DAN said all 150-plus employees of DWA “will join Merkle’s high-tech and B2B practice”. Mumbrella understands DWA Sydney has approximately 20 staff.
“There’s a growing group of enterprise level, B2B and technology businesses, all moving at breakneck pace to adopt the best advertising solutions and platforms. DWA’s client list reflect a clear early-mover advantage,” said David Williams, president and CEO at Merkle. “This shift towards people-based marketing, led by Merkle, is as relevant in B2B as it is elsewhere. This acquisition will strengthen our ability to deliver those capabilities for B2B clients, at scale.”
DWA’s Sydney staff. Source: DWA
David Wood, founder of DWA said he is thrilled Merkle recognised DWA’s strengths and looked forward to joining forces with the network.
“DWA has a proud history of activating data-driven, digital campaigns for some of the highest regarded B2B technology brands around the world. We believe that we are at the forefront of a new advertising generation that focuses on delivering more valuable connections through people-based marketing, and we’ve found a valuable partner who shares our vision and augments our capabilities in Merkle.”
DWA has worked with clients including Sprint, NetApp, Cisco, Salesforce and Oracle.
The acquisition follows DAN’s other moves into the B2B space, including the purchase of Gyro and Band in 2015.
