Ikon Communications opens NYC office
Media agency Ikon Communications is launching a New York office. Founder Gary Hardwick will relocate from Australia to head up the venture.
The announcement:
Sydney, September 27, 2010: STW Communications Group, Australia’s leading marketing content and communications services group, today announced the expansion of its highly successful Ikon Communications business into the USA.
In a joint venture deal struck with international advertising agency Droga5 and Ikon Communications founder and CEO Gary Hardwick, Ikon3 will open its doors in New York on November 1 this year serving as Droga5’s in-house media partner and representing a range of independent clients.
It continues a strong period of growth for Ikon; recently the award-winning media agency has expanded beyond its native Sydney to Melbourne, Perth, and Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand. The Ikon3 office will be the third STW company to open its doors in New York. Design and advertising business Moon, and internet protocol television development company, Massive, both recently established offices in New York on the back of significant client wins. STW’s CEO Michael Connaghan said: “Ikon is one of our very best businesses and I’m really proud and excited to be starting up in New York alongside Gary and a superb creative shop like Droga5. I met the team over at Droga5 New York early this year and the connection between Ikon and Droga5 is plain to see.
“We have expanded Ikon outside of Sydney to Melbourne and Perth and offshore to New Zealand in Auckland and
Wellington. Our third country becomes the USA, hence Ikon3. At STW we weathered the GFC storm well and have
had a solid period of growth. We are going to become more aggressive so watch this space for more news from some of our businesses as they expand their horizons.”
Ikon founder Gary Hardwick said Ikon3 will access and adopt IP from the Australian operation and localise it for the US market. He said it would also develop services in channel and receptivity planning, mobile, search and performance, social and community engagement, campaign amplification and media buying, “creating a springboard for a new level of collaboration to provide a very modern take on the full service agency model”.
“The service will be driven by senior practitioners who want to challenge the norm and explore new and innovative
ways to market brands. From a media investment perspective, the use of Ikon’s proprietary trading software and the powerful ad exchange platforms will enable us to drive media costs down for our clients through guaranteed performance negotiations. We have always backed our IP and put our profits at risk; it’s an honest and transparent way in which to work with our clients.”
Hardwick said Ikon3 would look to employ some unconventional staff such as engineers, technologists and data analysts to prepare for IPTV, Next Gen Mobile and the plethora of customer data available to market better on behalf of their clients.
David Droga, Creative Chairman and Founder of Droga5, the acclaimed and rapidly-growing advertising agency, said: “Gary is without a doubt one of the most creative media people in the business. We’ve been envisioning adding a media shop since we started the agency, and Ikon’s unique IP developed in the channel planning arena and their dynamic trading expertise represent the industry’s best in field. This marks a new level of maturity for Droga5 as we continue to expand.”
Source: STW communications press release
Good onya Gary!
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