WPP AUNZ acquires Perth agency Meerkats
WPP AUNZ has acquired Perth-based creative agency Meerkats, in a move to accelerate its ‘transformation plan’ to offer more creative and digital client capabilities.
Meerkats will be merged into Wunderman Thompson Perth, expanding the agency’s team to more than 50 employees. Meerkats’ CEO Gavin Bain will join Wunderman Thompson as its Perth managing director, chief innovation officer Martin Beecroft will take the same role at the WPP agency, as will chief strategy officer Melanie Wiese.
Doni Savvides, Melanie Wiese, Martin Beecroft and Gavin Bain
The leadership team will also include Wunderman Thompson’s partner, Doni Savvides.
The merger will also see the formation of an ‘Experience and Innovation Practice’, enabling the agency to offer a full suite of services across brand and organisational strategy, consulting, innovation and technology.
WPP AUNZ CEO, Jens Monsees, said: “With an impressive roster of clients, and a platform of transformational strategy, EX/CX and technology-led innovation, Meerkats brings experience, skills and growth opportunities to our WA business. While our clients face increasing challenges to engage with their audiences in the current environment, this acquisition will allow us to provide even stronger capability to the Perth market.”
Following the merger, the Meerkats brand will no longer be in use.
Bain said Wunderman Thompson’s new vision for client services was the perfect fit for the Meerkats.
“The Meerkats business model has evolved in recent years in line with our clients changing needs. We feel that the fresh Wunderman Thompson creative innovation approach is the perfect fit for our expanded strategic offering alongside WPP AUNZ’s focus on providing new offerings. We’re confident that our combined strengths will build something truly unique in this market and offer great opportunities for our people,” he said.
Savvides added: “Gavin and his team share Wunderman Thompson’s ambition and passion to help our clients succeed and we’re delighted to be joining forces to bring that potential to life. Adding their skillset and capabilities to our already strong brand adds significant firepower to what we can deliver to our clients and to building a truly world class Wunderman Thompson offering in Western Australia. I am excited about what the future holds.”
WPP AUNZ declined to disclose the price of the acquisition to Mumbrella.
topics
Doni Savvides
Gavin Bain
Jens Monsees
Martin Beecroft
Meerkats
Melanie Wiese
WPP AUNZ
Wunderman Thompson
Great agency. Great move from WPP
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Meerkats is a good pickup
Lets see how the integration goes and if they add to Wunderman offering or get lost and swallowed up
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Oh nice to see WPP have money left over from all the redundancies and pay sacrifices to buy a new business. Well done.
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