JWT New York acquires Digitaria

http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100813/FREE/100819962/1078/newsletter011

JWT North America announced the acquisition of San Diego-based Digitaria, a digital marketing agency. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Under the acquisition, Digitaria will retain its name and operate as a unit of JWT North America. It will keep its headquarters in San Diego, while expanding its presence here.

http://www.wpp.com/wpp/press/press/default.htm?guid=%7B07a058fa-ec9e-4cf7-b4c6-48df8fdd1a93%7D

Digitaria employs 100 people and is based in San Diego with satellite offices in Dallas, Los Angeles and New York.

Clients include Dreamworks, ESPN, FOX Corporation, National Football League, NBC Universal and Qualcomm. Digitaria’s unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 March 2010 were US $14.3 million with gross assets at the same date of US $4.5 million.

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/agency/e3i08c9076cee49da84835eb0547d78b253

...known for its development of Web sites and mobile platforms for the likes of the National Football League, Best Western and Qualcomm.

Deal-making is part of a three-pronged strategy Eastman is pursuing to develop JWT's capabilities in the digital space. The agency also is hiring top talent and educating existing staffers on the latest in digital marketing.

"You need to think about the base from which we're starting," Eastman said. "We are starting from a predominantly traditional approach to communications.

"We need to have internally sufficient expertise in this space in order to be able to talk to our clients in the right way. Then, I think it's a case of . . . we might need to bring in deep (specialists), whether that's in mobile or shopper marketing or whatever the specific area is. But until you have a degree of understanding in the business itself, it becomes more difficult to find partners to work with."