Colour acquires a new shade of digital with E3

http://www.marketingmag.ca/english/news/agency/article.jsp?content=20101022_164017_6428

Halifax agency Colour has bolstered its digital capabilities with the acquisition of Toronto-based web design and development agency E3 Online Marketing.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Colour president and CEO Chris Keevill called the deal a logical step in an ongoing process to make Colour's service offering "much more digitally centred."

"This is a continuation and acceleration of that, because in one fell swoop we've been able to add digital resources and establish a new presence in a new market where we think our value proposition will be well received," he said.

Established in 1999 by Brad Bettinson, Toronto-based E3 has worked with major brands including McDonald's, Koodoo, ESPN, XBox, Coke and Cadbury. As part of the deal, Bettinson will become a Colour shareholder and join the agency as managing partner of its digital practice.

Keevill said the deal came about because he and Bettinson shared similar goals for their respective agencies.

"What I found was that we had the same ideals, shared a lot of the same values and were quite synergistic in what we were looking for in a partner," he said. "We saw the opportunity to strengthen our digital capability and expand into a market presence in Toronto; for Brad, a small boutique digital shop, he saw the need to be part of an integrated offering."

"To be successful in the new digital landscape you can't just slap digital on the side–it needs to be sewn right into the fabric of how you approach the challenges of your clients," said Bettinson in a release. "When Colour approached us about how we could help them continue their evolution into a digitally-centric agency at every level, we knew we were on the right page."

Established in 1977, Colour's client list includes Royal LePage Atlantic, Nova Scotia Tourism, Exxon Mobil Canada and the Atlantic Lottery Corporation. The company is not in acquisition mode, Keevill stressed, but is on the lookout for potentially beneficial deals.

"We're attracted to attractive opportunities, and this is certainly one," he said.