WPP Acquires Marketing Leader, Schematic

LONDON & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WPP (NASDAQ:WPPGY) announced today that it has acquired Schematic, one of the largest independent interactive agencies in the US. Based in Los Angeles, with offices in New York, Boston, Atlanta and San Jose, Costa Rica, Schematic will become part of WPP Digital and will work with a broad range of WPP businesses, in particular with GroupM, the media investment management arm of the company.

“We have been consistently impressed with Schematic and believe it is a leader in the development of the next generation of interfaces and customer experiences”

“We are thrilled to be a part of WPP and GroupM,” said Trevor Kaufman, CEO of Schematic. “Working with WPP will allow Schematic to increase its own reach and bring a new dimension to GroupM's communications planning offering by creating content destinations that will drive brand perception and business performance.”

Founded in 1999, Schematic's expertise extends to all digital platforms; having deployed and developed multiple award-winning solutions for the Web, interactive television, mobile devices and digital environments—and is an industry leader in identifying and utilizing emerging platforms. With deep experience working with media and entertainment companies, as well as with retailers, telecommunications and technology companies, Schematic offers complete strategic, creative, marketing and technology services to Fortune1000 companies. Their clients include Disney, NBC Universal, Target, Nokia, Coca-Cola, Comcast, CondéNast, Time Warner, Panasonic, SanDisk and Turner.

“We have been consistently impressed with Schematic and believe it is a leader in the development of the next generation of interfaces and customer experiences,” added Mark Read, CEO of WPP Digital. “The agency's work with the world's leading media companies underlines this—and it is our strong belief that brand communication will increasingly look like media channels as our clients look for better ways to distribute their own messaging and content.”

The acquisition represents another stage in the rapid evolution of GroupM as a creator and distributor of content. Schematic will be a key partner for GroupM as it develops an increasing amount of digital content for its clients and media partners.

“The digital experience is becoming a key part of consumers' brand and media usage,” said Rob Norman, CEO of GroupM Interaction. “Increasingly, our clients will need to create original, useful and engaging content that goes beyond the development of advertising units if they are to create value for their audiences. Schematic will substantially increase the range of our interactive and entertainment offering and add a new dimension to our proposition. In addition to advertiser solutions, we expect to work with Schematic on the creation and distribution of original digital programming.”

Schematic was represented by Montgomery & Co. in the transaction.