AKQA Acquisition Helps WPP Reach No. 1 U.S. Digital Agency Group

by Carrie Cummings, Jul 10, 2012, 2:54 PM

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As of July, new estimates from RECMA report WPP has jumped ahead of Publicis to become number one in digital market shares. This is in no small part due to the holding company's recent acquisition of San Francisco-based AKQA.

Joe Mandese initially reported yesterday in OnlineMediaDaily that WPP now has a 21.7% share of the market of U.S. digital agencies, writing, "The RECMA update estimates that when the 600 U.S.-based AKQA staffers are added to WPP's roster, the holding company now has a U.S.-based digital agency organization of 8,328, pushing it ahead of Publicis' 7,864 to become the dominant player in the U.S. digital agency marketplace."

Simon Jefferson, Managing Director, AKQA San Francisco, welcomes the acquisition, noting that "AKQA has always focused on delivering innovation and creativity to the world's best brands." He continued, saying, "WPP now provides us with the opportunity to continue to do this but at an accelerated pace, enabling us to achieve the global scale our clients want sooner."

With the agency's Silicon Valley-adjacent location and new WPP status, Jefferson anticipates forging greater relationships within the tech community. "Given our location, we've been able to develop great relationships with start-ups and companies like Twitter, Apple, Adobe and Facebook," Jefferson notes. "Tom Bedecarre's appointment as President of WPP Ventures, in addition to his role as Chairman of AKQA, should further deepen our connections within Silicon Valley."

One thing that hasn't changed at the agency is the culture: "We're still as hungry and passionate as we've ever been," Jefferson assures us.

Below is RECMA's chart detailing the USA digital marketing shares as of July 2012:

USA- Digital market shares July 2012
Rank 2012	DIGITAL STAFF	7 Group  owners and 61 agencies	Digital shares
1	8 328	WPP USA (8 agencies)	21.7%
2	7 864	Publicis Groupe USA (7 agencies)	20.5%
3	6 672	Interpublic  USA (12 agencies)	17.4%
4	4 698	Omnicom Group USA (7 agencies)	12.3%
5	1 370	Aegis Media USA (3 agencies)	3.6%
6	1 099	Havas USA (1 agency)	2.9%
7	825	Dentsu America (1 agency)	2.2%
///	7 436	Independents USA  (23 agencies)	19.4%
-	38 292	Top 112 USA digital agencies	100%

Source: RECMA USA Digital Guide

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