• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, July 1, 2013

Omnicom Media Group acquired search engine optimization company Bruce Clay Australasia, which joins the Group's Resolution Media global search network. A group of about 70 employees will support clients from both companies.

The deal is part of an expansion plan to support search, social, local, mobile, behavioral and content media worldwide. "We're looking at build-or-buy strategies wherever they make strategic and cultural sense," said Alan Osetek, global president of Resolution, who oversees the growth and expansion of Omnicom's search and digital performance media brand.

Resolution, an Omnicom company, credits ample demand to quickly ramping up support for new media. More than 600 specialists manage more than $1.2 billion in client media investments at about 60 offices worldwide. Des Odell, and Jeremy Bolt, co-founders of Bruce Clay Australasia, will lead the company as co-CEOs.

The third partner, Bruce Clay, who helped to build the Australian-based subsidiary, will continue to focus on U.S. operations. Similar to China and many other countries, especially Asia-Pacific, "foreigners" must have a local partner to operate in the region.

Clay said Omnicom presented a "very attractive offer, actually too good to pass up." He doesn't plan to find another partner to relaunch in Australia anytime soon. "I still have Japan, Brazil, Switzerland, Italy and India, and soon Africa and the Middle East to launch," he said. "Not too sure about Russia, China or Antarctica, yet, and a few others. I already have the domains, just need time."

Omnicom execs continue to look for acquisitions in EMEA, APAC and the United States that build on Resolution's offerings. "We want to ensure we have strong search capabilities in all global markets, but we're also looking to increase our support for newer media," Osetek said.

APAC contributes only about 15% to Resolution's worldwide revenue, but it's the fastest-growing market, Oseteck said. Beijing and Shanghai also continue to grow. The Shanghai office has about 40 employees. U.S.-based companies want to know more about the region, but others around the world also want to know more about the U.S., he said.