• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, May 6, 2014

In a lengthyblog post, Mitch Joel explains why he and his partners decided their agency, Twist Image, should become part of the WPP family. On whether or not the acquisition is a good thing, Joel writes: "No. It's THE BEST thing. We are thrilled about this opportunity. We are excited about what the future holds. We are confident and excited that we will be able to better serve our existing clients. Plus, and this is selfish, I want to grow as well (and I know that my three other business partners feel the same way that I do). WPP employs over 175,000 employees in 3000 offices in 110 countries. They have deep strategic relationships with Facebook, Adobe, Twitter and more. They own agencies as diverse as AKQA, JWT, Mindshare and more. There are a ton of smart people who are a part of the WPP family. Access like that can't be understated." And of everyone asking him how much WPP paid, Joel writes: "Really? I'm actually shocked that people have asked me this question. You may be shocked to know that it gets asked often. How much money do you make? What's your salary? Maybe I come from a different generation, but these are not the types of questions I have ever asked anybody. It seems rude to ask (maybe it's just me)."

Havas posted a 3% rise in first-quarter organic revenue which they attribute to growth with client wins such as satellite TV company Dish and insurer Liberty Mutual. Revenue stood at $539.87 million with Europe, North America and Asia all contributing. Analysts had been expecting organic growth of 2.3 percent to 2.5 percent for the quarter, so things are looking up for Havas.

Airbnb is adding some muscle to its marketing team with the addition of Jonathan Mildenhall, who is leaving Coke to become the rental marketplace's chief marketing officer. Mildenhall brings deep experience to Airbnb, having worked on JetBlue, Old Navy and Hyatt, among others. Mildenhall will replace Amy Curtis-McIntyre, who is leaving Airbnb to travel and spend more time with her family. It seems Mildenhall exited Coke just in time, as the brand is undergoing a bit of a marketing shakeup with several top management shifts.

Brand experience agency Jack Morton Worldwide is acquiring Genuine Interactive -- a digital, mobile and social firm in Boston -- to, as the press release gushes, "give it unmatched capabilities to seamlessly connect clients with consumers." Yeesh. Anyway, of the deal, Jack Morton Chairman and CEO Josh McCall said: “We’re building the agency for now and fulfilling our clients’ need for experiences that reach people at every touchpoint. Adding digital, social and mobile to live brand experiences isn’t an option anymore; it’s required and expected. Although we’ve been on this path for quite a while, we need to continue to evolve and grow digital, social and mobile on a larger scale. Genuine Interactive is the perfect partner to help us expand this vision of a digitally enabled brand experience agency, and allows us to create a powerhouse of two incredibly talented and creative teams.” Okay.

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