Representing a significant
shift to the field of social media agencies, Powered has acquired three rival agencies: New York-based Crayon and Drillteam; and Portland, Ore.-based StepChange. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The sweeping deal is designed to strengthen Austin, Tex.-based Powered's offerings in the fields of mobile marketing, strategy, branded online communities and social networks like Facebook.
"We selected these three companies as partners in our new social media agency because we have a shared vision that social initiatives should help brands drive increased sales from new and
existing customers," said Ken Nicolson, CEO of Powered.
Drillteam and StepChange will continue to operate as independent entities, while Crayon will be integrated directly into Powered. Crayon
founder and president Joseph Jaffe and his entire team are expected to join Powered's staff of marketers and content creators.
"In my role as 'Chief Interruptor,' my sole purpose will be to
challenge the brand marketing community and industry at large that when it comes to better connecting with their life-force, a.k.a. their customers and the communities they serve, there should be no
compromise," said Jaffe. "The time for mediocrity, diluted efforts and half-hearted attempts is over."
Jaffe founded Crayon in 2006 to help brands and other agencies better engage consumers
through new and emerging digital channels.
It was thought to be gaining traction by mid-2007 when it hired Digitas' director of emerging media platforms Greg Verdino as its chief strategy
officer; and T3's group creative director Steve Coulson as its chief creative officer.
The new Powered consists of over 70 employees, and through the deals, will now operate offices in New York
and Portland, Ore.
Its client roster now includes over 60 brands, including RadioShack, iVillage, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Kodak, Sony, Atkins Nutritionals, and Coca-Cola.
Launched in
2006, Portland, Ore.-based StepChange has worked with a number of top-tier clients including Nike, Frito Lay, and Clorox.