• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, March 9, 2011

Rogers, AR-based digital agency Rockfish this morning unveiled a new venture capital division focusing on nurturing new enterprises developing digital technology in consumer Internet, mobile and retail sectors. The aptly named Rockfish Brand Ventures will provide start-ups with capital funding, as well as technology and marketing support.

Rockfish Founder-CEO Kenny Tomlin said the new unit hopes to incubate ventures that develop innovative technologies that will benefit Rockfish’s roster of digital advertising clients. Rockfish, which was named OMMA magazine’s Web design and development agency of the year for 2010, handles Walmart, Sam's Club, Cisco, Procter & Gamble, Tyson Foods and others. Rockfish joins an array of agencies launching venture divisions to help incubate next-generation marketing technologies that can give them and their clients potential competitive advantages, as well as returns on capital investments.

Among the most noteworthy ones are Publicis’ Denuo and Interpublic’s Mediabrands’ Velociter units. Several other major agency holding company divisions are expected to announce similar forays soon.

Like other agency organizations, a key component of Rockfish Brand Ventures isn’t simply capital investment, but the ability to leverage the core agency’s expertise to help start-ups grow.

Specifically, Rockfish said it would provide “domain-specific” support that would help the start-ups accelerate their product and distribution systems.

Rockfish said it initially plans to make about 10 investments over the next two years, and that it would partner with traditional venture capital firms and other investment groups to help with capital funding.

Rockfish said the new unit would work closely with existing agency clients to give them “first access to emerging digital media firms for marketing and potential investment.”

Marketers have also been investing capital resources directly into promising digital media start-ups. One of the more public examples was PepsiCo’s “Pepsi 10” initiative, which invited ventures to pitch to be one of 10 start-ups to receive funding grants from PepsiCo to accelerate their businesses. Omnicom’s OMD, a Pepsi shop, worked closely on that initiative. Rockfish’s Tomlin called the new unit, a “natural evolution to our model,” and said six senior Rockfish managers would comprise the agency’s “investment committee,” including Dave Knox, a former Procter & Gamble marketing executive who joined Rockfish as CMO, and who also runs The Brandery, a start-up accelerator he launched in Cincinnati.

Rockfish said it also is organizing an outside advisory board that would be comprised of industry veterans with backgrounds in technology, venture and marketing. Rockfish said the first member of that board is Carl Everett, who most recently was a Partner at venture capital firm Accel Partners.