• by Mark Walsh , February 9, 2012

WPP agencies GroupM and Tenth Avenue have joined forces to launch a mobile marketing presence in China through the acquisition of local mobile agency Wisereach. The new entity, known as MJoule, will combine assets of Tenth Avenue’s mobile specialty unit Joule with the existing mobile operations of GroupM in China.

MJoule will be a full-service mobile advertising and marketing agency led by former Wisereach CEO Craig Zhang, who will report to Joule CEO Michael Collins.

“Mobile is fast becoming a dominant channel for brands to connect with consumers,” says Bessie Lee, CEO, GroupM China, in a statement. “MJoule will ensure GroupM China maintains a leadership position in mobile and continue to provide our clients with a competitive advantage.”

The push into China is the latest international expansion for Joule, which has recently opened branches in Paris, London, Sydney and Melbourne, in addition to offices in New York and Los Angeles. Last month, it named former Microsoft executive Jonathan Tom vice president, media for EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) out of its Paris location. 

“This expansion will allow Joule to better serve our global clients. plus bring the knowledge and expertise of our global network to our clients and agency partners in China,” said Collins. “In addition, it will give us access to innovation from China, which is experiencing massive growth in mobile, that we can bring to our clients in local markets around the world.”

According to an eMarketer report last year, the number of mobile Internet users in China will reach 957 million by 2014, while total mobile subscribers will grow to 1.3 billion. Clearly, WPP sees a major opportunity in being able to monetize that immense potential audience. 

Terms of the Wisereach acquisition were not disclosed.