• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, December 18, 2012

Publicis Groupe has acquired Stockholm-based mobile agency Monterosa. The holding company said the newly acquired mobile specialist will report into creative agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH), which Publicis bought control of earlier this year.

The acquisition comes as more marketers are allotting bigger budgets to the mobile space. According to eMarketer, mobile spending would nearly quadruple in the next four years to $23.6 billion.

“The ubiquity and intimacy of smartphones make mobile campaigns an entirely new way to communicate with consumers,” stated Gwyn Jones, CEO of BBH Group. “Mobile ads can be useful and pertinent, but they can also be perceived by consumers as disruptive.” Jones added that the agency’s task would be to create mobile campaigns that are “friendly and relevant” as well as technically seamless.

Monterosa was founded in 2009. Carl Norberg, a co-founder of the agency, will continue to lead it and report to BBH’s Jones.

In addition to its Stockholm headquarters, Monterosa has offices in New York and Singapore. Clients include Carlsberg, Google, Mercedes Benz, Samsung and Vodafone. The Monterosa team is credited with creating the AT&T “Daybreak” app for the U.S. market and the Axe “Dare” app for the pan-Asian region. 

Monterosa will keep its name and the agency will continue to work with its own clients, as well as with other clients throughout the BBH and Publicis Groupe, per the holding company.