• by Steve Smith  @popeyesm, March 1, 2013

Ogilvy & Mather has taken a majority investment in South African mobile marketing firm Strike Media Proprietary Limited. Strike is a full service mobile agency that provides consulting, customized campaigns, business integration of mobile solutions and mobile payment solutions. The company lists among its clients Acer, Monster drinks, Nokia, Gillette, Cape Argus and Cubic Ice. Strike offers strategic planning, bulk messaging, app development, site building and other services.

Ogilvy & Mather CEO Miles Young said in a statement that the acquisition is part of the company’s ambition to have a worldwide presence as mobile access become s a primary means of connectivity for much of the world. “Unlimited connectivity is the next stage of progression and regions like Africa and Asia are core drivers in this evolution,” he states.

Strike will maintain independent operations as a separate company but will be part of the Mobile@Ogilvy practice under Martine Lange, Executive Marketing Director of Digital Strategy and the global head of Mobile@Ogilvy. Lange explains that the acquisition of Strike puts the practice at the center of the continent’s marketing expansion. “Mobile is the medium that will galvanize African marketing.”

This is the latest in a series of Ogilvy & Mather acquisitions of late, including the purchase of Effective UI and The Royal Order (US), DT Digital (Australia), Foster and Possible (Brazil).