London 21st January 2014: Lowe and Partners, a division of Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG), today announced the acquisition of the global digital network Profero. The agency will be called Lowe Profero and will be fully integrated into the Lowe and Partners network, serving as its global digital offering. Lowe and Profero have previously worked together on shared clients including Danone, Diageo, PwC and Unilever’s OMO and TRESemmé. The current management team from Profero will lead the Lowe Profero unit, reporting to Michael Wall and the Lowe and Partners Leadership Team. Co-founder Wayne Arnold will serve as Global CEO of Lowe Profero.
All Profero offices will rebrand to Lowe Profero and initially, the two networks will focus on building a fully integrated offer in five key global locations: Australia, China, Singapore, UK and the U.S. Near-term plans include extending the Lowe Profero brand into additional growth markets. Existing Lowe offices in these five initial markets will continue to exist as is, with co-location to occur in certain markets, notably the U.S.
Profero, co-founded in 1998 by Wayne Arnold, specializes in digital advertising, media and marketing solutions and has offices in Australia, China (Shanghai and Beijing), Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, UK and the U.S. The agency has been named in the Advertising Age “A-List,” and has received numerous awards, including “Best in Mobile” from the Mobile Marketing Association for OMO, “Best Travel App” for its work with Barclays Bikes from Mobile effectiveness awards and BIMA’s agency of the year.
Profero’s clients include global marketers like Unilever, ASOS, Diageo, Marks and Spencer and Western Union, in addition to many local market clients. Profero is known for ground-breaking work including the Smirnoff Night Life Exchange, a complex global initiative, innovations like The Marks and Spencer Blooming QR code and world class responsive web platforms for ASOS, Duty Free Shopping and Vogue.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
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