Aegis Group
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| Type | Public limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media |
| Founded | 1966 (Centrale d'achats radio, affichage, télévision) 1989 (Aegis) |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Key people | John Napier (Chairman) Jerry Buhlmann (CEO) |
| Revenue | £1,135.0 million (2011)[1] |
| Operating income | £197.4 million (2011)[1] |
| Net income | £81.1 million (2011)[1] |
| Employees | circa 11,000 (2012)[2] |
| Parent | Dentsu |
| Subsidiaries | Carat Vizeum iProspect Apollo Marketing Isobar Posterscope Litmus MR Sales Out |
| Website | www.aegismedia.com |
Aegis Group plc, trading as Aegis Media, is a multinational media and digital marketing communications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Dentsu. Its principal services are communications strategy through digital creative execution, media planning and buying, brand tracking and marketing analytics. It is organised into six main divisions: Carat, Vizeum, Posterscope, Isobar, iProspect, and Aztec.
Aegis's origins date back to the founding of the media agency Centrale d'achats radio, affichage, télévision (Carat) in France in 1966. Formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, Aegis was acquired by the Japanese advertising company Dentsu in March 2013.
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History[edit]
The business can be traced back to the founding in France in 1966 by Gilbert Gross of the media agency Centrale d'achats radio, affichage, télévision (Carat).[3]
In 1979 WCRS Group was formed as an advertising agency and in 1984 WCRS Group acquired Carat. WCRS Group became one of the fastest growing marketing services groups of the 1980s.[4]
WCRS Group was led by Peter Scott—the ‘S’ of WCRS[5]— who went on to found Aegis in 1989 as a separate company based on the original WCRS media buying division which itself was centred around the French media business Carat.
The old WCRS agency has re-emerged as part of the Engine Group.[6]
In 1990, the name of the company was officially changed from WCRS to Aegis Group.[3]
In July 2012 the Japanese advertising company Dentsu agreed to acquire Aegis for £3.16 billion (US$5 billion).[7][8] Aegis shareholders approved the transaction on 16 August 2012[9] and the acquisition was completed on 26 March 2013 following receipt of clearance from the anti-trust authorities of China.[10]
Operations[edit]
Aegis has the following main subsidiaries and divisions:[11]
- Carat: a media communications specialist
- Isobar: a global digital marketing network
- iProspect: a global digital performance marketing agency
- Posterscope: an out-of-home media specialist
- Vizeum: a media communications specialist
- Aztec: a provider of scan-data services to consumer packaged goods retailers and manufacturers
Services[edit]
Aegis' services include:
- Advertising forecasting[12]
- Communications strategy and consultancy
- Consumer insight and media research solutions
- Offline and Online media planning and buying
- Data analysis and evaluation
- Digital search management (PPC, SEO)
- Digital consultancy including email, mobile, affliliates and site-build, SEO and digital creative solutions through the Isobar network
- Media sponsorship - creation, negotiation and management
- Branded content - creation, negotiation and management
- Event sponsorship - creation, negotiation and management including bespoke event creation
- Sport sponsorship - creation, negotiation and management
- Customer communications planning
- Direct response planning and buying
- Business-to-business media planning and buying
[edit]
The company is governed by a board of directors, whose current members include John Napier (Chairman), Jerry Buhlmann (CEO, Aegis group plc and Aegis Media), Harold Mitchell (Executive Chairman, Aegis Media Pacific), Nick Priday (Chief Financial Officer) and 5 other non-executive Directors.
French corporate raider Vincent Bolloré began mopping up shares in the company in 2006. In April 2008, he is registered as the largest single shareholder in the company with a 29.9% stake. He has repeatedly requested board representation, but shareholders have rebutted his overtures four times.[13]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Interim Management Statement November 2012
- ^ Aegis: People
- ^ a b A History of Firsts
- ^ Simon Marquis, Full service will never be resumed, Guardian, February 19th 2007
- ^ Caroline Marshall, Ad hoc: Agency warhorses come charging back for buyout, Daily Telegraph, April 12, 2004
- ^ Dan Sabbagh, Agency finds new power in Engine, Times, November 18, 2005
- ^ "Aegis sold to Dentsu to create global digital media giant". BBC News. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
- ^ "Aegis agrees £3.16bn cash offer from Dentsu". The Telegraph. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
- ^ "Japan's Dentsu to Acquire Aegis Group for $4.9 billion". AdAge. 12 July 2012.
- ^ "Dentsu Completes Aegis Acquistion". Adweek. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
- ^ "Our businesses". Aegis Group. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
- ^ Carat forecasts for worldwide advertising expenditure in 2013 and 2014
- ^ Bowser, Jacquie (11 April 2008). "Bollore's Aegis request looks doubtful after poor Havas performance", Brand Republic.
