- Agency.com
Agency.com is an interactive marketing agency based in
New York City with offices worldwide. The company is a part ofOmnicom Group Inc. [ [http://www.hoovers.com/agency.com/--ID__58843--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml Agency.com - Company Overview - Hoover's ] ] [ [http://www.dasglobal.com/codetail.lasso?id=1307 DAS Global: Company Detail ] ] and has approximately 500 employees in eleven offices on three continents. Services include website design and development, interactive marketing, search marketing and rich media development.Company History
On February 10, 1995, Agency.com was incorporated by Chan Suh and Kyle Shannon to provide website development and interactive marketing services. [ [http://ipo.nasdaq.com/TextSection.asp?cikid=9766&fnid=2871&sec=cd IPO Filings ] ] Omnicom Group Inc. purchased a significant minority investment in 1996, providing capitalization for growth into the rapidly expanding market for interactive services. Online Magic, a
UK -based interactive marketing firm established by ad agency DDB was acquired in 1998 to provide Agency.com with its first international location.In 1998, the company merged with Eagle River Interactive to form what was, at the time, the largest interactive marketing agency in the world.Fact|date=July 2008 Other acquisitions in 1998 included Spiral Media in New York and Interactive Solutions in
Boston . [ [http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=9181 Agency.Com-Eagle River Merger Creates a Giant - ClickZ ] ] In 1999 the company acquired iTraffic to bolster its online marketing services offering. Digital Vision Communications was acquired in 1999 in order to give the company a full service presence in theChicago market.In December of that year, the company went public, and was listed on the
NASDAQ stock exchange as ACOM. [ [http://ipo.nasdaq.com/Fundamentals.asp?cikid=9766&fnid=2871&coname=AGENCY+COM+LTD&selected=ACOM&market=Nasdaq+National+Market Key Data ] ] Initiated in 2001 and completed in 2003, the outstanding shares of the company were purchased by Omnicom Group, Inc. to take the company private again. [ [http://www.secinfo.com/dRqWm.4fNK9.htm SEC Info - Seneca Investments LLC, et al. - SC 13D/A - Agency Com Ltd - On 5/15/01 ] ]In 2004, iTraffic was absorbed into the Agency.com operating structure. That same year, the company also acquired Exile on Seventh and absorbed its Internet marketing operations into its
San Francisco office. [ [http://www.internetadsales.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1873 ► Interactive Marketing Agency AGENCY.COM Acquires Exile on Seventh - Web Industry Trends - Online Advertising and Web Industry Trends • Internet Ad Sales ] ]In 2005 the company passed its 10 year anniversary of incorporation and was named “Best Creative Agency” by OMMA Magazine, and “B-to-B Interactive Agency of the Year” by BtoB Magazine.http://www.eriver.com/articles/BtoB_Agency%20of%20the%20Year_2005-06.pdf] The 2006
Forrester Wave Report identified Agency.com as one of the top 3 European Interactive agencies. [ [http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/Excerpt/0,7211,37161,00.html The Forrester Wave™: European Web Design Agencies, Q2 2006 by Iris Cremers - Forrester Research ] ]Industry Recognition
Following are some key awards and recognitions of distinction earned by the company: [ [http://www.spiralmedia.com/facts/awards_archive.asp Agency.com Awards Archive ] ]
* “Revolution Awards Agency of the Year, 2007” [ [http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/644379/Agencycom-Guardian-gold-Revolution-Awards/36DDD5F6995E7BE1585579C143CE600B/ Agency.com and The Guardian get gold at the Revolution Awards - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic ] ]
* 2007 Effie Awards Gold Medal Winner, Retail Campaign, eBay” Effie Awards [ [http://www.effie.org/winners/showcase/2007/1739 Effie Awards : Winners Showcase : 2007 : It ] ]
* “Cannes Cyber Lions 2006 – Online Advertising Finalist, British Airways, Dulux” IPA [http://www.ipa.co.uk/membership/agency_profile/portfolio.cfm?Agency=494]
* “2005 Interactive Agency of the Year“ B-to-B Magazine
* “Best Full-Service Interactive Agency, 2000” ADWEEK [http://www.adweek.com/aw/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=536596]Viral Marketing Controversy
A 2006 ad campaign by Agency.com involved an experimental "viral" pitch video for the
Subway (restaurant) account uploaded ontoYouTube .com. The purpose of the pitch video upload appears to have been an attempt to show Subway Agency.com's online innovation by including a "viral" component in the pitch by documenting the pitch process itself and uploading it for all the world to see, discuss, and pass around. The term, "When we roll, we roll big" was used by an Agency.com employee in the video.Judged by comments posted on industry blogs like AdRants [ [http://www.adrants.com/2006/08/agencycom-has-hispter-orgasm-on-youtube.php Agency.com Has Hispter Orgasm On YouTube » Adrants ] ] , AdWeek Magazine's AdFreak [ [http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/2006/08/agencycom_think.html AdFreak: Agency.com posts Subway pitch video online ] ] , Leo Burnett's Fruits of Imagination [ [http://lbtoronto.typepad.com/lbto/2006/08/when_we_roll_we.html the fruits of imagination: "When we roll, we roll big" ] ] and Iain Tait's Crackunit.com [ [http://www.crackunit.com/2006/08/01/agencycom-viral-pitch-video Agency.com ‘viral’ pitch video | iain tait | crackunit.com ] ] the vast majority of industry response to Agency.com’s tactic has been overwhelmingly negative.Or|date=July 2008 Many comments on YouTube have also noted that the positive comments that were made by YouTube members who have had accounts that, in many cases, were just hours old, adding to suspicion that the positive “buzz” on the YouTube site was merely Agency.com employees patting themselves on their virtual backs.Fact|date=July 2008
Notes
References
* [http://www.adweek.com/aw/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=536596 Best Full-Service Agency: Agency.com] , “ADWEEK”, 02-12-2001. Retrieved June 13, 2007.
* [http://ipo.nasdaq.com/Fundamentals.asp?cikid=9766&fnid=2871&coname=AGENCY+COM+LTD&selected=ACOM&market=Nasdaq+National+Market Initial Public Offerings Key Data Nasdaq.com] , “Nasdaq.com”, 12-08-1999. Retrieved June 13, 2007.
* [http://www.secinfo.com/dRqWm.4fNK9.htm SEC Info – Seneca Investments LLC, et al. • SC 13D/A • Agency Com Ltd • On 5/15/01] , “SECInfo.com”, 05-15-2001. Retrieved June 12, 2007.
* [http://www.eriver.com/articles/BtoB_Agency%20of%20the%20Year_2005-06.pdf 2005 Interactive Agency of the Year] , “BtoB Magazine”, 03-15-2006. Retrieved June 12, 2007.
* [http://www.eriver.com/facts/article_archive.asp#year2003 Agency.com Article Archive] , “ERiver.com”, Retrieved June 12, 2007.
* [http://www.effie.org/winners/showcase/2007/1739 2007 Effie Awards] , “Effie Awards”, 06-07-2007. Retrieved June 13, 2007.
* [http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/644379/Agencycom-Guardian-gold-Revolution-Awards/36DDD5F6995E7BE1585579C143CE600B/ Agency.com and The Guardian get gold at the Revolution Awards] , “BrandRepublic”, 03-17-07. Retrieved June 12, 2007.
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