NMPi and DQ&A to Acquire US Creative Specialist, Joystick

CANNES, France, June 18, 2018 (Newswire.com) - Today, digital media and technology specialists, NMPi and DQ&A, have announced that they are to acquire U.S. digital creative specialists, Joystick. In doing so the global marketing group will comprise 340 employees across 16 offices globally.

The forward-thinking acquisition will allow the global marketing group to bring together media, technology, and creative, enabling brands to achieve high-quality customer experience and improve customer loyalty.

As data gives us a better understanding of the consumer and their online journey, we are seeing a rapid shift in the digital ecosystem. It's no longer about choosing channels to run your marketing activity; now the spotlight is on creating a flawless experience for the consumer. This is exactly why we are focused on reinventing what it means to be a digital marketing specialist, and joining forces with Joystick is a major step in that journey, allowing us to offer a more complete service focused on end-to-end customer experience.

Luke Judge, CEO

The announcement was made during the first day of The Cannes Lions Creative Festival, where the industry comes together to celebrate creativity in advertising and technology. It also follows NMPi’s 2017 global expansion into 6 new markets, including 2 offices in the U.S., as well as their recent acquisition of U.S. boutique Paid Social specialists, MediaPact. With DQ&A also launching in South-East Asia, Australia, Africa and Italy, this only serves to strengthen the marketing group’s international presence and localized expertise.

“As data gives us a better understanding of the consumer and their online journey, we are seeing a rapid shift in the digital ecosystem. It’s no longer about choosing channels to run your marketing activity; now the spotlight is on creating a flawless experience for the consumer. This is exactly why we are focused on reinventing what it means to be a digital marketing specialist, and joining forces with Joystick is a major step in that journey, allowing us to offer a more complete service focused on end-to-end customer experience,” commented Luke Judge, CEO of NMPi.

Originally founded in the U.S., Joystick has a team of over 90 digital creative experts across 5 international offices, who focus on building digital creative advertising solutions and innovations. They bring with them an extensive clientele that includes Google, HBO, Disney and Kroger, adding to NMPi and DQ&A’s clients such as, L'Oréal, Papa John’s, Hanes, Freeview, Melia Hotels, and Samsung.

Joystick’s entire leadership team, including Sara Francis and Dave Rosowsky, will be remaining on post-acquisition. Sara and Dave have been elevated to CEO and COO respectively.

Sara Francis, CEO of Joystick commented on the agreement: “This is an exciting time for our businesses to come together as one strong force. The alignment could not be more perfect with what we do and where we want to go. We look forward to leading the way in digital innovation and collectively creating a compelling offering for clients.”

DQ&A is Google DoubleClick’s largest EMEA partner in the technology and professional services field. When combined with Joystick’s DoubleClick Creative Partner status, the acquisition forms a strengthened DoubleClick relationship, further solidifying its strategic offering and authenticity within the digital industry.

CEO of DQ&A, Mike Ossendrijver, added: “We saw a significant gap in the market for a solution that will enable our clients to enhance all aspects of the customer’s online media journey, and we couldn’t be more excited to finally close the marketing loop by combining technology, data, media, and now industry-leading creative services. Digital innovation is at the heart of NMPi and DQ&A, and this acquisition will bring further opportunities for us to drive development with the use of Joystick’s Innovation lab and its deep creative industry knowledge and partnerships.”

Owen Jenkinson, Marketing Director at Freeview commented, “The way we work as an industry has always been particularly siloed and segmented, which is often reflected in the consumer’s experience. If you reach them at the right place and at the right time but with the wrong creative, it just won’t work. That is why the acquisition of Joystick is so exciting for us as a business. It will allow us to deliver a creative online experience from the start of their journey to the end goal.”

This acquisition, which is being led by NMPi and DQ&A UK’s parent company, Net Media Planet Ltd., will take NMPi, DQ&A, and Joystick’s business size to over 340 people in 16 locations including London, New York, Los Angeles, Cape Town, Singapore and Madrid. The acquisition is subject to standard completion procedures and is expected to complete within the month.

Source: NMPi