MindShare to swallow Generation

Dean Weller, founder of youth media agency Generation Media, is folding his company into MindShare, along with accounts worth about &£4m.

Weller, who launched Generation Media in January 2002, joins MindShare with the planning and buying accounts for HIT Entertainment and Atari. HIT is the production company behind children’s television show Bob the Builder, while Atari, previously known as Infogrames, is a leading games company.

Weller, who has yet to be given a title at MindShare, will have two roles. He will build up MindShare Play, a dedicated consumer insight division concentrating on the youth market. He will also take charge of MindShare Worldwide’s Mattel account, with a brief to develop the toy manufacturer’s global strategy – the toy company spends &£31m on advertising in the UK alone.

Generation Media scooped the &£1m HIT business in a pitch against OMD UK, MindShare and Rocket in July 2002 (MW July 25, 2002). It grabbed the &£3m Atari business from Carat last May. With the transfer of accounts to MindShare, Generation Media will now cease to exist.

Weller is a former strategic planning director at The Media Business (now MediaCom). Prior to founding Generation Media, he was involved in The First Age Media Company, a joint venture with The Media Shop.