Leagas forms digital partnership
Leagas Delaney is boosting its digital credentials by taking a “substantial” stake in digital creative agency Holst Digital.
The group says it committed to a joint venture with Holst after it found its clients want more digital expertise. London managing director Elliot Moss says it has been looking at buying or partnering with a digital agency since last summer.
Holst, whose clients include Nokia and News International, will share Leagas’ offices with its design arm, Carbon Design. It will pitch for business with the ad agency and attend all client briefings, strategy sessions and creative presentations.
Leagas has previously worked with Holst on clients including Nationwide, Emirates, Goodyear and Reebok. But 70% of Holst’s business will remain separate from Leagas Delaney.
Holst was set up nearly two years ago by creative director Mads Holst and digital specialist David Greyling. Previously the business was called Holst Creative. Leagas’ Moss says almost a third of the London agency’s work is digital and the fastest growing part of its business.
Group chairman Tim Delaney calls the consolidation a “natural development”. He says: “Consumer behaviour has changed forever, which is why for some time now digital has been at the heart of all our ideas.”
Leagas Delaney first launched a new media operation in the late 1990s, which was rebranded as The Digital Partners in 1999. It worked with clients such as Boo.com and Adidas.
