MediaCom acquires stake in Rapid Media Services
GroupM's MediaCom has acquired a stake in Rapid Media Services, the media arm of full service advertising and communications agency Rapid Media.
Rapid Media Services specialises in media strategy, planning and buying across all traditional, digital and emerging channels and has been affiliated with the MediaCom network since 2001.
The company will trade under the name Rapid Media Services and will be led by MD Vaughan O’Connor. It will continue to operate as an independent and stand-alone business, and will work closely with MediaCom to bring the most appropriate staff from either business to deliver exceptional work to clients.
O’Connor said there's huge opportunity for its clients to benefit from the size and scale of being more closely aligned to GroupM.
Bauer to close Top Gear magazine
Bauer Media today announced the closure of TopGear Australia magazine and its companion website, with the magazine ceasing publication on all platforms from 11 September.
Bauer's chief executive officer David Goodchild said: “TopGear Australia magazine had entertained and delighted many hundreds of thousands of readers over the years with its irreverent take on the motoring genre, however TopGear’s skew towards international content meant it no longer fitted Bauer Media’s evolving motoring strategy."
The closure of TopGear Australia magazine encompasses print, website and social media assets, with the BBC Worldwide continuing to manage topgear.com and all other global assets.
TopGear Australia launched in June 2008 and is a product of Park Publishing – a joint venture between BBC Worldwide ANZ and Bauer Media.
Razorfish acquires 2DataFish
Publicis-owned digital agency Razorfish Global has acquired Sydney-based 2DataFish to strengthen its commerce and data analytics capabilities.
2DataFish is an analytics and marketing optimisation consultancy in Australia and is the only Adobe partner in the wider APAC region that can provide end-to-end cloud marketing services at scale.
It was founded in 2010 by Steven and Kim Hann, who will both continue as co-directors, and specialises in online testing, content optimisation, analytics, audience segmentation and tag management.
Razorfish Global international CEO Michael Karg said: “This move positions us to accelerate growth in the Australian market while building on a clear competitive advantage in our Intelligence Practice through the addition of world-class talent, data analytics and customer intelligence capabilities, technology platforms and intellectual property.”
QMS expands to New Zealand
QMS has expanded to New Zealand through a rebranding of the Ambient Group to QMS NZ.
The ASX-listed outdoor company is the majority owner of Ambient, which will now operate its media offering across ambient, experiential, talent and PR as QMS NZ. QMS CEO Barclay Nettlefold said the name change will allow the business to expand further into the NZ market.
"We are committed to growing our presence in the New Zealand market, particularly through an expanded inventory of digital outdoor assets," Nettlefold said. "We expect the demand for digital to power the out-of-home advertising market in New Zealand as it has in Australia."
QMS NZ CEO Chris Monaghan said: “Our partnership with QMS is a clear way forward to become an outdoor force in the New Zealand market. We are now able to leverage the expertise of the fastest growing outdoor company in Australasia and provide world-class digital advertising expertise and technology options to agencies and clients."
J Walter Thompson Melbourne appoints head of planning
J Walter Thompson Melbourne has appointed Simon McCrudden as head of planning.
McCrudden leaves his role at Naked Communications as executive planning director, which he started in February this year. He previously worked as an executive planning director at BMF and held a role at Wieden + Kennedy London.
JWT national executive planning director Angela Morris said: "He’s a great strategist, with a history of effective creative work.
"Moreover, his way of thinking is beautifully aligned with the way that we are evolving planning and the collaborative non-siloed ways of working that we have embraced across the agency.”
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