Vitamins and supplements company Swisse Wellness has completed the acquisition of Australian-based advertising agency Noisy Beast, AdNews can reveal.
Swisse acquired the remaining 53% share of Noisy Beast, one of the fastest growing agencies in Australia, which recently picked up Suzuki as a media client. The financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.
Consultancies and tech companies have been encroaching in the media and marketing space in recent years, including Accenture's buy out of The Monkeys and RXP's acquistion of The Works, but it is rare for a vitamins company to enter this space.
The acquisition offers Noisy Beast the financial clout to grow the business in Australia and globally, with strong ties to China.
“This is a very exciting day for all Noisy Beast staff and clients. The advertising industry is continuing to evolve and with the full backing of Swisse, Noisy Beast is perfectly positioned for growth,” Noisy Beast managing director Adam Hilton says.
Noisy Beast says it has an “intimate knowledge of the Chinese market” and is preparing to double the size of its team in China while establishing a presence in Hong Kong and the US over the next six months.
It has 50 staff working at offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Guangzhou and London. Its client book includes Suzuki Automobiles, Simonds Homes, Canstar, Coates Hire, Chervon and Natures Organics, PGT Healthcare and Swisse Wellness.
The business will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the rapidly growing supplements brand, which itself was bought out by Chinese pharma company Biostime International late 2016.
The two parties said the change in ownership will have no impact on day-to-day business operations, with both companies continuing to run independently.
Noisy Beast was charged with helping Swisse expands its operations overseas in a lucrative global contract in 2014. This involved setting up successful ambassador and media alignment strategy that has helped the the Swisse brand and gain market share in Europe, Asia and the US.
The vitamins business now has annual sales of $650 million, including a market leadership position in the key Chinese market.
“Noisy Beast has been vital in creating and delivering the Swisse brand to the world. From our taglines, product development, creative and high-impact media buying, Noisy has been our brand custodian for a number of years,” Swisse managing director Oliver Horn says.
“The spirit of Swisse is already very much a part of Noisy Beast and having worked closely for such a long time the integration will be seamless. This move makes sense for both businesses and Noisy will be the creative catalyst for our next phase of growth.”
Noisy Beast client list
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