NEW YORK: MDC Partners has formed an agency network bringing together U.S. creative shop Doner with six complementary specialist firms in North America, including PR firms KWT Global and HL Group.
The group includes digital influencer marketing and PR firm Veritas and its content production shop Meat&Produce, with offices in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver; marketing agency 6Degrees Integrated Communications, based in Toronto and New York; brand and advertising agency Yamamoto, based in Minneapolis and Chicago; creative, technology and media agency Union, based in Toronto and Montreal; brand strategy and digital PR agency KWT Global in New York, London and Toronto; and luxury and lifestyle PR firm HL Group, out of New York and Los Angeles.
Doner CEO David DeMuth will serve as chair of the network, with Krista Webster, CEO of Veritas and Meat&Produce, and Kathy McCuskey, CEO of Yamamoto, as vice chairs.
6Degrees CEO Troy Yung, HL Group CEO Lynn Tesoro, KWT Global head Aaron Kwittken and Union CEO Sub Nijjar will continue to lead their firms. They will collaborate to support increasingly global marketers across the network, according to a statement from MDC.
"Iron sharpens iron," said Kwittken. "As we enter our 10th year with MDC with a compounded annual growth rate of more than 15% since joining the network, a track record of high operating margins year-over-year and a strong client roster, we’re excited to partner with other high-performing agencies within MDC that share our commitment to operational excellence, non-negotiable values, inclusive culture and love for the tradecraft."
The network includes 700 employees in a dozen offices in North America who will work with clients in industries including automotive, CPG, health and wellness, technology, business services, retail, media, entertainment, fashion and lifestyle.
The goal of the network is to offer wider services to clients, streamline back-office operations within MDC and promote cooperation and collaboration in the delivery of new marketing offerings, the holding company said in a statement.
MDC chairman and CEO Mark Penn, a former Microsoft executive and one-time CEO of Burson-Marsteller, began managing MDC in March, after the Stagwell Group, the investment company he founded, invested $100 million in the holding company. Separately, Stagwell also owns a minority stake in Finn Partners.
MDC Partners reported a nearly 9% drop in revenue in Q3 to $342 million.
