Kingdom Collective will become a founding member of Splendid Collective, which is billed as a "network of like-minded agencies with a shared vision to produce the most meaningful and effective creative work".
London-based Kingdom Collective has worked with clients including Dr. Martens, Pioneer DJ, Red Bull and YouTube. Recent wins include overseeing Hennessy’s culture programme and the launch of music education start-up Virtuoso. Kingdom Collective’s client work sits alongside the management of its own cultural platforms, such as Beat Hotel, the international festival brand.
The two agencies will continue to work for their own clients and will collaborate on new projects when the opportunity arises, Splendid stated.
The agency said that through the partnership, Splendid Collective will gain a specialist capability in youth culture across music, fashion, the arts and lifestyle, adding to its work with consumer brands. Kingdom Collective will benefit from the "management experience, organisational support and investment that will accelerate its growth".
Splendid Communications CEO Alec Samways will join Kingdom Collective's board of directors and "help plan and support its future growth". Kingdom Collective will continue to be led by founder Nick Griffiths and second-in-command Emma La Terriere, with client strategy director Dani Thornton also staying in the senior management team.
The move follows Splendid's appointment of chief financial officer Damon Kelly from Frank PR earlier this year.
Samways says: “The vision behind Splendid Collective is to invest in well-run, ambitious and values-led independent agencies. We want to supply the management and funds necessary for them to grow, while addressing the many issues and challenges our industry and communities face. Our goal is to achieve creative freedom to produce work, which we believe will have a positive impact on the world. Damon Kelly has joined to support me in finding partners who share our values and ambitions. We’re delighted to have Kingdom Collective join us for this journey and hope there will be others who follow.”
Griffiths says: “The partnership is extremely exciting for us and we’re looking forward to gaining the added commercial clout and future focus that being a part of Splendid Collective will bring. This will allow us to accelerate our own growth and continue to do the work that we love.”
The size of the combined new entity, in terms of headcount and revenue, has not been disclosed, but Splendid said both agencies expect to see revenue growth in excess of 20 per cent this year. There will be no reduction in headcount associated with the deal, the firm added.
Splendid said it continues to search for partnerships with "agencies that are experts in their field and who can add depth and breadth to Splendid Collective capabilities".
The agency's client wins this year include finance brand Laybuy, food delivery service Oddbox, drinks firm Quintessential Brands Group, and beer brand Peroni.
