Maja Pawinska Sims 28 Nov 2018 // 11:19AM GMT
LONDON — Marketing and communications collective The Miroma Group has bought global integrated agency Way To Blue, in its largest acquisition to date.
The all-share deal enables Miroma, which is privately-held and generated $150 million turnover in the last financial year, to add digital marketing services to its offer, expand its entertainment client portfolio and spread its geographical footprint.
Way To Blue is headquartered in London and has offices in LA, Madrid, Munich, Amsterdam, Paris, Rome and Sydney, from which it services the AsiaPac region. The team of 100 works for consumer, lifestyle and entertainment brands including Amazon, NBC Universal, InterContinental Hotels Group, 20th Century Fox and Red Bull.
CEO Adam Rubins and directors Marc Berry Reid and Daniel Heale will transition with the business. Way To Blue founder Olly Swanton has left the company he started 22 years ago as a music journalist.
Swanton stepped back from the day-to-day running of the agency two years ago as part of succession planning, and is now involved in new ventures including travel website Trip Historic and making films as the executive producer of Ribeye Films.
He told the Holmes Report: “I stumbled on an opportunity to start a business in the digital space at the right time, and it was a surprise that I liked it as much as I did. Over the years we expanded internationally, moved from music to film to tourism and leisure and bought four companies. I like constant change, so I’ve stepped away from comms and PR for the time being. This is an amazing opportunity for the Way To Blue team, they are about to have an exciting new adventure.”
Miroma’s services include media trading, planning, content production and editing and influencer marketing, for clients including LVMH, Heineken, RBS, McDonalds, ebay & L’Oréal. Its last major purchase was Contented, the news studio specialising in short-form video production, in 2016. Its Miroma Ventures operation invests in consumer brand and media platforms and has a stake in more than 35 companies including nested and Pinterest.
Marc Boyan, Miroma’s CEO (pictured, right, with Rubins), said the Way To Blue acquisition was an important step for the group: “The Miroma Group has always prided itself on offering clients an end-to-end creative service. With Way To Blue, we can take a 360 degree approach to marketing for clients into global markets as well as add specialist areas. With 30% growth from its integrated business last year, Way To Blue is clearly one to watch in shaping the future of marketing communications. We are delighted to have them on board.”
Rubins added: “We have built a brilliant integrated business capable of serving any industry with an extremely talented team worldwide. We think the time is right for us to build on that position, adding depth and breadth to our capabilities to meet future client needs and to become best in class.”