Agency.com was an interactive marketing agency based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

with offices worldwide. The company was a part of

Omnicom Group Omnicom Group Inc. is an American global media, marketing and corporate communications holding company, headquartered in New York City. Omnicom's branded networks and specialty firms provide services in four disciplines: advertising, customer r ...

Inc. and had approximately 500 employees in eleven offices on three continents. Services included website design and development, interactive marketing, search marketing and

rich media Interactive media refers to digital experiences that dynamically respond to user input, delivering content such as text, images, animations, video, audio, and even AI-driven interactions. Over the years, interactive media has expanded across ...

development.

Company history

Starting in 1994, Gabrielle Shannon began publishing ''Urban Desires'', one of the first and most popular early

webzines An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to an online only magazine was the computer ...

, in collaboration with Chan Suh and Kyle Shannon. The webzine was a production of Agency.com but motivated by pleasure rather than profit. On February 10, 1995, Agency.com was incorporated by Suh and (Kyle) Shannon to provide website development and interactive marketing services. Omnicom Group Inc. purchased a significant minority investment in 1996, providing capitalization for growth into the rapidly expanding market for interactive services. Online Magic, a UK-based interactive marketing firm established by ad agency

DDB Worldwide DDB Worldwide Communications Group LLC, known internationally as DDB, is a worldwide marketing communications network. It is owned by Omnicom Group, one of the world's largest advertising holding companies. The international advertising networks ...

, was acquired in 1998 to provide Agency.com with its first international location. In 1998, the company merged with Eagle River Interactive to form what was, at the time, the largest interactive marketing agency in the world. Other acquisitions in 1998 included Spiral Media in New York and Interactive Solutions in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. In 1999 the company acquired to bolster its online marketing services offering. Digital Vision Communications was acquired in 1999 in order to give the company a full service presence in the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

market. Also in 1999, an office in Amsterdam, the Netherlands was open by acquiring Twinspark Interactive People BV. In December of that year, the company went public, and was listed on the

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...

stock exchange as ACOM. Initiated in 2001 and completed in 2003, the company was taken private by an investment firm. It was later sold to Omnicom. In 2004, was absorbed into the Agency.com operating structure. That same year, the company also acquired Exile on Seventh and absorbed its Internet marketing operations into its

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

office. In 2006, Agency.com expanded operations in Europe with the rebranding of Hypervision in Belgium and TEQUILA\Digital in Italy. In 2008, co-founder Chan Suh returned to the position of CEO at the fledgling agency. However, in late 2009 co-founder Chan Suh and EVP Ken Trush resigned from their positions with the company as a result of an impending merger with fellow Omnicom agency TBWA\Chiat\Day. In 2010, Omnicom announced the dismantling of Agency.com in the United States, but the brand remained in Europe. In 2011 most of the remaining Agency.com converged in The Designory. In Italy the agency was partly absorbed by TBWA\ and partly bought out by the management, and then merged in Draftfcb; in Belgium the brand remained under the umbrella of TBWA\.

Viral marketing controversy

A 2006 ad campaign by Agency.com involved an experimental "viral" pitch video for the

Subway (restaurant) Subway IP LLC, trading as Subway, is an American multinational fast food restaurant franchise that specializes in submarine sandwiches (subs) and wraps. It was founded by Fred DeLuca and financed by Peter Buck in 1965 as Pete's Super Submar ...

account uploaded onto

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

.com. The purpose of the pitch video upload appears to have been an attempt to show Agency.com's online innovation to Subway by including a "viral" component in the pitch by documenting the pitch process itself and uploading it for all the world to see, discuss, and pass around. The term, "When we roll, we roll big" was used by an Agency.com employee in the video. Industry commentary was generally negative.Agency.com ‘viral’ pitch video , iain tait , crackunit.com
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References

Best Full-Service Agency: Agency.com
“ADWEEK”, 02-12-2001. Retrieved June 13, 2007.
Initial Public Offerings Key Data Nasdaq.com
“Nasdaq.com”, 12-08-1999. Retrieved June 13, 2007.

“SECInfo.com”, 05-15-2001. Retrieved June 12, 2007.
2007 Effie Awards
“Effie Awards”, 06-07-2007. Retrieved June 13, 2007.
Agency.com and The Guardian get gold at the Revolution Awards
“BrandRepublic”, 03-17-07. Retrieved June 12, 2007.

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agency.Com Digital marketing companies of the United States

Company history

Viral marketing controversy

See also

References

External links