Imaginet LLC was founded in 1991, as a

NeXT Computer NeXT Computer (also called the NeXT Computer System) is a workstation computer that was developed, marketed, and sold by NeXT Inc. It was introduced in October 1988 as the company's first and flagship product, at a price of , aimed at the high ...

and

Apple Computer Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Computer Co ...

publishing Value Added Reseller. Its initial focus on

digital printing Digital printing is a method of printing from a Digital data, digital-based image directly to a variety of media. It usually refers to professional printing where small-run jobs from desktop publishing and other digital sources are printed usi ...

was retooled by 1994 to become an early provider of web services, a move that attracted some big-name companies, including 3M, Target Corp, Pillsbury, and

General Mills General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...

. In 1997, Imaginet was sold to the 3M spinoff,

Imation GlassBridge Enterprises, Inc., formerly Imation Corporation, is an American holding company. Through its subsidiary, Glassbridge focuses primarily on investment and asset management. The company was founded in 1996 under its original name o ...

, but the formal corporate culture and Imaginet's decidedly casual one were not a good fit. Within 18 months, the company turned private again. To become a private company, Founders Scott Litman and Dan Mallin partnered with Skip Gage to acquire the company from

and spin it out as a private entity. Along the way, Imaginet acquired the assets of the Gage Interactive Marketing Group. As a private company, Imaginet, LLC flourished in 1999 and 2000, rapidly growing into a regional leader in eServices. The focus of the business was the delivery of web applications that provided personalized and relevant communication to their audiences. Customers included the St. Paul Companies, RBC Dain Rauscher,

Cargill Cargill, Incorporated is an American multinational food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865 by William Wallace Cargill, it is the largest privately held c ...

, Goodyear,

Medtronic Medtronic plc is an American-Irish medical device company. The company's legal and executive headquarters are in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, while its operational headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Medtronic rebased to I ...

, United Health, Lawson Software, Express-Scripts, and

Thomson West West (also known by its original name, West Publishing) is a business owned by Thomson Reuters that publishes legal, business, and regulatory information in print, and on electronic services such as Westlaw. Since the late 19th century, West has ...

. The business was sold once again in the final days of 2000 to

WPP Group WPP plc is a British multinational communications, advertising, public relations, technology, and commerce holding company headquartered in London, England. It is the world's largest advertising company, as of 2023. WPP plc owns many companie ...

, where it became a part of J. Walter Thompson (JWT), one of the world's oldest and largest traditional ad agencies. Post sale, Imagnet, took over the JWT owned entity Cool Fire Interactive and in a move that saved many jobs as the dot com bubble burst that year, replaced Cool Fire's staff with Imaginet employees. Imaginet was rebranded into the RMG Connect international network under JWT. In January 2010, RMG Connect was dissolved and merged with JWT. The office is now known as JWT Minneapolis.

References

{{reflist 1991 establishments in California 2010 disestablishments in California American companies established in 1991 American companies disestablished in 2010 Computer companies disestablished in 2010 Business services companies disestablished in 2010 Computer companies established in 1991 Defunct computer companies based in California Defunct computer companies of the United States Defunct computer hardware companies Marketing companies established in 1991