Marketing firm Wirestone has expanded into the Midwest with the acquisition of two regional interactive agencies, DCG Chicago and Milwaukee-based Websight Solutions.
Following the acquisitions, which bring it to 12 offices in the U.S. and 170 employees, Wirestone projects revenues of $20 million for 2000 and $50 million in 2001.
The acquisitions, spokespeople said, boosts Wirestone’s bottom line, client roster, and its presence east of the Mississippi.
Eight-year-old DCG claims revenues exceeding $1 million, and boasts a client roster including Jim Beam Brands Co., Motorola and A.T. Kearney. In addition to interactive marketing services, DCG Chicago also offers traditional marketing and branding services, including strategy, advertising corporate identity and packaging.
Websight Solutions also bring in revenues of nearly $1 million, according to the firm. Its clients include Secaucus, N.J.-based Panasonic, Cambridge and Mass.-based Lotus Software.
“Acquiring DCG Chicago and Websight Solutions provides Wirestone with a strong presence in the Midwest, with quality teams and strong leadership in both Chicago and Milwaukee,” said Chris Running, president and chief executive at Emeryville, Calif.-based Wirestone.
“We are enthusiastic about their contributions to Wirestone and are extremely impressed with their in-depth knowledge of how to deploy interactive technologies to maximize the impact of their clients’ Web sites, and their consistent and exceptional quality of work.”
The news comes as most interactive marketers are doing anything but expanding. Most recently, New York-based Razorfish confirmed that it had laid off 450 of its 1,950 employees during its most recent round of cuts.
But Wirestone, which also has sizable offline marketing capabilities, is only foreseeing growth in its future. Running said he imagined that the firm would expand to other locations in 2001 — both domestically and outside of the U.S.
Running also said he planned to double the size of the 12-person staff at Wirestone’s new Chicago office, and that the firm also expects to enlarge the number of Milwaukee staffers by an unspecified amount.
“Our charter is to find exceptional firms and highly talented people who want to experience fast-paced growth and the opportunity to work with leading edge technologies and the country’s most talented Internet, marketing and multimedia design experts,” he said.
