I see that BBH has bought Brooklyn digital agency Domani and installed Domani founder Jonathan Hills as head of digital in its New York office.
BBH is now wholly owned by Publicis Groupe and it must be heartening for the agency to see that Publicis is prepared to invest in it. BBH had a rough year in the UK in 2014, mitigated by the win early this year of Tesco. More recently it added Tesco’s production work from Tag, by far the biggest part of the account in recent years.
At various times BBH has been quite a famous agency in New York but, like its British peers, has struggled to gain the scale it needs it needs to challenge much bigger Madison Avenue rivals. M&C Saatchi has struggled too while Mother, arguably, has done better. Lowe Group CEO Michael Wall recently joined Mother as a partner and he can be expected to try to boost the agency in the US, maybe with a West Coast office.
Domani’s Hills (left) says: “This move is a great fit, both strategically and culturally. We have a shared passion for the transformative power of a strong creative strategy – and the role that digital plays within that strategy to effect behavior and build great brands.”
BBH’s main client in the US is SonyPlaystation.
