McCann Worldgroup Australia Acquires SMART

Mc Cann Worldgroup acquires one of the largest agencies in Australia

PRESS RELEASE

McCann Worldgroup Australia announced today the acquisition of SMART, an award-winning creative shop and one of the largest independent ad agencies in Australia and New Zealand. The combined operation will make McCann Erickson one of Australia’s largest agencies. The new entity assumes the name McCann Erickson Australia and will operate in the current McCann Worldgroup offices.

SMART is owned and led by CEO Ben Lilley, Executive Creative Director John Mescall and Managing Partner and National Planning Director Ashley Farr. SMART has offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Queensland and Auckland and has extensive experience across a range of local and global clients including adidas, ANZ Bank, Coca Cola, Dulux, Ferrero, Levi’s, News Limited, SEEK, Specsavers, Unilever, Vodafone and numerous government agencies. Effective immediately, Ben Lilley assumes the role as Chief Executive Officer of the combined operation, replacing Chris Mort. Ashley Farr will oversee the Sydney office and lead the planning discipline.

Commenting on the leadership transition, Chris Mort said, “McCann is an organization with a unmatched global heritage and is a brand-building partner to many of the most sophisticated and famous marketers in the world. Ben and the outstanding team at SMART are an exceptional complement to our network and this partnership further propels the transformation of McCann Worldgroup across a significant market.”

Charles Cadell, Regional Managing Director McCann Worldgroup SEA and Australasia commented, “SMART has an amazing reputation and is famous for its irreverent, youthful and exuberant advertising and its vibrant media footprint. The collective genius of SMART’s exceptional local expertise combined with the scale of McCann Worldgroup provides an even greater foundation to produce groundbreaking work from the local to the global stage. SMART considers itself a “borderless” agency that fits in seamlessly with the McCann Worldgroup mission of integration.”

CEO Ben Lilley said: “SMART has proudly been an independent agency with an outstanding track record of growth and creative excellence over the last ten years. Uniting with McCann Worldgroup was the perfect next step in our evolution. Our aspirations, vision and principles are absolutelyaligned. The combined competencies of our agencies coupled with the global footprint of McCann Worldgroup creates an unrivalled strategic and creative offering across the Australian and New Zealand markets.”