Dentsu Aegis Network acquires leading Australian digital agency Soap Creative

Dentsu Aegis Network has today announced the acquisition of leading digital creative agency Soap Creative. The acquisition bolsters the network’s size and scale in the digital creative sphere in the market, adding expertise in gaming along with innovation, technology and social.

Soap Creative and Soap Mobile Games Studio (SMG), comprising of around 50 staff in total, will become a company within Isobar, Dentsu Aegis Network’s global digital marketing agency. They will be referred to as “Soap – Linked by Isobar”.

The move comes nearly two weeks after Dentsu Aegis acquired a majority share of BWM Group in Australia to rebrand as BWM Dentsu.

Soap Creative founders Ashley Ringrose and Bradley Eldridge will remain with the business and will report to Konrad Spilva, Isobar managing director, Australia & New Zealand, as well as working with the other 25 agency brands within Dentsu Aegis Network locally.

Says Luke Littlefield, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network Australia & New Zealand: “We’re delighted to welcome the Soap team to our Group. The acquisition supports our strategic development, adding scale and size to our digital capabilities and allowing us to further diversify our offering in the digital creative space for our clients.

“Culturally, Soap is a great fit for us. I look forward to bringing new thinking and expertise to our network and providing Soap and its clients with access to our global resources, skills and knowledge.”

Says Konrad Spilva, managing director of Isobar in Australia & New Zealand: “There are fantastic synergies between the work that Soap does and the capabilities that we have within Isobar. I’ve great respect and admiration for the Soap team and look forward to working closely with them moving forward.”

Ringrose said the decision to join Dentsu Aegis Network over other global groups was driven by several factors.

Says Ringrose: “After almost 13 years, we were looking at ways we could further continue to evolve and improve our offer for clients. We wanted to join people who had the same entrepreneurial spirit and focus on innovation as us. Dentsu Aegis Network’s various agency businesses, and the opportunity to work closely together with them, was also instrumental in the decision. I can’t wait to see this partnership roll out in 2015 and beyond.”