Publicis Groupe acquires South African media agency Lighthouse Digital
Publicis Groupe has announced its acquisition of South African digital media agency Lighthouse Digital, to be integrated within Starcom MediaVest Group.
Lighthouse is well regarded for its use of social analytics tools as the first agency in Africa to offer clients a proprietary real-time reporting dashboard. The agency is also experienced in the use of automated bid management tools for paid search and media buying.
Iain Jacob, president of dynamic markets for SMGsaid: “We are in growth mode in South Africa, recognizing its importance as a market and a hub for the entire continent. With this acquisition of Lighthouse Digital, SMG in South Africa will become a stronger, wholly integrated agency with digital at its core. In this way, we’re far ahead of the market and poised to offer our clients innovative and future-forward work, ahead of our competitors. I welcome Aaron to SMG, and look forward to working with him closely.”
Aaron van Schaik, CEO of Lighthouse Digital added: “Starcom MediaVest Group has a solid reputation in Africa and around the world for providing top notch media services to their clients, and it’s a pleasure to be joining the SMG family. Aligning with SMG gives us global scale and a more powerful face to the market which we can leverage to constantly improve our offering and give our clients the tools and solutions they won’t get anywhere else.”
Lighthouse Digital employs a team of 30 from offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town.