WPP Superunion merger forms Design Bridge & Partners agency
WPP has adopted a bigger is better philosophy with the merger of Design Bridge and Superunion to form a new design giant that is greater than the sum of its parts.
Design Bridge chief executive officer John Morris is to head up the combined entity / The Drum
Design Bridge & Partners, launching in January, is hailed as a global creative heavyweight punching above its weight; capable of driving growth across consumer, business, lifestyle and experiential domains.
Straddling graphic, motion, digital, physical and communication design, the all-singing mash-up will combine Design Bridge’s expertise with consumer brands such as Diageo, Mastercard and Unilever; a snug fit with Superunion’s strength in corporate branding and brand experience projects for the BBC, Nasa and Intel.
Design Bridge chief executive officer John Morris will head up the combined entity alongside Superunion chief executive Jim Prior as chair, ensuring continuity of leadership amid the turbulence of amalgamation, and retaining skills and clients during the volatile changeover period.
Morris said: “Marrying the ‘best of both,’ Design Bridge and Partners will be truly formidable, offering greater benefit for our clients through shared expertise and, importantly, many more opportunities for our people to grow.”
WPP chief exec Mark Read added: “Design Bridge and Partners will be a leader in design and an important part of our simpler, future-facing client offer.”
WPP is in the process of streamlining its sprawling operations as it seeks to simplify operations, a process that recently saw the merger of AKQA Group and Grey.