Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief
Talon, the U.K.’s largest independent Out of Home media specialist, has expanded its U.S. coverage with the purchase of Grandesign, a U.S. independent OOH media agency headquartered in San Diego.
Grandesign is described as the second-largest independent OOH agency in the U.S., delivering traditional and experiential OOH across six offices. Each of Grandesign’s traditional offices – in San Diego, Denver, St. Louis, Los Angeles and Atlanta – will take the Talon name (this acquisition only affects Grandesign’s traditional vertical, as the experiential vertical will continue as a standalone business).
The purchase follows the recent appointment of Barry Cupples to the position of Global CEO at Talon and no doubt signals the agency’s intention to continue to grow globally, whilst building its business up over time through leading-edge technology, data, resource and culture. In the U.K., Talon has won numerous awards for its creativity, planning and people values.
Talon’s Founder and Executive Shareholder Eric Newnham told us “This is arguably our most exciting move to date with the U.S. offering real opportunity to embrace our approach that has brought success to date. Data and technology is enabling real differentiation and growth for us globally, and this is part of a wider expansion programme that is just beginning.”
Grandesign’s founder and former CEO Aaron Gaeir, who will remain in the business as Chief Revenue Officer, reporting into Talon’s Adrian Skelton, was quoted as saying “It was refreshing to find a likeminded company that is driven by cultivating people and building a tempting work environment, but also has best-in-class technology, data, the big shoulders and the executive leadership for continued aggressive growth. This is the secret to clear competitive advantages and market dominance and will enable us to reach our goals of becoming the largest and most sophisticated Out of Home buying service, not only in the U.S., but globally”.
Grandesign is recognized as one of the fastest growing out-of-home media solutions companies in the country. Headquartered in San Diego and recognized as the finest city’s largest ad agency, the award-winning advertising and experiential marketing agency offers services that include large scale events, activations, stunts, brand engagements, creating viral content and global and regional tours. Its most notable clients include Comic-Con, Fandom, Adult Swim, Warner Bros, Blizzard, Amazon, McDonalds, Zappos and many, many more.
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