Top Independent Interactive Agency Rosetta Acquires LEVEL Studios

PRINCETON, N.J., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Rosetta, the nation's largest independent digital and direct interactive agency, and LEVEL Studios, the California-based integrated marketing and product development agency, today announced the acquisition of LEVEL by Rosetta.  Purchase price and terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The combination, which places Rosetta among the top five digital advertising agencies in the U.S., was motivated by the desire of the two independent agencies to anticipate and meet the evolving needs of their clients for increasingly sophisticated and integrated marketing strategies and programs across all interactive touch points. The addition of LEVEL's three California locations gives Rosetta a significant West Coast presence and the ability to better serve clients wherever they are located.

"We live in an increasingly connected world, where rapid technological change is creating an expanding array of options for consumers and challenges for marketers to reach them in a relevant way that strengthens the bond between brands and their best customers.  Rosetta has been engineered to pilot brands through this ever-changing marketing landscape and drive measurable business impact," said Rosetta CEO            Chris Kuenne.  "LEVEL's position on the leading edge of content, platforms and devices and Rosetta's depth and scale in strategy, creative and technology and its expertise in personality segmentation are a powerful combination that enables brands to stay ahead of the curve and transform their marketing by understanding their best consumers' wants and needs and translating those insights into personally relevant customer experiences across all touch points and over time."

LEVEL's President and CEO Tom Adamski said, "Rosetta and LEVEL share a commitment to the balance between innovation and value.  Our highly complementary strengths will allow us to drive immediate and transformative impact for our clients. Rosetta and LEVEL are a formidable force in the interactive world – independent, client-focused, marketing and technologically savvy – with proven vertical expertise in the healthcare, retail, financial services, B2B, consumer electronics, automotive, gaming and entertainment markets. We are excited to be joining forces with Rosetta."

LEVEL's expertise in creating personally relevant total user experiences through the interplay of branded content, technology platforms and connected devices has powered the agency's rapid growth to a projected $45 million in 2010.  This expertise has enabled LEVEL to help build stronger relationships between brands and consumers for leading clients such as Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, Apple, Qualcomm, Toyota, Micron and RIM.

With 215 team members across its San Luis Obispo (headquarters), San Jose and Los Angeles, CA studios, LEVEL has successfully driven a culture of innovation through LEVEL Labs, an R&D effort focused on the evolution of user experience, digital content delivery and mobile application development.

LEVEL will retain its current management team and through 2011 will operate as "LEVEL, a Rosetta Company" as a separate group within Rosetta's overall business.  The two agencies will soon begin to work through how to leverage each other's expertise and team members across agencies to provide additional capabilities to existing and prospective clients.

With the acquisition, Rosetta will have estimated 2010 revenues of $215 million, more than 1,000 team members, 10 offices in the US and Canada, and unsurpassed expertise across all digital and direct touch points.  Prior to the acquisition of LEVEL, Rosetta ranked as the nation's largest independent interactive agency and one of the 10 largest overall, according to Advertising Age.  

Rosetta's revenues were $152.5 million in 2009.  Prior to this acquisition, Rosetta employed 850 team members in seven offices throughout the U.S. and Canada.  Some of their leading clients include Allergan, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Bristol Myers Squibb, Coach, Johnson & Johnson, Jos. A. Bank, M&T Bank, Marriott, Microsoft, Nationwide, OfficeMax, Rogers Communications, T-Mobile and Valvoline.  The agency recently announced the opening of an office in Toronto, Canada and the relocation and expansion of its operations in Cleveland.  

New York-based mergers and acquisition firm AdMedia Partners acted as financial advisor to LEVEL in the transaction.

About Rosetta

Rosetta is the largest and fastest growing independent interactive agency in the U.S. and is ranked by AdAge among the top ten digital agencies in the country. Engineered for the connected world, Rosetta was founded in 1998 to pilot brands through an ever-changing marketing landscape and drive measurable business impact. Rosetta enables brands to transform their marketing through the discovery of unique insights about their best consumers' wants and needs and then connecting with them in the most innovative and personally relevant way across all touch points and over time.

Rosetta's unique combination of a patented approach to segmentation, called Personality® Segmentation; industry leading depth in technology across platforms and devices; world class creative, design and user experience capability; scale and integrated structure; and deep vertical industry expertise in the Healthcare; Retail & Consumer Products; Financial Services; Communications, Media & Technology; Travel & Leisure and B2B markets have attracted many of the nation's leading brands.  The agency's clients include Allergan, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Bristol Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson and Novartis in healthcare; Coach, Express, Jos. A. Bank, OfficeMax, Rogers Communications and Valvoline in the retail sector; Citizens, M&T and Nationwide in financial services; Marriott in travel and leisure and Microsoft and T-Mobile in communications, media and technology.

Rosetta is headquartered in Princeton, NJ, with additional offices in New York, Cleveland, Denver, Boston, Chicago and Toronto.  

For more information, visit http://www.rosetta.com.

About LEVEL

LEVEL delivers integrated marketing and product development for global brands. Through the interplay of branded content, technology platforms and connected devices, LEVEL designs a total user experience that amplifies the relationship between brand and consumer.  At LEVEL, our methodology is proven; our behavior is adaptive.

For more information, visit http://level-studios.com.

SOURCE Rosetta