Five Hot Digital Indies on Adland's Shopping List

The Omnicom Group-Publicis Groupe merger didn't work out, but don't think the ad industry is done consolidating. Publicis CEO Maurice Levy, for one, bragged early last year about having $4 billion to spend on acquisitions in the coming half-decade. The trouble is a low supply of the kind of digital agencies with scale and panache that are in highest demand. There are a handful of potential targets, however, that the industry is sweet on. Essence Revenue: $58 million in 2013, according to the agency; $87 million projection for 2014Headcount: 450Age: 9Clients: Google, eBay, PretSpecialty: Digital mediaLocations: U.K., U.S., Singapore Essence is among the world's top independent buyers of digital ads, saying it has about $650 million in media spending. It recently hired Razorfish's Christian Juhl as global CEO in San Francisco, moving the top role from the U.K., and is looking to fill 50 more positions. Resource Revenue: $52 million in 2013 (not including recent acquisition Ammirati, which last year did $10 million to $15 million)Headcount: With Ammirati, just over 400Age: 33Clients: Sun Products, Clorox, P&GSpecialty: Digital and social contentLocations: Columbus, Ohio; San Francisco; Chicago Digital roots, a history of working with top brands (Apple was its first client) and retail experience make Resource a rarity, especially in the Midwest. It recently completed its first acquisition with the purchase of New York-based creative shop Ammirati. Digital Kitchen Revenue: $20.4 million in 2013Headcount: 107Age: 19Clients: Microsoft (Internet Explorer and Bing), the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, BoseSpecialty: Digital content and designLocations: Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago The shop got into the content business early and also made a name with title sequences for shows like HBO's "Six Feet Under." And it's staying fresh with new leaders like CEO Bill Fritsch. Mr. Fritsch, who joined the company in 2012 as CEO, has a history of working with big brands -- in-house and agency -- and making deals. He sold CF2GS to IPG's True North and helped a company go public, and then survive, during the tumultuous dot-com era. Code and Theory Revenue: $35 million in 2013Headcount: 215Age: 13Clients: Burger King, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Maybelline New YorkSpecialty: Web, brand and product designLocations: New York, San Francisco, London, Manila The shop, which grew 50% last year, has been expanding its capabilities. In 2013, it supported a Comcast project, a Mashable redesign, content for Maybelline and broad digital tasks for Dr Pepper, Snapple and others. Vaynermedia Revenue: $22.5 million in 2013Headcount: 400Age: 5Clients: Mountain Dew, General Electric, Sonic Drive-InSpecialty: Digital content and social mediaLocations: New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles Two words, one name: Gary Vaynerchuk, the man behind Wine Library TV and tech seed fund VaynerRSE. He can take creative ideas to a new level with his massive social following (1.1 million on Twitter alone). The firm, founded by Mr. Vaynerchuk and his brother A.J., grew 57% last year and expects to nearly double revenue in 2014. Others to watch as they grow: North Kingdom (Sweden), Control Group (New York), Big Spaceship (Brooklyn), Jam3 (Toronto), Instrument (Portland, Ore.)

Five Hot Digital Indies on Adland's Shopping List

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