Cheil Worldwide acquires The Barbarian Group

Cheil Worldwide has purchased a majority stake in The Barbarian Group, the highly acclaimed award winning digital creative and marketing company.

Nack Hoi Kim, Worldwide CEO of South Korea-based Cheil Worldwide, which operates 29 networks in 25 countries said, “As part of our agency’s plan to secure a strong foothold in digital marketing capabilities, we are thrilled to have The Barbarian Group integrated in our family. We’re committed to being among the world’s top 10 agencies by 2012, and this transaction brings us one step closer to realizing our goal.”

The acquisition of The Barbarian Group, known for creating suchcutting-edge digital experiences as The Subservient Chicken and thismonth’s augmented reality issue of Esquire magazine, is part of CheilWorldwide’s long-term growth plans. By joining one of the world’sforemost digital creative powerhouses with Cheil’s well-establishedglobal network, Cheil is poised to expand its digital creativeofferings in the US and beyond.

CEO Kim continued, “The Barbarian Group leads the industry in creativity and innovation. By adding their expertise and talent to our already strong foundation in North America, we are well-positioned to grow here.

Benjamin Palmer, co-founder and CEO of The Barbarian Group, said, “We chose this partnership with Cheil because they have a successful global organization that is different from the existing holding companies – they’ve managed to globalize without falling into the business model of the other holding companies. The Barbarian Group has always been about fighting the battles of the future, not the battles of the past, and Cheil are well positioned to reinvent the future without stressing about protecting the past.

The Barbarian Group was founded in 2001 and since then has developed beyond “digital advertising” as the agency world views it. Today, the company has three offices, and provides a full range of digital marketing, planning, technology and strategy not just to brands such as Kashi and Red Bull, but to technology companies, publishers and entertainment properties. The Barbarian Group is now one of the most respected digital marketing companies on the planet.

Michael Kim, president of Cheil North America, notes “Bringing The Barbarian Group into Cheil North America is the latest in a string of moves throughout the past 12 months aimed at elevating our company to the next level of growth.

The news comes on the heels of Cheil Worldwide’s successful acquisition in December 2008 of top creative shop Beattie McGuinness Bungay (BMB). The London-based agency, ranked No. 1 in the UK based on new business rankings and recently expanded into the US market with its first global office in New York.