London-based consumer agency Lexis has been integrated into global communications agency Text100.
The merger, which primarily affects the Next Fifteen unit’s UK office, became effective June 22.
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Lexis specializes in consumer PR, corporate communications, social media and digital marketing, as well as live event management. Clients include global consumer brands such as Pizza-Hut, Pernod Ricard and Harley-Davidson, among others. The agency, which was founded in 1992 and staffs 30, was acquired in 2008 by Text100 parent Next Fifteen.
All of Lexis’ staff members have moved into Text100’s London office, now making it the agency’s largest outpost, with 100 employees (the agency relocated its London offices to the city’s Holborn neighborhood in 2015 following Next Fifteen’s acquisition of content marketing agency Republic Publishing and UK-based digital marketing firm IncrediBull World).
Text100 UK managing director Tara O’Donnell will assume overall responsibility for the combined agency, and former Lexis deputy MD Ruth Kieran now becomes deputy MD to O’Donnell.
Lexis MD Dominic Shales has decided to move on in light of the merger. Shales joined Lexis in 2012 after that agency acquired his former brand/digital shop, Paratus Communications.
The Lexis brand will be phased out later this year.
O’Donnell told O’Dwyer’s that integrating Lexis into the Text100 fold will broaden Text100’s consumer brand portfolio while providing Lexis clients an armory of design, film, web development, content marketing and social media capabilities, as well as global reach.
“This is a really big deal for all of us. Lexis brings a formidable track record of truly understanding consumer behavior as well as serving consumer clients something that so many Text100 clients will benefit from. And Text100 brings marketing communications expertise and extensive skills including branding, web development and content marketing across a range clients from technology to consumer brands. And, Lexis will benefit from Text100’s global network,” O’Donnell said.
“By uniting we will become a more formidable powerhouse in the UK. And by uniting you can expect to see our work with consumer brands expand in the UK and other offices across the world where our consumer credentials are already growing,” O’Donnell told O’Dwyer’s.
Text100, which was founded in the UK in 1981, is headquartered in New York and maintains nearly two dozen offices worldwide.
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