“Like us, they’re ambitious and curious about the future of digital in business and communications,” Indie New Zealand digital agency, Heyday, said of JWT in the statement about its joining the JWT group.
JWT has just acquired a majority stake in Heyday, a move that is more evolution than revolution. “Luke and I have been working in partnership for some time now. We’ve already stress tested the model, it’s incredibly compelling. We believe our clients will benefit massively from the constant evolution in thinking that this partnership brings,” Simon Lendrum, managing director of JWT Auckland, remarked.
The last time that Heyday made a major change, when Luke Pierson’s Doubleclique relaunched as Heyday on its 10th anniversary in 2010, it entered the ONYAs for the first time and won three categories, including the supreme ONYA, Most Outstanding Website. JWT has added Heyday to its network during its 150th anniversary year.
Heyday’s key clients include ANZ Bank, Z Energy and Trade Me, New Zealand’s largest Internet-auction website. Its services include digital strategy, visual design, user experience design, content development, digital film, smartphone applications and web application development. Pierson was a finalist in this year’s Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award. He will stay on as managing director.
“Luke and the team have created a terrific business with big ambitions. Critically there is a very clear alignment from both Heyday and JWT on how we need to ready ourselves for tomorrow and the long term. The two businesses have quite different skills, allowing the group to deliver broader, faster, deeper and better solutions to existing clients and future prospects in both Auckland and Wellington. It’s exciting to be expanding to Wellington where we look forward to shaking things up with a more progressive model,” John Gutteridge, chief executive officer, JWT Australia & New Zealand, commented.
For Heyday, becoming part of JWT – and therefore of WPP – is a worthy response to its mantra, “If it doesn’t exist, then why don’t we make it?”
“With 35 people in Wellington, we have reached a maturity that enabled us to think somewhat bigger in terms of our future. The ability to expand into Auckland with JWT and be part of a global network not only of communications experts but also some 1,200 digital specialists means we can provide even bigger ideas and broader services to our clients. That sort of depth and scale is, of course, extremely exciting,” Pierson noted.
[Sauce code by Heyday: Sinking chips to the sound of seagulls with Z Energy]
For parent WPP, “this acquisition marks a further step towards WPP’s declared goal of developing its networks in fast-growth markets and sectors.”
“In Australia and New Zealand, WPP companies (including associates) generate revenues of US$1.2 billion and employ over 4,000 people. In the Asia Pacific region, WPP companies (including associates) generate revenues of US$5 billion and employ around 50,000 people. In Australia and New Zealand, STW Group has a minority stake in JWT.
WPP’s digital revenues (including associates) were over US$6 billion in 2013, representing almost 35% of the Group’s total revenues of US$17.3 billion. WPP has set a target of 40-45% of revenue to be derived from digital in the next five years.”
For the year ending 31 March 2014, Heyday’s revenues were NZ$4.0 million, and its gross assets, NZ$1.7 million.
