Wednesday 21st September, 2011
AGENCY MERGER CREATES SOUTH COAST 'SUPER-SHOP'.

Bournemouth's brightest advertising agency and its biggest are to become sister companies as Thinking Juice (TJ) joins Aylesworth Fleming (AF) as part of the highly successful Emerge Group. The merger is one of the most significant events in the advertising business on the south coast for many years.

The businesses will employ around 100 people locally and will contribute around £8m to the Group's £32m turnover.

Gellan and Debbie Watt, who started TJ eight years ago, have steered the Agency down the path of creative excellence and they will play a significant part in the new set up with Gellan heading up the Bournemouth based Emerge business. AF is one of the area's longest established and most successful agencies and has been based in the town since 1985. With offices in Manchester and Edinburgh the agency operates throughout the UK on a number of national accounts. TJ is a multi award winning creative 'hot shop' and has been showered with accolades such as Marketing Industry Advertising Agency of the Year 2010, and RAR 2011 'Best in Creativity' and 'Best in Effectiveness'. It works with a number of internationally recognised brands.

"The combination of AF's nationwide resource and TJ's cutting edge creativity makes for an irresistible proposition for potential clients" said Gellan, "we intend to capitalise on the strengths of both teams and use the two very different skill sets where they are best suited for a specific brief. It is very exciting." He went on to add, "while we are determined to stay nimble and innovative, we will also have a nationwide team around 165 strong to deliver a comprehensive service to a much wider range of clients."

The agencies plan to retain all of their staff and the distinct personalities that each of the brands has built its business on, but one thing is for certain - new offices are a must. Gellan commented, "The agencies currently operate out of three different Bournemouth locations and we are very anxious to bring all of our talents together under one roof. Our search for suitable offices has been underway for a little while and we do have one or two high profile possibilities that we're working on at the moment."

Matt Fleming, who started AF at the beginning of 1985, was equally enthusiastic. "I have long been an admirer of Thinking Juice and all that it stands for and I have already worked alongside Gellan on a collaborative pitch for an international business looking for an agency to develop its residential brand in the UK - we were one of six competing for the account and I'm delighted to say we won it. The future looks very bright indeed!"

The creation of this South Coast 'Super Shop' is exciting news for the region generally. Bringing major advertising accounts here adds to the town's reputation as a centre of excellence and enhances employment levels across a wide range of disciplines.