Global media investment group WPP’s GroupM has acquired a majority stake in Yonder Media, South Africa’s specialised mobile marketing agency
Yonder Media will continue to operate as an independent brand and also lend speciality services to the GroupM agencies — Mindshare, MEC Group (MEC and NotaBene), MediaCom and Maxus.
With this addition, GroupM’s agencies will be ahead of the market in developing effective and creative mobile solutions for clients, according to the investment group.
Michelle Meyjes, CEO at GroupM, South Africa, said, “GroupM is the leading media investment group in South Africa. We grow this position by continuously evolving to meet clients’ needs, and today those needs are digital.
“Mobile and digital usage are in rapid growth mode across South Africa. With Yonder Media, we will establish a mobile/social hub of excellence to support our client base and agencies and lend our scale and resources to help Yonder continue its best-in-class independent services.”
Established over 10 years ago, Yonder Media is a full-service - mobile first - digital and social media agency offering mobile and social media strategy, application development, media planning, buying and management, as well as related services like mobile airtime rewards, mobile coupon management and mobile reply path in traditional media executions.
Rick Joubert, CEO of Yonder Media, added, “WPP’s acquisition of a majority stake in our company is further validation, and we are thrilled that we’ve been able to maintain our independence whilst working with our new partners to accelerate the growth of mobile and social media advertising in South Africa and the African continent.”
