Euro RSCG Worldwide, the New York City-based division of Havas Advertising Group, Paris, acquired Meridian Consulting Group. The Wilton, CT-based strategic marketing and sales consulting company, which will now be called Meridian Consulting Euro RSCG, will continue to be run by founders Jeffrey Hill and Michael Shinall.
Launched in 1992, Meridian has developed strengths in such areas as organization design, spending, and use of data/ automation. The deal gives its clients, which include Schering-Plough, Kodak, Nabisco, SmithKline Beecham, and International Paper, global access to Euro RSCG’s capabilities in e-commerce, relationship marketing, and data mining.
Euro RSCG boasts a marketing services network comprised of 76 agencies in 40 countries that provide direct marketing, sales promotion, event marketing, and related services to such clients as Intel, MCI WorldCom, and Philips Electronics.
St. Petersburg, FL-based TSIG.com (TeleServices Internet Group, Inc.) announced two acquisitions: GeneralSearch.com, a family-oriented Internet portal and search engine based in Chicago, and The Affinity Group LLC, St. Petersburg, which specializes in database mining and marketing. The two businesses are expected to enhance TSIG’s MyCard programs.
New York City-based Nickelodeon, a division of Viacom, signed a multi-year advertising agreement with Ford Motor Co., marking the first time the Detroit auto maker has committed to advertise on a kids’ TV network. The pact includes a child-safety program featuring characters from Nick’s Blue’s Clues. Research from JD Power and Associates reveals that two-thirds of all children are involved in the family’s car-buying process, and 75 percent influence the purchase decision.
Major League Soccer, based in New York City, will team with Capital One Financial Corp., Falls Church, VA, to offer an exclusive MLS card to fans this summer. Capital One gains rights to create on-site promotions at regular-season games, playoffs, the All-Star Game, and the Cup championship.
Children’s Television Workshop, New York City, entered a strategic partnership with iParty Corp., New York City, which operates an e-commerce Web site for party goods and planning. The deal calls for CTW’s sesamestreet.com to create the “Sesame Street Online Party Machine,” a site that will market iParty’s goods and services.
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