JEGI Brings Together Manifest Digital and McMURRY/TMG in Merger to Create Top Independent Agency
New York, NY, August 5, 2015 – Manifest Digital, a leader in digital experience design, and McMURRY/TMG, the leader in omni-channel content creation and delivery, are combining to form Manifest, an agency that connects experience design, emerging technology and content to create innovative and compelling customer experiences for brands. Manifest is a portfolio company of The Wicks Group of Companies, a New York-based private equity firm. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc. (www.jegi.com), the leading independent investment bank for the global media, information, marketing, software and tech-enabled services sectors, headquartered in New York, NY, brought together Manifest Digital and McMURRY/TMG in this merger.
Manifest will be based in Chicago and New York with four additional offices in Phoenix, St. Louis, Saratoga Springs and Washington DC. The agency’s client list will include: Abbott; Allstate; BMW; Baylor Health Care System; Delta Faucet; Enterprise Holdings, Inc.; Express Scripts; The Ritz-Carlton; Kohl’s; Motorola; Nestle Purina Pet Care Company; Post Holdings; WebMD; and UPS. Its combined 2015 revenue will place it in the top 100 agencies in the U.S. and the top 12 independent agencies.
With access to $400 million in available capital, the combined business has national and global expansion plans, with an immediate focus on the West Coast, Europe and the UK, where there are plans to make a significant acquisition in complementary businesses in the next 12 months.
Manifest will be led by Jason Benedict, CEO of Manifest Digital since 2006. Joining the management team is Jamie Anderson as Chief Strategy Officer. He was formerly Director of Brand Strategy and Customer Experience at Sapient Nitro.
Mr. Benedict said, “We are thrilled to join with McMURRY/TMG. Our clients are looking for new ways to engage with their customers. As a result, the demand for fantastic user experience is growing exponentially. And when wonderfully crafted experiences are joined with amazing content the result is incredible business results for clients.”
Dan Kortick, Managing Partner, Wicks said, “Jason is a visionary and well known within digital and technology circles. We have known each other for a year now, and I admire his leadership and entrepreneurial spirit. I look forward to working with him to take the company to the next level where Manifest will be one of a select group of strategic agencies that can offer content and experience design—and perhaps the only one to do so exceptionally well.”
About Manifest Digital
Established in 2001, Manifest Digital shepherds clients through business and brand transformations that connect with audiences in measurable, rewarding ways. Powerful human insights consistently deliver award-winning websites, mobile applications, online campaigns, local events and social movements. A leader in experience design, the agency offers a blend of strategic and tactical services, including business, product and market design, with the extensive engineering skillsets required to deliver them. For more information, visit www.manifest.com.
About McMURRY/TMG
McMURRY/TMG is the nation’s leading independent content marketing agency, dedicated to delivering strategic, transformative brand experiences that engage customers and drive measurable results. The agency works to help clients extend brands, boost engagement, build communities and deliver revenue through powerful, meaningful content. Clients include industry leaders such as WebMD, Amtrak, CBS Television, The Ritz-Carlton, Reed Exhibitions, and Baylor Health Care System.
About The Wicks Group of Companies, L.L.C.
The Wicks Group of Companies is a private equity firm based in New York City that invests in lower-middle-market companies operating in selected segments of the information, education and media industries principally in the United States and Canada. Since its founding in 1989, Wicks has invested over $1 billion of capital in 28 platform companies and approximately 100 add-on acquisitions. The firm has applied a consistent investment strategy since its founding, partnering with high-quality, experienced management teams to build businesses both organically and through acquisitions. For more information, visit www.wicksgroup.com.
About The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc.
The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc. (JEGI) has been the leading independent investment bank for the global media, information, marketing, software and tech-enabled services sectors for nearly 28 years. Headquartered in New York, with offices in Boston and Atlanta, as well as affiliates in London and India, JEGI has completed nearly 600 high‐profile M&A transactions, serving global corporations; middle‐market and emerging companies; entrepreneurial owners and founders; and private equity and venture capital firms. For more information, visit www.jegi.com.
