Publicis Buys U.K. Agency Kitcatt Nohr, Combines With Digitas London

Publicis Groupe has acquired London-based interactive agency Kitcatt Nohr and merged it with its own digital marketing outfit Digitas. The combined entity, to be re-branded Kitcatt Nohr Digitas, will be housed under Publicis's digital umbrella organization Vivaki.

The addition of Kitcatt Nohr's 68 employees to Digitas's will bring the staff count of the newly formed agency to 150 in the U.K. Its full-service offering will include creative services, media planning and ideation, technology, CRM, content and social media.

Kitcatt Nohr founder Marc Nohr will lead the new agency as CEO, with co-founder Paul Kitcatt assuming the role of Chief Creative Officer. The pair will report to Stephan Beringer, president of Digitas International.

Meanwhile Sav Evangelou, executive creative director of Digitas London, has been promoted to an international role with responsibility to several multinational clients. He will report to Mark Beeching, chief creative officer of Digitas.

Commenting on the merger, Beringer suggested Kitcatt Nohr will benefit from the scale and resources of the Vivaki network, with the network benefiting from the creative capabilities of the acquired agency.

Founded in 2002, Kittcatt Nohr's previous clients have included major U.K. retailers Waitrose and John Lewis, as well as global brands such as Lexus, Gap, and Glenfiddich.

The new agency will be based out of offices in London, the companies said, bringing Vivaki's global staff to a total of around 3,500.