Dentsu Aegis Network acquires Band

Dentsu Aegis Network has acquired Band, a business to business agency specialising in the tech and finance sectors.Band will expand DAN's offering in B2B space, a sector it said was experiencing "rapid growth".With more than 50 staff in Singapore and Greater China, Band offers end-to-end solutions from demand generation, channel marketing, digital and creative services.The agency was established by Ian Bickerton in Singapore in 2002 and joined shortly afterwards by Kieran Vye and James Craik, with John Irwin opening Band’s China operation in 2005.Nick Waters, CEO Dentsu Aegis Network Asia Pacific, said the digital economy has disrupted many industries and in order to survive companies are changing strategies."We are seeing an increasing trend among many global brand owners to reduce consumer marketing efforts and switch into enterprise marketing," he said."This has emerged as a rapidly growing specialist field which is relatively under-supplied by the agency market place. By bringing Band into the group we will offer our clients high quality expertise in the enterprise space, and connect the consumer and enterprise channels from strategy to execution across the region.”Stuart Giddings, global president enterprise, Dentsu Aegis Network, added the acquisition will enable DAN to to develop a full-service B2B offering."The acquisition of Band and the strength of the B2B talent within the business will drive further growth and open up new opportunities for the network in Asia Pacific and beyond.”Band will be working closely with Dentsu Aegis Network’s current B2B capability to scale and replicate its offering into key markets across the region.Ian Bickerton, director and founder of Band, said B2B was one of the fastest growing areas of marketing."We are delighted to join Dentsu Aegis Network to accelerate this development within the business,” he said.“Integrating our end-to-end B2B offering with Dentsu Aegis’ best-in-class media capabilities uniquely positions Band at the forefront of B2B marketing globally. With the support of a strong and truly global group, coupled with our B2B strategic and creative capabilities, we are well-positioned to grow exponentially in the region.”