Daniel Farey-Jones
Dec 7, 2021

AKQA acquires BrewDog branding agency Made Thought to boost design offer

WPP agency has created a new design group to house Made Thought and two other design agencies it has majority stakes in.

AKQA's Ajaz Ahmed: 'This partnership represents the next wave of design'
AKQA's Ajaz Ahmed: 'This partnership represents the next wave of design'

AKQA has acquired a majority stake in design and branding agency Made Thought for an undisclosed sum.

Made Thought was founded in 2000 by Ben Parker and Paul Austin, who still lead the 55-strong agency, as well as expanding it from London into New York in January this year.

Its clients have included Pinterest, Adidas and Samsung, and notably it helped craft brewer BrewDog to redefine its brand and move from punk upstart to “maverick with purpose”. 

AKQA has also created a new design group to house Made Thought and two design agencies in which it acquired majority stakes in 2018—Universal Design Studio and Map Project Office. These two agencies were more focused on architecture, product and experience design than branding.

The new group has been branded as The New Standard and is intended to “give each studio creative independence as well as the space to collaborate providing original, joined-up, cross platform thinking”, according to AKQA.

Ajaz Ahmed, founder and chief executive of AKQA, said: “Universal, Map and Made Thought are pioneers and innovators with an unmatched track record for design excellence, influential and distinguished work. This partnership represents the next wave to set The New Standard. It is founded on the beliefs that form and substance are inseparable and creativity is both revealed and enhanced in an atmosphere of collaboration.”

Austin and Parker said: “Creativity is the most important currency for business in the 21st century and we believe collaboration is the key to bigger, bolder thinking. For us, the coming together with Universal, Map, alongside AKQA, is the best way to see in this new age of design.”

Mark Read, chief executive of WPP, added that the move would “raise the bar for design that speaks to people across different platforms”.

Source:
Campaign UK

Related Articles

Just Published

14 minutes ago

Moves and win roundup: Week of December 4, 2023

All the latest moves and wins from Mindshare, RGA, Companion Communications, and more to come.

1 hour ago

The Monkeys' Tara Ford's remit expands, takes on ...

Ford has consistently taken home metals at every significant international award show including the most recent, the Dan Wieden Titanium Grand Prix at Cannes with the ‘The First Digital Nation’ for the Government of Tuvalu campaign.

2 hours ago

Women to Watch 2023: Melissa Laurie, Oysterly

In the ever-evolving marketing landscape, this short-form sensation’s tale of tenacity is connecting the industry, one TikTok video at a time.

4 hours ago

A force for good? Three ways marketers can tap into ...

The critical question for marketers is not whether to use generative AI tools, but how to do so responsibly, says Avisenna Gusta, digital content producer at MediaMonks.