24/7 Real Media Search joins GroupM to create world's largest search company

February 11, 2008

GroupM, the world’s largest media investment management organisation and parent company of Maxus, MediaCom, Mediaedge:cia and MindShare, today announced a restructuring of its search operations designed to create the world’s largest search specialist inside a marketing services holding company.

In Australia, the move will see the launch of Outrider, the existing global brand that provides integrated search marketing strategy to many of the world’s market-leading advertisers, and to date has served as the dedicated search marketing agency for GroupM and its media agencies. Outrider has more than 30 offices serving 40 countries in the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions. The new global organisation will consolidate four of WPP’s search businesses which previously operated independently of one another.

These include:

• 24/7 Search: formerly a unit of 24/7 Real Media with offices in New York, Sunnyvale California, Toronto, London, Paris, Madrid, Hamburg, Sydney, Tokyo and Seoul. Tokyo and Seoul are part of a joint venture between 24/7 Real Media and Dentsu and will main separate from the rest of the organisation.
• Outrider: the paid and natural search provider to GroupM and direct clients in the United States with offices in New York , St. Louis, Chicago and Seattle, together with offices in the EMEA and Asia Pacific regions.
• Catalyst: the organic and paid search specialist based in Newton, Mass.
• Quisma: Germany’s leading paid search agency.

Outrider in the Asia Pacific region will be led by WPP-owned 24/7 Real Media’s current managing director, Robbie Hills.

24/7 Real Media’s Australia search marketing operation will become part of Outrider. Its award-winning search bid management, optimisation, tracking and reporting platform, Decide DNA, will remain part of 24/7 Real Media alongside its other platforms including Open AdStream.

As GroupM’s search organisation increases in scale (400 people globally), GroupM is now able to execute its strategy of service delivery through its operating agencies in many markets. GroupM’s search divisions will operate under Maxus Search, MediaCom Search, Mediaedge:cia Search and MindShare Search in all markets. In addition to the agency structures, a fifth brand – Outrider – will operate in larger markets, providing comprehensive, integrated search marketing strategy for clients that are not served by the rest of GroupM. Outrider will offer the proprietary Decide DNA platform when appropriate, for clients.

All of the GroupM companies in Australia will have access to 24/7 Real Media’s leading-edge, award-winning search technology, Decide DNA.

“The consolidation will mean this new search company will have a greater geographic footprint than any competitor. The overall goal is to more closely integrate search with the overall communications planning and implementation service of GroupM’s agencies,” said John Steedman, Chairman and CEO GroupM APAC.

Robbie Hills, current Managing Director of 24/7 Real Media Australia and new regional CEO for Outrider in the APAC region, expressed the impact this structural shift will have on the organisation’s presence and offering.

“Building on the legacy of 24/7 Real Media search in Australia and the great trust we receive from our clients in delivering their search strategies; the new Outrider will continue to be the largest and most successful search agency business in Australia,” Hills said.

“Outrider will continue to develop the set of human and technical capabilities that deliver best in class search engine marketing (paid search), search engine optimisation (organic and natural search) and advanced search capabilities in video, mobile, local and social media.

“This is a really exciting development for us globally and in the Asia Pacific and we will have many world leading initiatives to bring to our clients.”

About 24/7 Real Media:
24/7 Real Media, a WPP company, is the leading global digital marketing company, empowering advertisers and publishers to engage their target audiences with greater precision, transparency and ROI. Using its award winning ad serving, targeting, tracking and analytics platform, powerful search marketing capabilities and global network of specialised Web sites, the company has turned the art of reaching audiences across virtually any digital medium into a measurable science. The company is headquartered in New York, with 20 offices in 12 countries throughout North America, Europe and the Asia and Australia. For more information, please visit www.247realmedia.com.au

24/7 Real Media: The Science of Digital Marketing.

24/7 Real Media is a member of the NAI and adheres to the NAI privacy principles that have been applauded by the FTC. These principles are designed to help ensure Internet user privacy. For more information about online data collection associated with ad serving, including online preference marketing and an opportunity to opt-out of 24/7 Real Media cookies, go to: www.networkadvertising.org.

About GroupM: GroupM is the leading global media investment management operation and part of the WPP family. Worldwide billings US$60.51 bn projected 2006 (RECMA July 2006). 31% share of global network business, 402 offices in 81 countries, 14,000 staff worldwide.

About Outrider: Outrider is a leading global search marketing agency, specializing in holistic, advanced search marketing strategies that are integrated with advertisers’ cross-channel media planning. Regarded for their thought leadership and recognized by Forrester Research as a leader in search strategy, management and client service strengths, Outrider provides integrated search marketing and consumer-driven media strategy at the global, national and local-market level to category-leading clients including: AT&T, Dell, AstraZeneca, Showtime, Microsoft, Chevron, Diageo and more. Services include: organic search, paid search, advanced search strategy (social search, mobile search, local search, video search and more), analytics, conversion services (website optimization), creative services and consulting.

Outrider is a WPP company and a division of GroupM, WPP’s media buying and planning arm responsible for 30% of the world's media buying. With North American headquarters in St. Louis, Mo., Outrider has offices in New York, Chicago, Seattle, and throughout the EMEA and APAC regions, creating a network of 30 global offices serving more than 40 countries.

For further information contact:

Marcelo Silva
General Manager
GroupM Search Australia

DID: +61 (0)2 8968 4045