Two Major Theatrical Ad Agencies, Dewynters and SpotCo To Join Forces

Dewynters and SpotCo, two advertising agencies that have redefined theatrical advertising and marketing in London and New York, will join forces in a unique global partnership under parent company, First Artist Corporation PLC.

First Artist Corporation has entered into an agreement to acquire SpotCo, the New York advertising agency responsible for the groundbreaking campaigns for Chicago, Rent, Avenue Q, In The Heights and the upcoming Billy Elliot The Musical and Shrek The Musical.  In 2006, First Artist acquired Dewynters, the leading British advertising agency behind the campaigns for such international hits as Mamma Mia!, The Lion King, Wicked, The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables and Cats.

The partnership between the two companies will form a transatlantic super shop for marketing, design, digital media, advertising, merchandising and promotions for live theatrical entertainment, designed to reach an international audience.  The relationship will not be mutually exclusive and both companies will continue to work together as well as independently with other clients and agencies. Both companies will retain their names and billings will remain independent.

"Broadway's gone global," explains SpotCo CEO Drew Hodges.  "Theater and live events have become giant universal brands.  There's now a huge worldwide demand for live productions.  By working with Dewynters, we're uniquely positioned to tap into international markets with coordinated campaigns that are sophisticated, engaging and most importantly, can cut through an environment saturated with entertainment options."

"This is a thrilling opportunity for us and I am delighted that we are joining forces with the creative and strategically forward-thinking team at SpotCo," says Anthony Pye-Jeary, Managing Director of Dewynters.

SpotCo, founded in 1997, represents almost half of the shows running on Broadway.   Beginning with the creative for the musical Rent, which catapulted the show into a worldwide phenomenon, SpotCo has developed a reputation for inventive, often irreverent campaigns that have brought awareness of its clients to unprecedented levels for Broadway productions, including conception and art direction for the viral "Cubby Bernstein" serial videos for the musical Xanadu, which generated over 750,000 hits on YouTube, and the memorable and successful "Vote Your Heart" Tony Award campaign for Avenue Q.

In 2008, SpotCo had its best year ever, representing productions that garnered 62 Tony nominations and 14 wins, including Best Musical winner In the Heights and Best Play winner August: Osage County.  Over the past decade, SpotCo has represented an impressive six Pulitzer Prize-winning productions.  Currently, the agency is working on campaigns for the newly formed DreamWorks Theatricals on its first stage musical, Shrek The Musical and Universal's Working Title on the acclaimed Billy Elliot The Musical, as well as the screen-to-stage musicals Dirty Dancing, Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musical and 9 to 5: The Musical and the eagerly-anticipated revivals of West Side Story and Guys and Dolls.  SpotCo also currently represents Roundabout Theatre Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, The Guthrie Theater, the Broadway productions of All My Sons, Boeing-Boeing, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Mary Stuart, reasons to be pretty, The Seagull, The 39 Steps, [title of show] and Young Frankenstein and the Off-Broadway production Fuerzabruta.  

SpotCo's work in other arenas includes Radio City Music Hall, The New York Botanical Garden and the Las Vegas campaigns for Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity and Avenue Q.

Dewynters is the UK's leading arts and entertainment advertising agency.  Founded over a century ago in 1872 and incorporated in 1924, the agency has created some of the most memorable theatrical imagery, past and present.  Their classic work includes the instantly recognizable logo art for Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, Miss Saigon and Cats, as well as such global musical hits as The Lion King, Mamma Mia!, We Will Rock You and Wicked.  The agency also recently designed the groundbreaking horse-cum-torso image for the new production of Equus, starring Daniel Radcliffe.

In addition to its prominence in the West End and associations with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh, Dewynters has developed acclaimed campaigns for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Donmar Warehouse and numerous other UK cultural and tourist institutions.

Over the past decade, SpotCo and Dewynters have collaborated on various worldwide campaigns, most notably on the phenomenally successful revival of the Kander & Ebb-Bob Fosse musical, Chicago.  That production has been seen in 28 countries and nine languages, with a worldwide gross of over $850 million.

The alliance between Dewynters and SpotCo will offer its clients the combined global expertise of the two companies.

"What we and our new creative partner Dewynters deliver is an emotional promise that if you look at our campaigns, you will know how it will feel when you attend that live event," Hodges says.

"Our clients will now benefit from a whole new direction in global thinking for both their existing and future productions." says Pye-Jeary.