Digital agency Dare has joined the Oliver Group, the UK’s fastest growing independent agency.
Dare was founded in 2000 by Mark Collier, the former Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) joint managing director, and was one of the first digital agencies in the UK.
It provides a full range of creative digital services, including websites and mobile apps, brand repositioning, content programmes, and advertising and works across a wide variety of sectors.
Its pharmaceutical and healthcare clients include Public Health England, for whom it created the anti-smoking campaign ‘Stoptober’ (pictured above), which has been created with 400,000 attempts to quit smoking.
Dare has also worked with Cancer Research UK, creating a smartphone app for ‘Race for Life’ participants.
Collier, Dare’s founder and non-executive chairman, described the company’s acquisition as ‘a hugely exciting opportunity’.
He said: “The Oliver model is genuinely unique and it is proving to be increasingly attractive to clients, both in the UK and internationally. Dare will now be able to work alongside Oliver, with access to its global agency resources, whilst remaining an independent brand.”
Oliver, founded in 2004, is unusual in that it puts tailor-made agency teams into client organisations – the group currently operates more than 50 on-site agencies.
Dare will operate as a standalone agency brand within Oliver. The companies hope that the acquisition will enable them to combine their areas of expertise – Dare’s digital offering and Oliver’s industry model.
Oliver Group CEO Simon Martin said: “Dare is an innovator in the digital space, creating hugely engaging digital experiences. We are excited by the possibilities of bringing them into the OLIVER Group and believe the synergies between the two companies’ innovative mindsets will lead to an exciting future.”
Oliver Group acquired Dare from EDC Communications, a group of marketing services companies backed by the US private equity firm Mill Road Capital.