Finnish Agencies Bob the Robot and Dunning, Kruger & Associates Acquired by Leading Nordic Creative-Tech Player

Thomas Høgebøl (executive chairman, NoA), Miska Rajasuo (CEO, Bob the Robot), Tom Jacobsson (CEO, DK&A), and Mikael Jørgensen (group CEO, NoA)

Today, March 15th, 2022, The North Alliance (NoA) expands its operations to Finland, as Bob the Robot and Dunning, Kruger & Associates (DK&A) become the founding partners of NoA Finland. NoA is a Scandinavian-born creative-tech player with global ambitions, and this move proves NoA’s unique business and organisational structure by attracting the absolute best companies in the Finnish market.

Today, NoA is Scandinavia’s leading player specialised in creating customer-driven growth. NoA’s collective of award-winning companies with different, yet complementary, skillsets form a powerhouse that delivers top-tier creative concepts underpinned by a solid technological foundation. 

Thomas Høgebøl, executive chairman and initial founder of NoA, comments on the acquisitions: “When entering Finland, we’re becoming a true Nordic champion. Bob the Robot and DK&A are both leading players in their respective areas; Bob the Robot is the leading and one of the most awarded creative ad agencies over the last 10 years whilst DK&A in comparison is a new kid on the block delivering outstanding digital products & services. Together, NoA will be well above 140 people in Finland serving clients locally, regionally and internationally”.

NoA has a carefully crafted strategy when inviting new companies on board, Mikael Jørgensen, group CEO of NoA, explains: “When strategising our growth journey - and in this case our expansion to Finland - NoA uses its “playbook” to assess companies. We found both Bob the Robot and DK&A to be perfect matches, as both companies are delivering exceptional work and results for their clients, while their respective cultures nurture collaboration and support true craftsmanship. This is the mindset needed to become a member of the NoA family - a mindset that is vital to act as strategic partners and serve our clients in the optimal way; as specialists in customer-driven growth”.

Bob the Robot represents creative excellence

When joining NoA, Bob the Robot is adding to the family’s long-standing reputation for creative excellence, stemming from award-winning local creative agencies based in Denmark (&Co.), Sweden (Åkestam Holst), and Norway (Anorak) that collectively made NoA win Scandinavian Network of the Year at Epica awards in 2021.

Bob the Robot already has a successful track record of delivering result-driven creativity in everything from integrated campaigns to business design, and as a token of this, the agency took home three of the previous five Grand Effies awarded in Finland. And just last week, 500 Finnish CMOs celebrated Bob the Robot as #1 agency in the Image poll at the Agency of the Year awards.

“We are excited to export top-level Finnish creativity by helping our domestic clients succeed abroad and serving foreign clients. To make it in the international market, we could not have found a better companion than NoA. Side by side with the best creative agencies in each of the Nordic markets, and with a shared value base, Bob the Robot and NoA feel like a perfect match. Our vision of the future of creativity is aligned, as is our passion to create measurable impact for our clients”, says Miska Rajasuo, CEO of Bob the Robot.

DK&A loves solving complex problems 

DK&A's designers and engineers enable some of the most respected brands to deliver real value to their customers by shipping solutions that actually matter. With a mission to create products that people want to use and businesses love to own, DK&A adds to NoA family's digital products and platforms capability represented by NoA Ignite, Unfold, Agitec and Scienta.

DK&A's clients include Deutsche Bahn, Kesko, Sector Alarm, OP and Wella.

Tom Jacobsson, CEO of DK&A, reflects: "Our passion for people, culture and product craftsmanship has a lot of common ground with NoA’s collaborative culture and love for craft. Becoming a member of such a versatile family, a truly unique digital powerhouse, is an exciting next step for DK&A to extend our international reach and access to a wider scale of skills and talent. With NoA we have even better capabilities to deliver Minimum Viable Magic to our clients worldwide.”

Both Bob the Robot and DK&A continue with their own brands as fully-owned subsidiaries of NoA Finland.

The purchase price will not be made public.