Nomads Acquires Shake Interactive

Above, left to right: Shake's James Oliver and Nomads founder and CEO Hans Howarth

 

Nomads, the creative innovation agency that opened its doors in July, has acquired search engine and social optimisation agency Shake Interactive as part of its ambitious growth strategy.
 

The purchase, for an undisclosed sum, sees Nomads continue to grow its global reach with six offices across three continents as well as bringing additional optimisation capabilities to the agency.

 
Shake is headquartered in the UK with offices in London, Edinburgh and in South Africa’s Cape Town. It is headed up by CEO James Oliver, who will assume the role of global COO at Nomads.

 
Hans Howarth, Nomads CEO and founder, said: “The Shake deal is part of Nomads’ ambitious growth strategy, which is considered, structured and sustainable. Shake is an acknowledged expert in its field and its team is well respected. I’ve known James for years, and our approach and passion for delivering results-driven transformation for our clients is the same, so as well as helping to grow Nomads’ capabilities and global presence, it makes absolute sense to combine forces and offer an even stronger proposition for clients.”

 
Oliver added: “Nomads has grown from one office in Amsterdam to six around the world in the space of six months. The energy and passion within its team is palpable, as is the drive to create transformational solutions for clients, so the cultural fit between the two agencies is seamless.”

 
Nomads was formed from a merger of management from the former StrawberryFrog Amsterdam and MediaCatalyst and opened its doors in July 2013. The agency was set up by Hans Howarth, one of the founders of MediaCatalyst and a driving force behind StrawberryFrog, with a management team that includes global strategy officer Lisa Lee, global creative director David Warner, global innovation director Agnes Willenborg, global talent director Henk Christophersen and global technology director Kees de Koning.

Its launch client list features Emirates, Sony Computer Entertainment, De Lage Landen, TNT Express, P&G, Rolls-Royce and several other active global accounts, supported by a 100-strong team based across Amsterdam, Singapore, and Dubai. The Shake acquisition adds London, Edinburgh, and Cape Town to its reach, and brings its total number of offices to six.

 
Shake was founded in November 2005 and works with brands and agencies in the US, UK, SA and mainland Europe. Its UK office is headed up by managing director Ben Cook, while Cape Town is run by operations director Anton Groeneveldt.