Howatson+Company acquires Akkomplice
Coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the agency, Akkomplice has joined Howatson+Company.
Akkomplice was founded in Melbourne by Kenny Hill (pictured above) in 2014 after leadership roles with JWT, DDB and M&C Saatchi. Since then, the independent creative agency has worked with leading brands including Kellogg’s, Darrell Lea, Mercedes-Benz, Sirena, Slater & Gordon, Pringles, Choice Hotels, Wesfarmers and Sorbent.
Says Kenny Hill, founder and CEO of Akkomplice: “10 years ago I saw a shift in what the market wanted and set up Akkomplice to meet these evolving needs. The response was terrific, with ambitious clients gravitating to our collaborative and agile approach to creativity.
“Now, ten years on, with even greater seismic shifts afoot, the time is right to find a partner with complimentary skills and values to continue to outpace the pack – and for that you really can’t look further than what Chris and his team are doing.”
Says Chris Howatson, founder and CEO of Howatson+Company: “I have admired Kenny as an agency leader, and his unwavering commitment to his clients. We’ve supported each other over recent years and when the opportunity came to merge our businesses and welcome Kenny and his team, it was a natural fit.”
The Akkomplice team have now joined Howatson+Company in the Melbourne campus, with clients including Totally Workwear, Sorbent and Slater & Gordon, being onboarded.
15 Comments
Move
If you can’t crack it in Melbourne buy an agency that has.
Congratulations. Your agency must be absolutely nailing it in Melbourne if you’re doing better than Chris. Well done. And congratulations Kenny. Well paid, I mean played.
well done
Kenny, legend
I find this an odd pairing if you compare the style of work each produces…
Are we just buying agencies if we can’t win our own Melbourne clients now?
Why wouldn’t you buy a little agency for guaranteed new business wins? So much better than entering Pitchlotto. The Akkomplice guy gets a bag of money, H+C get bigger. Win/win.
Why the hate for H+C?
People can’t stand seeing others succeed huh
I’d love to know the value H&C get out of this. Can’t have paid too much for a business that only had 4 staff. And can’t see why they’d need to? Bring a couple of new brands into H&C that might reject the new relationship. Seems like you could have focused on new biz
Growing your business comes from an array of tactics.
Strategic acquisition is one of those tactics.H&C are a shrewd and well run business,so the purchase will probably be successful.Just like most things they’ve done in their short but meteoric existence.
This article doesn’t reflect poorly on Akkomplice or H+C.
It simply reminds us that our world is changing faster than we’d like to admit.
Kenny’s and Chris’ comments only confirm that uncertainty.
I doubt Kenny, or Chris – both known for being at the forefront of change –
are simply stating the obvious – adapt, or die – whether we like hearing it,
or not.
I always assumed that the reason the ex-Akkomplice ECD left so quickly and mysteriously was because it was never him who got top billing for any half decent work. But maybe it was because he knew this was coming …?
For someone that says never assume, you sure do like to assume
Why the sniping everyone? I wonder if all those barbed comments would be posted if you weren’t hiding behind anonymity? I hope the merge works well for all involved-seems like a good fit. (And to the nasty bloggers, hope you feel better about yourselves soon!)