KWP! acquires NT design and branding studio BOAB to form full-service agency KWP! Darwin

KWP! has joined creative forces with Northern Territory design and branding studio BOAB, establishing a powerhouse design hub and full-service marketing communication agency to service Australia’s top end and Asia.

The announcement comes off the back of KWP!’s national agency 2017 opening of its NT office in Darwin and will also see KWP!’s wider national design work undertaken from the purpose-built hub.

The acquisition will see BOAB’s team join the KWP! national agency, servicing clients from the Darwin office.

KWP! group managing director David O’Loughlin said the deal demonstrates KWP!’s long-term commitment and investment in the Northern Territory: “We love the NT and have moved to partner with the best creative minds in the region to strengthen our full service offering and establish an innovative design hub to service national clients from the Darwin office.

“At KWP!, we are in the business of working with great Australian brands and connecting them with people everywhere, and this will allow us to do that on a greater scale with the introduction of the new design hub.”

BOAB founder Brett Jacobs (above right) said the partnership was the right fit for both parties and would see the teams come together to form KWP! Darwin: “The journey of building a Darwin-based creative agency over the past decade has been exhilarating and a real privilege.

“And now we are ready for the next chapter, joining forces to create KWP! Darwin, and sharing our unified values of innovation, energy, creativity, and putting the client at the centre of everything we do.

“KWP! has an innovative national reputation and we are excited to bring together our brands to create an unrivalled Darwin-based agency.”

KWP!, which was founded in 1991, today employs 62 staff at offices in Adelaide and Darwin and has also enjoyed 20 per cent year-on-year growth in the past three years.

KWP! Darwin general manager Kaia Wright (centre) said the coming together of two strong brands would make the new company the strongest and most experienced full-service marketing, communications and design offering in the NT: “We are excited to welcome the BOAB team into the fold and are confident that our combined talents will help create opportunities and produce even better outcomes for our combined and new clients in the NT and nationally.”

As part of the acquisition, KWP! Darwin will welcome BOAB’s Brett Jacobs, Mike Frier and Amber Young who will join KWP! Darwin’s Kaia Wright, and Tristan Glover (left).

The new team will move into a new office space in Darwin later this year and look to further expand the team.