Wunderman Buys Digital Agency Designkitchen

Wunderman has acquired Designkitchen, a digital and interactive marketing agency in the Chicago area, to help build its North American digital services.

Designkitchen will continue to operate under the Designkitchen brand and agency principal and CEO Sam Landers will remain at the helm. Landers, who founded Designkitchen in 1992, will report to Rick Schreuder, Wunderman’s Chicago president. The agency brings Web strategy, design and information architecture to Wunderman.

“We can now easily incorporate the Web, mobile platforms and the latest in digital technology into our work for promotions, sponsorship and motorsports clients,” Schreuder said in a release.

The two offices have already worked together on several initiatives for Burger King, HON and Butterball.

Designkitchen’s roster of clients includes Bally Total Fitness, Carrier Corp., Coventry Health Care, Life Fitness, Motorola, Oprah’s Angel Network and United Technologies.

The deal continues Wunderman’s aggressive efforts to expand its digital services globally.

In 2007, the agency acquired Vancouver-based interactive agency Blast Radius, Aqua Online in South Africa, These Days in Belgium and ZAAZ in Seattle, WA. Earlier this year, it purchased Asia-based Agenda.

In other news, Wunderman has opened a corporate consultancy division at the headquarters of Lowes Motor Speedway in Charlotte, NC, to enhance its work with NASCAR.

The new division expands the presence of Wunderman Motorsports, a unit of the agency’s Chicago office, which works with such well-known brands as Office Depot, Goodyear, and Sears Craftsman among others.

NASCAR expert Andrew Campagnone has been brought on as vice president of motorsports to manage operations and will report directly to Schreuder. Campagnone will drive Wunderman’s sponsorship sales, seeking opportunities for new and existing clients in NASCAR.

Previously, Campagnone worked as senior director of business development for Career Sports and Entertainment in Atlanta.

Wunderman ranked No. 3 on the 2008 Promo 100 with revenue of $366 million.

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