Project: WorldWide Boosts Agency Roster With Acquisition of Pitch

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - Aug 1, 2014) - Independent agency network Project: WorldWide (www.project.com) today announced it has acquired Pitch (www.thepitchagency.com), an award-winning fully integrated advertising agency based in Culver City, California.

Founded in 2008 by Jon Banks and Kim Thomsen, Pitch has become one of the hottest agencies in the country. It was named a 2014 "Agency to Watch" by Advertising Age and placed second nationally for "Agency of the Year" (11-75 employees) at Advertising Age's Small Agency Awards. Pitch's significant growth has been fueled by clients including Burger King, Pepsi, Meineke, and Living Spaces. In 2013, Pitch increased revenues by 43 percent and clients by 50 percent, and has continued its rapid growth this year.

"Rooted in powerful creative and sound strategic insights, Pitch is an agency experiencing tremendous momentum. It is a high-energy agency with a strong management team and philosophical foundation that they live every day," said Robert G. Vallee Jr., Chairman & CEO of Project: WorldWide. "This acquisition is consistent with our approach to attract top talent with a strong entrepreneurial attitude and skills that can both stand alone and work well with our other agencies. We are a modern holding company and Pitch is a natural fit with the rest of our agencies."

"We thought long and hard about who we wanted to partner with as we look to further our growth, and it was Project: WorldWide that stood out head and shoulders above the rest," said Banks, CEO of Pitch. "As a privately held holding company, Project doesn't report to Wall Street and therefore has the ability to make decisions based on what is right for its clients and the organization in the long-term. Their contemporary approach to building a global network of agencies enables us to resource our expanding client needs while nurturing and developing top talent. We look forward to working alongside our new partners in the network to deliver remarkable ideas through world-class creative."

The Pitch acquisition marks Project's 11^th agency in the network, which launched in 2010, and includes George P. Johnson, Partners + Napier, JUXT, G7 Entertainment Marketing, Motive, Spinifex Group, Raumtechnik, Shoptology, School, and ARGONAUT. The terms of the deal are undisclosed.

ABOUT PITCH
Pitch is a full-service creative advertising agency based in sunny Southern California in the heart of Culver City's design district. Founded in 2008, Pitch creates ideas worth talking about for agency of record clients including Burger King, Meineke, Living Spaces and Closet Factory with project work for Pepsi, Asics, and Pinkberry. In 2014, Pitch was named to Ad Age's A-List as an Agency to Watch an placed second nationally for "Agency of the Year" (11-75 employees) at Ad Age's Small Agency Awards. In addition to its most recent achievements, the agency has won numerous awards including two of Ad Age's Best Campaigns of the Decade, the first ever Twitter "Creative Favorites Award," and a Titanium Grand Prix Cannes Lion. For more information, please visit thepitchagency.com.

ABOUT PROJECT: WORLDWIDE
Project: WorldWide is an independent, global network of wholly-owned agencies delivering engaging experiences that drive business results for clients. The network is comprised of engineers, craftsmen and artists creating marketing solutions that inspire people to participate and act. Project: WorldWide is employee-owned with more than 1,900 employees in 45 offices around the world. The agencies include George P. Johnson, ARGONAUT, Partners + Napier, Motive, Spinifex Group, JUXT, Shoptology, G7 Entertainment Marketing, School, Pitch, and Raumtechnik, which span the experiential, creative, digital, social, mobile and retail sectors. For more information, please visit project.com.