Announcing the Merger of The Groop and Broadtent

June 25, 2009

Digital agency The Groop and TV motion and production company Broadtent announced today the merger of the two companies. The joint company will retain the Groop name and contain both a services division and a product division.

The goal of the combined force is to harness the Groop's digital DNA with the broadcast media DNA of Broadtent's founder Seth Epstein and service advertising agencies and brands in the production of integrated digital campaigns.

The new entity will be lead by Seth Epstein who will be it's Chief Catalyst, he will oversee client relationships, operations and the direction of the companies. Groop co-founder Jose Caballer will assume the leadership of creative as it's Chief Visionary and oversee development of the hybrid practice.

The seasoned entrepreneurs met in 1999 during the dot com boom when Razorfish Inc acquired Fuel, Seth Epstein's broadcast graphics production company. Their combined client list includes ESPN, NBC Universal, Scripps Network, UPS, Ford, Bank of America, Sketchers, Gatorade, Lexus, Dell, Jeep, Motorola, Nike, Virgin Atlantic and Nokia among many others...

"Everyone knows the web and tv are colliding but speak different languages when it comes to the execution of campaigns or platforms online. We have been working together on projects and though processes may be different, we both work in RGB on screens. Culturally we are versed in both web and tv and the demand for 'integrated thinking' or hybrid approaches is becoming necessary" observed Caballer.

"We believe that advertising agencies and brands need collaborative production partners that have a large enough overview of the digital space to meet their creative and technology needs while speaking plain english. In this rapidly changing advertising and media climate it becomes even more critical that this is tied to sound strategies and metrics while remaining cutting edge."