WPP lands 'Obama agency' Blue State Digital

Martin Sorrell's WPP has acquired the full service digital agency Blue State Digital, best known for leading Barack Obama's digital campaign in the last US presidential elections.

The financial details have not been released, but in a statement, Blue State said all assets of the company, based in New York but with an office in London, have been acquired by WPP Digital, the ad network’s digital investment arm.

Blue State specialises in non-profit, cause-related communications, including advocacy, membership and fundraising work for educational and cultural institutions, as well as political and corporate work.

Alongside the high profile work for the US president, Blue State in the UK has worked with Hope Not Hate and the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST).

The company also worked for former Prime Minister Tony Blair in the run up to the UK elections held earlier this year.

Founded in 2004, BSD employs 130 people across offices in Washington DC, Boston, New York, Los Angeles and London.

Mark Read, director of strategy and chief executive of WPP Digital, said: "Blue State Digital will bring distinctive skills to WPP Digital through its formidable presence in cause-based marketing, its comprehensive core technology set and an impressive set of clients."

Joe Rospars, founding partner and creative director of BSD – who took a sabbatical from the company to lead the Obama digital campaign – said: "WPP Digital will be a great home for BSD as we pursue our mission of bridging traditional and new-media campaigns to deepen relationships between organizations and the people most important to them."

This article was first published on Brand Republic