Priscomm, a Costa Mesa-based advertising agency, is one of five companies involved in a roll-up deal that creates one entity called Wirestone, headquartered in Emeryville, Calif.
Wirestone employs 80 and will target the e-business market for mid-size companies and dot-coms. Together, the five companies project revenue of nearly $20 million in 2000, which will plug it into Adweek magazine’s 40 largest interactive agencies. Sapient, based in Cambridge, Mass. tops that list with $276 million in 1999 revenue and 2,011 employees.
Priscomm will take the Wirestone name, and Priscomm principal Allan Karl becomes a vice president with the new company. The four other companies’ principals also are becoming Wirestone vice presidents. Priscomm, with $7 million in 1999 billings and 17 employees, ranked No. 42 on this year’s Business Journal list of the 50 largest Orange County ad agencies.
Karl said Wirestone will focus on e-business strategies, traditional and online marketing and advertising with “compelling design,” meaning media-rich through the use of technology like video and audio streaming. Wirestone’s goal is to become a national presence, then expand internationally within five years, he said. Wirestone was set to launch its web site this week.
The companies comprising Wirestone and their expertise include:
n Priscomm Inc., Costa Mesa: Strategic marketing and branding.
n LiveWire Interactive, Seattle: Rich media and broadband creative services.
n Digital Effects, Boise: Developer of web sites, interactive CDs, and streaming audio and video.
n Mediphex, Boise: Interactive promotional programs.
n Talaria Research, Sacramento: E-commerce and back-end development.
Chris Running, CEO of Wirestone, said it chose Priscomm “because we liked Allan so much. It’s all about chemistry.” Running previously was president and CEO of BigOnline.com in San Francisco, an Internet yellow pages web development company.
Karl said although the deal has been in the works for nearly a year, the companies have been working together on various projects for a while.
Wirestone recently cinched $2.5 million in first-round funding from Prime Ventures, Edgewater Ventures and Plantagenet Capital Management. Prime Ventures and Edgewater are based in Santa Monica, and Plantagenet Capital is headquartered in San Francisco.
The firm intends to acquire 12 more agencies within the next year, Running said. It is in talks with firms in Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Oregon. n
