The Works acquired by digital services consultancy RXP Services

Creative agency The Works has been acquired by ASX-listed digital services consultancy RXP Services.

The Works was founded in 2002 and has clients including Optus, News Corp, Visit Canberra, ING, Sanitarium and Tata Beverages.

Ross Fielding, RXP CEO, said in a statement: “The acquisition of The Works just made sense. It is a really strong fit with RXP’s evolving business model as we continuously seek to grow our digital services offering. The future is all about digital, and the acquisition of The Works significantly enhances our capabilities in this area.

“In addition to extending RXP’s already strong digital customer experience delivery capability, it also increases our presence in NSW and further diversifies our customer and revenue base which is crucial for a sustainable business.

“We strongly believe this acquisition will allow a deeper level of client engagement and, therefore, higher client satisfaction. My team and I are very excited about this acquisition and we expect to create some digital waves in the industry,” Fielding said.

The acquisition aims to bolster RXP’s ‘end-to-end’ delivery capabilities and connect brand strategy and creative.

Damian Pincus, co-founder at The Works, said: “In RXP we have found a future focused, innovative and culturally aligned partner at a time when the business of marketing communications continues to undergo significant disruption.

“Clients increasingly want to engage with consumers at a deeper and more personal level and as digital transformation specialists RXP have a wealth of experience in this area. This is an exciting partnership and will complement our core brand strategy and creative offering enabling us to further deliver for our clients and people.”

ASX-listed RXP Services is now in a trading halt, however at its AGM in February, the consultancy flagged it would pursue targeted acquisitions.

RXP has offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Hobart and Hong Kong and lists its six pillars as: Collective, Engage, Develop, Insight, Optimise and Operate.

The news comes as consulting firms increasingly make moves in the media and marketing sectors.

In May,global professional services company Accenture bought independent creative agency The Monkeys and design business Maud, a deal which waslater revealed to be worth $63m.

Also in May,Deloitte announced Ten’s chief brand officer Matt McGrath was coming on board as chief marketing officerafter theconsultancy had last year bought Sydney-based marketing platform specialists Cinder Agencyanddigital communication studio The Explainers.

PwC has also been bolstering its offering with a number of key appointments includingformer CEO of Y&R Australia and New Zealand CEO Russel Howcroft who joined the consultancy in December last year after a few years as executive general manager of Network Ten in Melbourne.

PwC then further grew its CMO Advisory business,employing OMD’s head of strategy and innovation Ben Shepherd, former Leo Burnett strategy director TC Miles and M&C Saatchi strategy director Nicky Bryson.

KPMG has also been extending its reach,purchasing Acquity Research and Insights, launching a new specialist Customer, Brand & Marketing advisory venture and flagging more acquisitions are on the horizon.