Blue Barracuda and its staff of more than 60 are to be merged into Draftfcb’s London agency.  The newly fortified agency will operate under the Draftfcb London name, with the added tag:  “Fuelled by Blue Barracuda.”  It will employ more than 180 people, increasing Draftfcb’s staff in the U.K. by 50 per cent. It will also serve as the digital hub and resource for Draftfcb’s European network of agencies.

“In the five years since Draftfcb was created, we have been focused on building our fully integrated model, which means one P&L, no silos, a single unified management team worldwide, and an equal emphasis on creativity and accountability.  Rather than infighting over budgets, our employees are able to put our clients and their brands at the centre of all we do.  Now we are committed to further enhancing our capabilities,” said Laurence Boschetto, worldwide CEO and president of Draftfcb.

“Blue Barracuda is a perfect match for Draftfcb, both culturally and in terms of its capabilities and the expertise it provides.  Its talented staff shares our fundamental belief that our clients and their customers’ needs have to be central regardless of the channel,” added Boschetto.  “This combination represents a new type of integrated agency in the U.K. that ultimately will provide innovative, media-agnostic solutions for a digital world."