Dentsu Aegis Network has acquired Digital Evolution Group (DEG), a provider of data-driven marketing, commerce and collaboration solutions in the U.S. market. DEG will join global agency Isobar, creating a shop called “DEG, Linked by Isobar.” Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This strategic acquisition supports Dentsu Aegis Network’s continued growth strategy for the U.S. and Isobar’s commitment to delivering experience-led transformation. By joining the Dentsu Aegis Network, DEG will enhance Isobar’s ability to deliver end-to-end commerce solutions.
Led by Neal Sharma, Dale Hazlett, Jasvindarjit Singh, Jeff Eden and Sky Morey, DEG was founded in 1999 and is one of the fastest growing digital commerce agencies in the U.S. The firm offers a comprehensive suite of marketing and technology services that enable brands to implement and integrate e-commerce platforms with digital marketing strategy and campaigns. Headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, DEG has additional offices in Denver, Pittsburgh and Des Moines as well as a satellite office in Manila, Philippines. Its clients include Purina, AMC Theatres, Fender Guitars, Hallmark and LVMH.
Isobar is a global agency with U.S. offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Denver, Needham (Mass.), and Westport (Conn.). Billed as a shop that delivers digital transformation powered by creativity, Isobar solves complex business challenges through digital marketing, ecosystems and products, driving digital strength and brand loyalty. Isobar’s clients include Coca-Cola, adidas, Enterprise, Procter & Gamble and Philips.
Sharma serves as CEO of DEG Linked by Isobar and will report directly to Deb Boyda, CEO of Isobar US. The DEG management team will remain unchanged.
“This union,” said Boyda, “will help us better serve our client’s needs for top-shelf commerce experiences with our Salesforce and Adobe partnerships. Together with our partners, we will be a force to be reckoned with.”
Sharma stated, “Dentsu Aegis Network and Isobar’s vision for how our industry is evolving is spot-on, and combining global scale, people-based insights, and proven innovation with our existing capabilities and talents will provide an unparalleled caliber of service across the customer journey.”
Isobar global CEO Jean Lin said, “DEG shares Isobar’s focus on the fusion of creativity, strategy and technology to transform experiences and achieve real business results for our clients. The synergies between DEG’s and Isobar capabilities, and DEG’s depth of expertise in the Salesforce platform, will ensure market-leading commerce solutions for our clients in the United States and beyond.”
Review: Writer-Director Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance”
In its first two hours, "The Substance" is a well-made, entertaining movie. Writer-director Coralie Fargeat treats audiences to a heavy dose of biting social commentary on ageism and sexism in Hollywood, with a spoonful of sugar- and sparkle-doused body horror.
But the film's deliciously unhinged, blood-soaked and inevitably polarizing third act is what makes it unforgettable.
What begins as a dread-inducing but still relatively palatable sci-fi flick spirals deeper into absurdism and violence, eventually erupting — quite literally — into a full-blown monster movie. Let the viewer decide who the monster is.
Fargeat — who won best screenplay at this year's Cannes Film Festival — has been vocal about her reverence for "The Fly" director David Cronenberg, and fans of the godfather of body horror will see his unmistakable influence. But "The Substance" is also wholly unique and benefits from Fargeat's perspective, which, according to the French filmmaker, has involved extensive grappling with her own relationship to her body and society's scrutiny.
"The Substance" tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, a famed aerobics instructor with a televised show, played by a powerfully vulnerable Demi Moore. Sparkle is fired on her 50th birthday by a ruthless executive — a perfectly cast Dennis Quaid, who nails sleazy and gross.
Feeling rejected by a town that once loved her and despairing over her bygone star power, Sparkle learns from a handsome young nurse about a black-market drug that promises to create a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of its user. Though she initially tosses the phone number in the trash, she soon fishes it out in a desperate panic and places an order.
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