MDC Partners Inc. is an advertising and marketing holding company based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. MDC is structured as a partnership model, in which it initially acquires a majority stake in its partner agency, leaving a percentage of ownership with the founder. It has more than 50 partner firms worldwide. In August 2021, following the merger of The Stagwell Group with MDC Partners, Stagwell formed Stagwell Media Network, a group of multichannel agencies.

History

MDC Partners was founded as Multi Discipline Communications in 1980 in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

by Miles Nadal. The company held an

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

on October 16, 1987. The company operated two divisions in the 1990s: Marketing and Communications and Secure Transaction Products, which included the production of checks, credit and debit cards, tickets, and stamps. Toward the end of the 1990s, MDC concentrated on growing its marketing and communications business. It continued to expand into the United States, surpassing CAD$1 billion in revenue in 2000 through acquisitions and organic growth. In 2001, MDC formed its first partnership with the agency

Crispin Porter + Bogusky Crispin Porter + Bogusky (also known as CP+B), a member of publicly traded MDC Partners, is an American advertising agency that employed around 700 people. It was founded in 1988 by Sam Crispin. Crispin then became partners with Chuck Porter ...

. In January 2004, the company changed its name to MDC Partners Inc. In 2008, MDC became the first advertising company to build a capability designed for automated, or programmatic media trading, with the formation of Varick Media Management. The company acquired Anomaly in 2010 and

72andSunny 72andSunny is a global creative advertising agency, founded in 2004 by John Boiler, Glenn Cole, Robert Nakata and Greg Perlot, and currently chaired by Boiler, Cole and former CEO Matt Jarvis. with offices in Los Angeles, Amsterdam, New York City, ...

in 2011. On July 21, 2015, Miles Nadal announced his resignation as CEO in response to an investigation by the

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...

regarding executive pay and accounting practices. Nadal agreed to pay back $1.9 million in expenses and $10.6 million in salary and bonuses. He did not receive any severance or compensation for resigning. Chief accounting officer Michael Sabatino also announced his resignation and would reportedly repay $208,000 in bonuses. MDC’s presiding director of the board,

Scott Kauffman Scott L. Kauffman (born 1956) is an American business manager. He is currently chair and CEO of the advertising holding company MDC Partners. In July 1992, ''Advertising Age'' named him one of the top 100 marketers in the country and was named i ...

, succeeded Miles Nadal as Chairman and CEO. In December 2015, the company ranked 8th in ''

Advertising Age ''Ad Age'' (known as ''Advertising Age'' until 2017) is a global media brand that publishes news, analysis, and data on marketing and media. Its namesake magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930. ''Ad Age'' appears in mul ...

’s'' global ranking of Agency Networks, by cumulative award wins. In June 2016, MDC announced the first acquisition under Kauffman of Swedish creative agency

Forsman & Bodenfors Forsman & Bodenfors is a global creative collective. Since founded in Sweden in 1986 it has consistently been in the top tier of international agency rankings. Forsman & Bodenfors has won over 100 Lions and six Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions Inter ...

, forming a strategic partnership with sister agency CP+B. In April 2018, MDC acquired a 51% majority stake in digital creative agency Instrument for an undisclosed amount. In March 2019, Mark Penn was named CEO of MDC Partners, and The Stagwell Group invested $100 million in the company.

Operations

Company overview

MDC Partners is a global advertising holding company that invests in agency partners in the areas of advertising, marketing, media management, technology, analytics and consumer insights, direct marketing, and strategic consulting. The company is headquartered in New York City and also operates a corporate office in

, where it was founded. It earned approximately US$1.33 billion in revenue 2015. MDC typically invests in creative and digital firms. Historically, it invested in agencies during times when similar companies have scaled back on acquisitions. While the company has mainly invested in North American small to mid-sized agencies, it extended onto new global markets in the 2010s. As of 2015, 9% of the company’s revenue came from outside North America. MDC does not generally acquire agencies outright, but instead partners with agency management by acquiring a 51 to 80 percent initial stake. Instead of integrating the firms, acquired agencies continue to manage their own day-to-day operations. MDC provides support to the agencies in which it has invested including business strategy and financial resources. It operates a Strategic Resources Group, which supports the development of partner agencies. In 2004, ''

Adweek ''Adweek'' is a weekly American advertising trade publication that was first published in 1979. ''Adweek'' covers creativity, client–agency relationships, global advertising, accounts in review, and new campaigns. During this time, it has cover ...

'' called the company an "anti-holding company".

Partner Companies

Major holdings include over 50 advertising and marketing firms: * 6 Degrees *

* Albion * Albion Drive * Allison+Partners * Anomaly * Antidote 360 * Assembly * Attention * BOOM Marketing * BORN A.I. *

Bruce Mau Design Bruce Mau D.Litt. (born October 25, 1959) is a Canadian designer and educator. He began his career a graphic designer and has since applied his design methodology to architecture, art, museums, film, eco-environmental design, education, and conc ...

* CIVILIAN * Colle McVoy * Concentric Health Experience *

CPB CPB may refer to: Companies * Campbell Soup Company, an American producer of canned soups and related products * Campbell Brothers, an Australian laboratory and manufacturing company * Crispin Porter + Bogusky, an advertising agency * Corporate ...

* Doner * Exponent Public Relations * Forsman & Bodenfors * Gale Partners * Hello Design * HL Group * Hudsun Media * Hunter Public Relations * Instrument * Kenna * KWT Global (formerly Kwittken) * Laird+Partners * Legend * MDC Media Partners * mono * Northstar * Path Worldwide * Real Interactive * Redscout * * Sloane & Company * Source * Storyline Strategies * TEAM Enterprises *

The Media Kitchen ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

* TradeX Partners * UNION * Unique Influence * Varick * Veritas Communications * VITRO * Y Media Labs

References

External links

* {{Authority control Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq Marketing companies established in 1986 Advertising agencies of Canada