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The combined agency will retain the Heresy name, and be headed by its founding partner, Crispin Jamieson, who becomes the chief executive.

Tim Patten, the former HTP Brand Response managing partner and BT marketing executive who set up Digital Experiences for Chime in 2001, will become a managing partner.

The six-strong management team will also include the creative partner, Shaun McIlrath, the CRM and digital partner, Ross Sleight, the risk management partner, Simon Calvert, and the strategy partner, Roger McKerr. Heresy will have a staff of 40 and continue to work from HHCL & Partners' offices, but will be run entirely separately from the above-the-line agency. It claims £32 million in billings.

According to Jamieson, the move was spurred by the "large footprint of both department's offering to clients.

"We've been working together on a number of clients and projects, and we've got a good scope of complimentary services, combining marketing, research, advertising, direct marketing, CRM and digital skills, and feel the two agencies combined will be a potent force in a sector that is increasingly looking for integrated solutions, Jamieson added.

"Our strategies are media neutral, which means we don't favour one media because we have an engine to feed. We will only do what helps the customer to buy."

Heresy and Digital Experiences most recently pitched together for the MVC entertainment retail account, and will now work across each other's client bases, which include Birds Eye, Universal Studios and the financial company M&G International.