Headquartered in Chicago and Paris, the company will work with brands such as McDonald's, Jim Beam, Harris Bank and Metrobus.
MarketForward is the result of the combination of Siren Technologies and BrandGuard, both former subsidiaries of Frankel, a Chicago-based brand-marketing agency acquired by Publicis in January 2000.
Jean-Francois Valent, former CEO of Siren Technologies and BrandGuard, will continue as head of the new company, and will report directly to Maurice Levy, worldwide chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe.
"When Publicis acquired Frankel in 2000, we saw the agency's unique offerings as a valuable step toward our goal of providing clients with holistic marketing," Levy said. "Now, as we launch MarketForward, we can provide our clients with the best in marketing counsel, spanning all disciplines and drawing on technology to make our marketing business solutions even more effective."
Siren Technologies provides updateable digital signage that provides user applications, such as indoor and outdoor digital billboards and interactive signage that can be updated instantly. BrandGuard is a digital asset-management system that enables clients worldwide to control brand assets via a web-based network, giving users the ability to create print marketing materials with pre-approved images and text.
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