Irish ad agency Strategem plans 65 new jobs after takeover

Irish digital advertising agency Strategem has been acquired for an undisclosed sum by Connelly Partners, an American independent advertising agency based in Boston.

Strategem, a 20-year-old agency with a base in Irishtown in Dublin, will be rebranded Connelly Partners (Dublin) and will serve as a European hub for the New England agency. Some 65 new positions will be added over the next three years, it said.

Strategem founder Keith Lee will continue to head up the agency, while Courtney Doyle of Connelly Partner's Boston office has been appointed managing partner and will split her time between both locations.

Mr Lee said the new roles would be across advertising, client services, data, technology, content and shopper marketing.

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Human behaviour

“Our approach to advertising has always been about human behaviour and what makes people buy into modern brands. Having vast amounts of data is useless unless you understand the humanity, what makes people tick and why they make the decisions they make,” he said.

The acquisition follows a relationship between the two firms, which have worked together on past projects.

Connelly Partners said having dual European and US locations would help Irish clients that were keen to expand into the US, as well as American clients interested in Europe. Ms Doyle described the Dublin office as “a technology hub and launch pad into the UK and wider European markets”.

Strategem’s clients include Bus Éireann, Expressway, BWG Foods, Eurospar, Shannon Group, Diageo, University of Limerick, and Our Lady’s Hospice.

Connelly Partners, founded 18 years ago, employs 150 people in Boston and has a turnover of circa $61 million (€50 million), with clients including American Express Travel, Samsonite and the Massachusetts State Lottery.