Beverly Hills, CA, May 21, 2008 – Entertainment powerhouse William Morris Agency (WMA), Peter Adderton, founder of both Boost Mobile and Amp’d Mobile, and a team of digital media pioneers today announced the creation of Agency 3.0.

The new agency combines WMA’s deep entertainment expertise with the award-winning creativity and experience of the founding team to assist clients in designing, implementing and monetizing their digital media strategies. One part digital technology leader, one part next generation marketing agency, one part strategic content developer, Agency 3.0 is designed to go beyond the scope of traditional agencies by serving clients in this new world of mobility, convergence and digital entertainment. 

“There’s a whole new world in the marketing, distribution and monetization of digital media, with unique demands for new approaches to both design and implementation,” states Jim Wiatt, Chairman and CEO of WMA. “Peter and the team we have assembled at Agency 3.0 are the best there are in recognizing trends and creating digital businesses ahead of the curve. We recently announced a digital media venture fund and now with Agency 3.0, we’ll be providing services as well as making investments in this sector.” 

Agency 3.0 is in the field of building businesses. By working with companies, content providers and advertisers to bridge the gap between great ideas and go-to-market executions in the digital media space, Agency 3.0 strategically leverages clients’ assets to create new revenue opportunities. The founding partners understand content, the convergence of networks and open platforms, and how to bring all the pieces into a cohesive strategy for the ultimate customer experience. Core offerings include digital strategy implementation, new product and brand development, content creation and user interface (UI) and content platforms.

Bringing skills sets across technology, content, marketing and the user experience, Agency 3.0 founding partners include:

Peter Adderton, Chairman and CEO.

In addition to helming Agency 3.0, Adderton will lead the Agency’s practice for mobile and wireless clients. Adderton was the founder and CEO of both Boost Mobile and Amp’d Mobile, each of which became leading mobile brands in the youth market and received numerous awards including Red Herring’s Top 100 North America 2006 list, Advertising Age’s ‘Entertainment Marketer of the Year’, BrandWeek’s ‘Marketer of the Year’, Wireless Week’s ‘Entertainment Company of the Year’, and in 2006, Adderton himself was dubbed a “Mobile Maverick” by Laptop Magazine. Adderton also founded Promotional Partners World Wide (PPW), one of the largest and most successful fully integrated marketing and promotions agencies in Australia.

Greg Johnson, Partner and President, Brands and Agencies.

Johnson heads Agency 3.0’s practice addressing consumer brand companies and traditional agencies. He brings over 20 years of innovation in cutting edge digital marketing campaigns for top agencies including McCann Worldgroup and Digitas. He was also responsible for the creation of the Interpublic Emerging Media Lab and is known globally for his vision and leadership in the digital landscape.  Johnson is a multiple recipient of the Cannes Lion Award and has been recognized as a ‘Media Maven’ by Advertising Age.

Steve Stanford, Partner and President, Content and Entertainment.

Stanford focuses on Agency 3.0’s practice in the entertainment industry. His extensive entertainment and digital media background includes creating ICM’s Digital Media Group, and being a co-founding partner and CEO of Icebox, a venture backed Internet entertainment company and the first site to create original programming for the web using a-list Hollywood talent, and most recently General Manager of the HBO/AOL broadband comedy joint venture. He was also co-founder and COO of Amp’d Mobile and VP of Marketing at Boost Mobile.  Stanford has won numerous coveted industry awards including having been named one of the top 100 Internet entrepreneurs by Time Magazine, and one of the Digital Dozen by Time Digital.

Scott Anderson, Partner and Chief Creative Officer.

Anderson leads the creative and design team at Agency 3.0 and is one of the most highly respected designers in the telecommunications industry both in the United States and Australia. Anderson was the creative head and co-founder of both Boost Mobile and Amp’d Mobile, where he launched two of the leading youth brands in the mobile marketplace and secured numerous awards for his work including Custom Publishing Council’s annual design award. 

“Experience has taught us how to work with advertisers and brands into the digital media space, and we earned ‘Entertainment Marketer of the Year’ awards at both Amp’d and Boost Mobile where we demonstrated that design, branding and tailored content through an integrated user experience could drive rapid adoption. With Greg’s pioneering work in the digital agency world, Steve’s digital content prowess and Scott’s branding genius, we formed a team at Agency 3.0 with unparalleled creativity and technical expertise to integrate branding and distribution across all digital platforms,” states Agency 3.0 CEO, Peter Adderton. “Our partnership with William Morris Agency gives us incredible access to their talent, content and the entertainment business as a whole, which will play very well into our efforts at both brand marketing and content distribution.” 

Over the course of its 110-year history, WMA has been a springboard for innovation within the entertainment industry. From its earliest days, WMA has forged success for a multitude of platforms by developing and driving new forms of content for theater, radio, television, film, Web, video games and now mobile, both domestically and abroad. This new partnership offers William Morris clients the opportunity to benefit from their innovative approach to client management as they open the door to moving beyond management and toward activation and implementation. Agency 3.0 is located onsite at WMA’s Beverly Hills headquarters. Agency 3.0 is a joint venture, with ownership shared among WMA, Adderton and the other principals on the senior executive team. Agency 3.0 will work alongside WMA’s Consulting and Digital Groups to identify projects that will benefit from the groups’ shared knowledge and relationships.

About Agency 3.0.

Agency 3.0 is a new breed of agency that merges technology and content to create digital media businesses across multiple platforms for consumer brand, technology, telecom and entertainment companies.  Backed by entertainment powerhouse William Morris Agency (WMA), Agency 3.0 combines WMA’s deep entertainment expertise with the award-winning creativity and senior management experience of the founding team to assist clients in designing, implementing and monetizing their digital media strategies. One part digital technology leader, one part next generation marketing agency, one part strategic content developer, Agency 3.0 goes beyond the scope of traditional agencies by serving clients in this new world of mobility and digital entertainment. Core offerings include digital strategy implementation, new product and brand development, content creation and user interface and content platforms.
 
Agency 3.0’s principals include executives with extensive senior experience at Amp’d Mobile, Boost Mobile, McCann Worldgroup, Digitas, Icebox.com and the Digital Media Group of International Creative Management.