Publicis Groupe
Which organization owned Razorfish (company) from 2009 to 2010?
Razorfish ( company ) Razorfish , part of Publicis Groupe , is one of the worlds largest interactive agencies . Razorfish provides services including web development , media planning and buying , technology and innovation , emerging media , analytics , mobile , advertising , creative , social influence marketing and search . Razorfish had more than 2,000 employees worldwide , with U.S . offices in New York , Chicago , Boston , Seattle , San Francisco , Philadelphia , Portland , Los Angeles , Atlanta , and Austin . In 2005–2007 , it expanded overseas through acquisitions in London , Paris , Sydney , Hong Kong , Shanghai , Beijing , Berlin , Frankfurt , Singapore and a joint venture in Tokyo . In 2013 , Razorfish launched its operations in India through the acquisition of Neev Technologies . Razorfish Neev was based in Bangalore and provides outsourced product and application development solutions . In October 2016 , Razorfish merged with Sapient Corporations division SapientNitro ( a Publicis Groupe sister company ) to form SapientRazorfish . In July 2018 , Publicis announced plans to sunset the SapientRazorfish brand and roll the remaining employees under the Publicis.Sapient organization . On February 13 , 2019 , Publicis announced that Publicis.Sapient , SapientRazorfish , and Sapient Consulting had become one brand , Publicis Sapient , led by CEO Nigel Vaz . On January 14 , 2020 , Jem Ripley , Publicis Communications East CEO , confirmed that Publicis is bringing back the Razorfish name for its digital marketing agency , consisting of clients that didnt fit into Publicis Sapients digital transformation strategy . History . Beginnings . Razorfish was founded in New York in 1994 by childhood friends Craig Kanarick and Jeff Dachis , with the motto Solutions to Hard Problems . The company was originally headquartered at Jeffs apartment in Alphabet City in Manhattan . Their first major project was a $20,000 assignment to create a small website for the New York Botanical Society , commissioned by Time Warners Pathfinder business unit . A few months later , they moved into an office at 580 Broadway and hired three new employees . Early success . The company generated over $300,000 in revenues in 1995 and over $1.2m in 1996 , with a $300k EBITDA profit . They were one of the first companies to have an animated homepage , utilizing the server-push capabilities of the latest version of the Netscape browser . Because of this and aggressive marketing tactics the firm grew quickly over the next few years . Soon thereafter , they received a strategic investment from Omnicom ( along with other New Media pioneers , Agency.com , Red Sky Interactive , Think New Ideas and Organic ) , making them one of the first firms to be financed by a traditional media holding company . Razorfish used this money to move to new offices , redesign their branding ( to include the slogan Everything that can be digital will be. ) and expand operations . It and other New York-based Web design companies formed the core of a cluster of New Media companies known as Silicon Alley . In 1997 , the company generated over $3.6 million in revenues , with a healthy portfolio of prestigious clients like KPMG and Charles Schwab . In January 1998 , Razorfish made its first of what was to be many acquisitions , by purchasing Avalanche Systems . In 1998 , Razorfish also acquired Plastic in San Francisco , London-based CHBi , Los Angeles-based <tag> media , and then merged with Scandinavian interactive leader , Spray , which had offices in Sweden , Finland , Norway and Germany . The company generated over $83 million in revenue in 1998 and was profitable , putting it on solid ground for an IPO . The company had over 1,100 employees at the time . In April 1999 , the company had an IPO which raised $48 million at $16 per share . In fall 1999 , Razorfish acquired International Integration , Inc . ( I-Cube ) , a Boston-based company founded by Yannis Doganis , Madhav Anand , and Edouard ( Eddie ) Aslanian , its largest deal to date . The companys sales for 1999 topped $170 million . In May 2000 , Razorfish announced the launch of Intervision-Razorfish , a joint venture based in Tokyo . Around the same time , as the entire industry started to feel the effects of the dot-com bubble , Razorfish saw Q4 revenues of $50.1m , a 5% drop from the year before . Total revenues for 2000 were almost $268 million . In February 2001 , Razorfish laid off 400 employees , roughly 20 percent of its staff , with its stock price descending from a February 2000 high of $57 to just $1 per share . 60 Minutes II interview . In February 2000 , Craig Kanarick and Jeff Dachis were interviewed by Bob Simon on 60 Minutes II , where they appeared unable to answer the question , What do you do? . The interview was widely viewed as a complete disaster . Acquisition by SBI . Razorfish was taken private by SBI Group ( formerly SBI and Company ) in 2003 and was renamed to SBI.Razorfish . SBI also purchased other assets from The Fast Five , including Scient/iXL , MarchFirst ( formerly USWeb and CKS Group ) , Emerald Solutions , Lante , and Xcelerate . Acquisition by aQuantive . The company was renamed again , this time as Avenue A | Razorfish when the SBI.Razorfish division of the SBI Group ( formerly SBI and Company ) was acquired by aQuantive in 2004 . The Avenue A | Razorfish combination in 2004 resulted in an interactive agency which according to Ad Age had the highest interactive revenue in the US in 2005 , at $189.8 million . Acquisition by Microsoft . Microsoft announced on May 18 , 2007 its intention to acquire Avenue A | Razorfish as part of a $6.0 billion cash purchase of parent company aQuantive . The transaction closed on August 10 , 2007 . Razorfish continued to function as an independent company as part of Microsoft Advertising , run by Brian McAndrews , formerly CEO of aQuantive , who reported directly to the president of Microsofts Platforms & Services Division . On October 20 , 2008 , the company decided to be known as Razorfish , dropping the Avenue A brand . In June 2009 , it was reported that Microsoft had put the company up for sale . Acquisition by Publicis Groupe . Microsoft had earlier in June 2009 notified the markets of its intention to sell Razorfish , which many believed conflicted with Microsoft Advertisings main operations that sell advertising technology services to rival agencies . On August 9 , Paris-based holding company Publicis Groupe agreed to acquire Razorfish from Microsoft for US$530 million in cash and shares , which in turn gave Microsoft a 3% equity stake in Publicis Groupe . In 2016 , Razorfish merged with SapientNitro to form SapientRazorfish , led by former SapientNitro CEO Alan Wexler , who also became Co-CEO of Publicis.Sapient with and Sapient Consulting CEO Chip Register . Global offices . - North America - United States : Razorfish - Canada : Razorfish - Europe - Germany : Razorfish - UK : Razorfish - Asia-Pacific - Australia : Razorfish - China : Razorfish - Hong Kong : Razorfish - India : Razorfish Neev - Singapore : Razorfish - Latin America - Brazil : Razorfish Awards and recognition . 1998 . In April 1998 , the Razorfish Subnetwork , designed by Razorfish , was added to the permanent collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art . 2008 . In 2008 , Razorfish won over 75 creative awards including 10 Webbys , 11 Interactive Media Awards , 16 WebAwards , 3 OMMAs , 2 ADDYs , and 3 Create Awards . The Nike “Sweet Spots” campaign produced by Duke , a Razorfish Company ( located in France ) , was recognized on the 2008 Cannes Cyber Lions shortlist . Also , Razorfishs Chief Strategy Officer Jeff Lanctot , was named for the second consecutive year to the Mediaweek 50 , a list of the countrys top media executives . Forrester Research cited the company as a leader in “The Forrester Wave : Interactive Marketing Agencies” report published in December 2007 . Ad Age named ( then ) Avenue A | Razorfish 2005 media agency of the year . Forrester Research ranked it as a top-tier web design agency in its 2006 Web Design Agency Shootout . Its work for Mercedes-AMG won the 2006 Webby Award for Best Automotive Site , and its redesign of NYTimes.com garnered a 2007 Webby for Best Newspaper Site . 2010 . In 2010 , Razorfish was awarded Top Value Added Partner by Adobe for Razorfishs work in the Enterprise Partner Program for Omniture technology . 2012 . Ad Age placed Razorfish at number 4 on their annual Agency A-List . Also in 2012 , Razorfish won the One Show Entertainment Gold pencil for Innovation in Branded Content for client Axe . 2013 . In 2013 , Razorfish was again recognized by Ad Age , placing number 9 on their annual Agency A-List .