MWW Group has recently launched the industry’s first strategic venture arm, suggestively named MWW Ventures. The new arm will focus on incubating media, marketing and public relations-related services and technologies that advance the industry and provide valuable tools to brands and media properties.
MWW Ventures will be led by the senior management team of MWW Group, to ensure portfolio companies receive the best counsel to increase their market profiles, drive product and service sales and build their brand reputation. The company announced the first addition to the MWW Ventures portfolio: BuzzMob, a location-based social media platform that brings social media communication to real-world places and events.
Under the terms of the deal with BuzzMob, MWW Group will invest its resources and services in exchange for equity based off performance in the start-up, which launched in August 2010. Services provided by the PR company will include marketing, branding, media relations, partnership building, event support, and digital and community management.
BuzzMob is just the first in a series of companies that will benefit from the new strategic venture arm MWW Ventures. The PR agency hopes that the external investments made by MWW Ventures will create new, high-impact, high-return marketing and public relations programs for clients.
“The future of the communications industry will be defined by innovations that not only create value and relevance for our clients, but evolve how society as a whole interacts with the world around us,” said Michael W. Kempner, president and CEO of MWW Group. “With a team of dedicated managers and partners, we look forward to pioneering the next-generation strategies, platforms and technologies for tomorrow’s effective communications campaigns.”
In the future, MWW Ventures will work with selected companies that show a solid track records of innovation, and will explore strategic investment opportunities, emerging business models, incubator programs and other initiatives. Startups that MWW Ventures will explore include but are not limited to companies in the measurement and analytics, social media management, media targeting, communications CRM, design, media management, audience building and content creation spaces.
