27-year-old plots launch of international agency group

Joe KaulA new agency group, backed by an investment fund and spearheaded by a 27-year-old media and tech entrepreneur, is aiming to take on the likes of VCCP, MSQ and Mission Group through an international M&A strategy aimed at creating a 1,500 headcount full service business.

Onqor Group is the brainchild of Joe Kaul, who set up his first business aged 17, and has been named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. He is also founder and CEO of data, digital and tech firm Pulse.io.

The group has set its sights on acquiring agencies across marketing, creative, production and PR space, based out of its head office in Farringdon, London. It is being backed by a family-run private equity firm with over 100 acquisitions across 11 countries.

Kaul said: “At present, the agency landscape is incredibly fragmented and ripe for a new group to service clients of all sizes and nature. Our ambition is to grow a multidisciplinary group with the best talent in the industry, backed by proprietary AI solutions.”

He goes on to claim that, historically, the marketing industry has struggled with staff retention and staff wellbeing.

However, Onqor’s intention is to build a network of firms, that prioritises staff fulfilment and services clients ethically and fairly. Kaul maintains this will be achieved by deploying proprietary AI technologies to maximise efficacy for clients, while ensuring all stakeholders are treated with respect and dignity.

Kaul added: “My core belief has been that any business can be successful with high-quality, strategised media, and scalable technology and systems. By implementing these principles in my businesses, I have shown a tangible increase in turnover and profitability at scale.

“I can empirically prove that best business decisions are data-driven decisions. Combine that with an agile methodology to ensure continuity in quality and adaptability, and the sky’s the limit.”

Onqor Group will certainly face stiff competition in the M&A market, from larger groups such as WPP, Omnicom and IPG through to individual agencies seeking to increase their footprint.

VCCP, which was launched 2002, has always claimed to be the original challenger agency brand. Through a mix or organic growth and acquisitions, it now has around 1,200 staff with offices in London, Madrid, New York, Prague, San Francisco, Singapore, Shanghai, and Stoke.

MSQ, meanwhile, was formed in 2012 following a buyout of Media Square companies and now employs more than 1,200 people across America, Asia and Europe, and Mission Group has 1,000 people across 27 locations and three continents.

However, all three have taken many years to reach this size; Kaul’s target is to have the 1,500-headcount group across the UK, US, and Europe up and running within 18 months.

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