Communisis name 'retired' for Paragon Global Brands

The Communisis brand name is finally being scrapped more than a quarter of a century after the business was formed and some 18 months after being bought out of administration by Paragon.

The initial deal, signed in December 2023, safeguarded nearly 600 jobs and also included agencies Twelve and Editions and the point of purchase specialist Vox Group.

At the time, the brand deployment business employed more than 300 people with a footprint in more than 20 countries and specialised in the four key categories of permanent and temporary point of sale, digital displays, brand merchandise and print.

Paragon Global Brands chief executive Jonas Magnusson (pictured) said: “By joining forces, we can uplevel the strategic conversations we have with clients about the role we can play in supporting the growth of the brand, whether that’s helping them to stand out, sell more or waste less.

“Ultimately, we’re here to help them create lasting connections with their customers by taking often complex brand challenges and partnering to create innovative solutions to help our clients win at that pivotal moment of truth when a purchase is made, to help them succeed in every market.”

Paragon Global Brands operates in over 100 countries across six continents and maintains multi-market and multi-brand relationships with some of the world’s largest FMCG brands and household names across the home improvement, technology, and food and drink sectors.

Paragon chief strategy officer Guilhem Boucon said: “Paragon Global Brands will play an instrumental role in our vision to become a world-leading business services company, specialising in services which deliver business growth, customer engagement, business transformation and efficiency.

“With Paragon Global Brands as part of our marketing services business line we can deliver a comprehensive range of services on a global scale for existing and new clients with growth on their agenda, supported by technical expertise”.

Formerly the John Mansfield Group, Communisis was set up in 1999 but started diversifying away from its print roots in December 2008, when the company paid £12.6m for Absolute Intuistic, which was rebranded Communisis Data Intelligence.

The group also tried its hand at agency services, forming Psona in December 2014 from the merger of three Communisis acquisitions – The Communications Agency (bought for £7.25m in June 2014), Geronimo and Public Creative – and set up offices in Little Portland Street, London. However, this agency was merged into Twelve in 2017.

In 2018, Communisis agreed a takeover deal with OSG Group which valued the company at £154m. However, by December 2023, the UK businesses – which included Communisis Ltd, Communisis UK Ltd, Communisis Digital Ltd and Communisis Data Intelligence Ltd – had gone into administration, following the collapse of its US parent.