Ruder Finn acquires digital marketing agency Flightpath

NEW YORK: Ruder Finn has acquired New York-based digital marketing agency Flightpath, effective at the start of this month. This deal builds on Ruder Finn’s expansion of its digital integration group and AI-powered RF Studio53, which was launched last summer. Flightpath founder and CEO Jon Fox will report to Ruder Finn global CEO Kathy Bloomgarden. The deal will add a team of 25 creative and digital marketing experts to Ruder Finn. There will be no layoffs or redundancies as a result of this acquisition. Flightpath’s team will work from its own office in Manhattan until the end of the year, when it will move into Ruder Finn’s New York location, Fox said. Asked if Flightpath will keep its brand name, Bloomgarden said, “We want to make sure we keep the brand [due to Fox’s] connections and the recognition he has in the field.” Flightpath specializes in the healthcare, petcare, consumer, CPG, business and financial services and nonprofit areas. Its services include website design and development, online advertising, social media, content marketing, search engine marketing, CRM and targeted mail and online video. “Ruder Finn has been reshaping our business toward including an integrated marketing and comms consultancy focus in addition to our straight PR activities,” said Bloomgarden. She added that Flightpath’s work “is an important strategic addition to that with [its] integrated marketing efforts and longstanding clients.” Fox (pictured below) said the deal will give Flightpath, which he founded in 1994, the opportunity to bring “a greater variety of services to our existing clients and enable us to grow what we are doing with our clients on a global and strategic basis.” Flightpath’s clients include Goya Foods and AkzoNobel. There are no client conflicts, Bloomgarden and Fox said. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Ruder Finn has offices in the U.S., Asia and Europe. Wholly owned agencies within Ruder Finn Group include Ruder Finn, RF Studio53, RF Engage, Touchdown, Peppercomm, RF Comunicad, Mantis, jacobstahl and RF Bloom. Last month, Ruder Finn acquired Atteline, a U.A.E.-founded agency headquartered in Dubai. Ruder Finn reported a 43% revenue increase to $160 million globally and a 34% revenue improvement to $80 million in the U.S. in 2022, according to PRWeek’s Agency Business Report 2023.