• by Fern Siegel , January 3, 2011

WPP is adding to its media empire. It is acquiring all the assets of Blue State Digital, an agency best-known for the "Obama for America" online campaign, which mobilized millions of voters. BSD, which has an outpost in London, was bought through WPP Digital for an undisclosed sum.

Blue State Digital -- which counts an array of clients, including AT&T, HBO, Communications Workers of America and Carnegie Hall -- is a full-service digital agency specializing in advocacy, membership and fund-raising campaigns. Founded in 2004, the company, with 130 staffers, says its revenues have grown in excess of 30% per year.

To date, BSD has raised more than $800 million in contributions and generating tens of millions of online sign-ups and actions. A deal sweeter is BSD's technology suite, which successfully integrates tools for fund-raising, advocacy, social networking and email marketing.

"Blue State Digital will bring distinctive skills to WPP Digital through its formidable presence in cause-based marketing, its comprehensive core technology set and an impressive set of clients," stated Mark Read, director of strategy for the parent company and CEO of WPP Digital.

Thomas Gensemer, managing partner of BSD, added: "WPP Digital will be a great home for BSD as we pursue our mission of bridging traditional and new-media campaigns to deepen relationships between organizations and the people most important to them."

In addition to BSD, WPP has acquired a majority stake in RMS, one of Africa's biggest customer research companies, which works with clients from Cadbury to Unilever across west and central Africa.