• by Larissa Faw , September 8, 2014

Publicis Groupe has underlined the growing importance that design has on the creative process by acquiring design and branding agency Turner Duckworth.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Turner Duckworth's annual revenue is reportedly between $5 million and $10 million.

Turner Duckworth will be aligned with Publicis Groupe’s Leo Burnett Worldwide, though the 70+ agency staff will continue to operate under the name Turner Duckworth and will retain its existing management team and structure.

The agency will also continue to maintain its London and San Francisco offices. 

This deal brings Publicis one of the industry's leading branding agencies. Founded in 1992, Turner Duckworth designs visual identities and packaging for such iconic consumer brands such as Coca-Cola, Visa, Miller, Oreo, Jacobs, Google, The Glenlivet, Samsung, Waitrose and Metallica.

Leo Burnett first collaborated with Turner Duckworth on work with Coca-Cola and Samsung, and acquisition talks grew from those initial projects. Ultimately, both sides were attracted to the concept of providing seamless creativity from design to brand communication to their clients. 

“With Leo Burnett, we see eye to eye about the importance of creative excellence, the growing impact of design on the brand communications world, and the desire to have a strong design voice on a global scale,” company founders Bruce Duckworth and David Turner stated. “Most importantly, we like them as people," the pair said of the agency team.

In addition to partnering with Leo Burnett for their clients, Turner Duckworth will continue to collaborate with the agencies of their own roster of clients.