OREANDA-NEWS. Dentsu Inc. announced today that its global business headquarters Dentsu Aegis Network Ltd. has reached an agreement with the principal shareholder of Crimson Room Communications Proprietary Limited, a leading experiential marketing agency, to acquire a 60% stake in the company.

Experiential marketing is a marketing technique that allows a consumer to actually experience a product or a service through a marketing event designed to increase his or her engagement with a brand both rationally and emotionally, which in turn generates favorable social media buzz and creates a virtuous communication cycle.

Founded in 2005, Crimson Room Communications has been developing its business with an emphasis on this domain since its establishment, and has earned high praise from clients for its diverse consumer engagement solutions that lead to store visits and purchases.

The Dentsu Group has to date provided mass media, digital and out-of-home (OOH) advertising services in South Africa through its network brands Carat, Vizeum, Isobar, iProspect and Posterscope. The acquisition of Crimson Room will allow the Group to add experiential marketing, promotions and PR domain services to its repertoire and provide a broader product offering to its clients. The company will over time be integrated into OOH specialist Posterscope, establishing psLIVE, the Group’s experiential marketing network brand, in South Africa.

In its March 2014 worldwide advertising expenditure forecasts, the Dentsu Group’s media communications agency Carat announced that overall advertising expenditures in South Africa are expected to show a high growth rate of 19.8% this year.

The impact of this transaction on Dentsu’s consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015 is expected to be minimal.