Asterix Group Joins Forces with Groove 11: Merger of Award-winning Creative Agencies under Groove 11 Banner Brings Fully Integrated Service Offering to Clients in the Bay Area and the Pacific Northwest

SAN FRANCISCO (Feb. 10, 2009) -- Asterix Group, the influential brand strategy and design agency known for its expertise in multicultural, diversity and life-stage marketing, today announced that it is joining forces with Groove 11, an award-winning, experiential creative agency.

The combined company will have 45 employees in the Bay Area and Portland, Ore. and will operate under the Groove 11 name. Asterix Group, based in San Francisco will move its team across the Golden Gate Bridge and do business from Groove 11’s offices in San Rafael, Calif. Groove 11 will expand into the Pacific Northwest with Asterix staff and operate in Portland, Ore. as Groove 11. Asterix Group President Chris Lehtonen will now serve as Managing Director at Groove.

The merger of the two firms has been in development for several months and was originally driven by the complimentary service offerings and portfolios of the two firms. The combined agency will offer brand and business-driven creative services to a range of clients, including Autodesk, Cisco, Citrix, Genuine Health, Diageo, Kettle Foods, Kaiser Permanente, Mt. View Hospital, the Napa Valley Vintners and West Coast Green.

“Groove 11 has been transitioning from an interactive and creative house to a fully integrated brand agency for several years, said Sean Dunn, one of Groove 11’s founding partners. “By adding Chris Lehtonen and her team, as well as the Asterix Group’s Brandsetting methodology and their extensive consumer and brand marketing portfolio, we have completed that transition.”

For Asterix Group, founded in 2002 in Portland, Ore and later headquartered in San Francisco, the merger brings an opportunity to grow and to service clients at a higher level, providing a more robust suite of experiential brand capabilities including interactive development, social networking and community tools, and engagement media.

Lehtonen sees enormous synergies between the two agencies. “From the very first time we sat down together, I was inspired by the similarity in our approaches and our complimentary philosophies. We are truly aligned in our culture, values and vision. With the combined resources and reach of Groove 11 and Asterix Group we will make a significant impact in our clients business and be able to extend our creative expertise overall. It is very exciting opportunity for our team and our clients.”

Work has already begun on a suite of proprietary ROI tools that Groove plans to unveil in the near future. “Chris will play a major role in the branding piece of this initiative,” Dunn explained. “The tools are actually research-based, repeatable systems that integrate with each of our four practices and enable our clients to achieve measurable results.”

ABOUT GROOVE 11

Based in San Rafael, Calif., Groove 11 is an experiential creative agency that helps clients develop the full emotional potential of their brands. The company provides strategy on branding, product launches, integrated marketing, and corporate identity. It also draws on the award-winning talents of its teams to execute programs via interactive media design, event and trade show production, advertising, and affinity Web sites to build truly comprehensive, novel, and immersive brand experiences. The agency in 2007 and 2008 was named in the San Francisco Business Times’ list of 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies. Clients include Cisco Systems, Clinique, Diageo, Sun Microsystems, Flax Art & Design, and the Napa Valley Vintners. Groove can be found online at www.groove11.com.

ABOUT ASTERIX GROUP

Asterix Group was founded in Portland, Ore. in 2002 by Chris Lehtonen, a new media expert who built her agency into an integrated strategic and creative shop with clients such as AAA, Care2.com, Episcopal Charities of the Bay Area, Genuine Health, Mountain View Hospital, myPartner.com, Nike, Olivia, Serena Software, and WaMu. They opened a San Francisco office in 2006. Asterix Group is online at www.asterixgroup.com.


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Tim Hart

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Hart Communications

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