Certainly, big holding companies like Omnicom or WPP would love to have a piece of David Droga’s action, but Droga values his independence, and it appears that he has other means.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Droga is injecting $6 to $7 million into his five year-old agency Droga5, care of angel investments from financier Henry Silverman and media executive Bob Pittman.
Ad Age too weighed in on the deal.
The investment is unusual and a bit of an experiment. Mr. Silverman hasn’t ever invested in an ad agency, and his interest in adland — provided this deal proves fruitful — could be a positive thing.
Rupal Parekh of Ad Age doesn’t say why it would be a good thing. I guess because agencies are underfunded and need all the wealthy champions they can find.
Unfortunately, The Journal captured this quote from Silverman, which makes me question his grasp of our industry: “The biggest threat to the ad business is social media…you have to get ahead of the curve.”
Maybe Droga can straighten him out on that score.
