FCB Chicago acquired Columbus, Ohio-based global design agency Chute Gerdeman, expanding its retail marketing division, FCB/RED.
FCB/RED will add Chute Gerdeman’s design offering to its existing retail marketing, branded content/experiences, activation and digital capabilities. The agency began collaborating with Chute Gerdeman last year and collaborated on a number of new business opportunities . Tina Manikas, president of FCB/RED, will lead the newly-expanded division.
“We’re thrilled to have the Chute Gerdeman team come together with our retail and shopper marketing division,” Manikas said in a statement. “As a recognized industry leader, they bring a unique offering and distinguished track record of creating branded environments that, when paired with our capabilities, will allow us to deliver seamless experiences that that keep the shopper at the heart of everything we do.”
“Creating Chute Gerdeman and growing the company has been my life’s work,” Chute Gerdeman chairman Denny Gerdeman said in a startement. “The people here have been essential to its success and I owe it to them to ensure a path forward. FCB/RED acquiring Chute Gerdeman creates a way to do just that. This is an opportunity for our team to expand their already vast retail and restaurant knowledge all while exposing them to new methods of strategy and design.”
Since its founding in 1989 by Gerdeman and Elle Chute, Chute Gerdeman has become a leading retail environmental design agency and won some 175 industry awards.
“This partnership will allow for more opportunities to effectively and proactively engage and solve the challenges of retail today,” added Chute Gerdemen CEO Brian Shafley. “Chute Gerdeman’s proven ability to deliver best-in-class physical experiences connecting with shoppers corresponds perfectly with FCB/RED’s shopper marketing and insights expertise.”