The New York Times got the exclusive on this one, but what the hell, we have the announce and feel it’s worth mentioning that the now-media conglomerate that is Vice has acquired DUMBO-based digital agency, Carrot Creative. So, why now? According to a statement from Carrot co-founder/chief experience officer Chris Petescia,”The thought of selling to a holding company has always been incomprehensible to us. By contrast, when VICE approached us, it made perfect sense. Not joining VICE would have been an absurd contradiction to the very principles we stand for; they are aligned with Carrot in mission and spirit. Carrot has always been at the forefront of innovation; VICE is a steroid injection into our greatest ambitions. To say that we’re excited would be an understatement.”
The “steroid injection” will mean that Carrot’s creative/dev team will join up with Vice’s in-house web and mobile teams, with the immediate goal being to focus on the latter’s new verticals that include news, food and sports. Along with the vertical work, Carrot will focus on app development, advertising efforts and UX as the relationship endures. According to the parties involved, Carrot Creative, which works with clients including Jaguar, MTV, Disney and Home Depot, and its 65 staffers will remain in their DUMBO quarters (Vice’s hub is in Willamsburg). We’ve been told that as a result of the acquisition, fellow Carrot co-founder/CEO Mike Germano will remain in his role as the agency’s CEO and serve in a dual role of chief digital officer at Vice. Everything else will remain the same.