Zenith is celebrating its 30th birthday. In October 1988, Zenith opened for business in a converted warehouse in Paddington, London.
Created from the media buying departments of Saatchi & Saatchi, BSB Dorland and KHBB, it went on to become the first worldwide media agency network.
From its original UK base, Zenith became the first media agency to launch in many of the key markets around the world, most notably in China in 1994 and the US in 1995. In 2000, Zenith merged with Optimedia following Publicis Groupe’s acquisition of Saatchi & Saatchi.
In 2002, ZenithOptimedia unveiled its unique positioning and commitment to marketing performance: The ROI Agency. Over the course of that decade, ZenithOptimedia became one of the fastest growing networks, launching into performance, branded content, analytics, full service digital and sponsorship consulting.
Following the creation of Publicis Media in 2016, the network was reborn as the new Zenith. with a new growth proposition for clients, a state-of-the art platform – ROI+ – and refreshed brand identity. Last month, Forrester named Zenith as a ‘Leader’ in its Wave™: Global Media Agencies report, recognising the network for its future-facing strengths in “e-commerce, personalisation, marketing consulting, automation, AI and data visualisation”.
Vittorio Bonori, Global Brand President, Zenith, said: “I feel very proud to be part of this pioneering network as we celebrate our 30th anniversary. As the ROI agency we have continually innovated and our vision is to be a key business partner for clients, focused on growth strategy, experience planning and 1-2-1 optimisation.”