Homeboyz Entertainment, East Africa’s largest multimedia entertainment and experiential marketing company, has signed a strategic partnership with Publicis Groupe as it seeks to broaden its suite of services.
The partnership will see Homeboyz morph into an integrated marketing and communications agency and offer an expanded array of services that will include public relations, digital communication and media buying among others. This in addition to creative design and advertising services already on offer.
The partnership will enable Homeboyz to tap Publicis Groupe’s global footprint, knowledge base and best practices as one of the industry’s most powerful agency networks.
“We are not only scaling up our operations; this symbiotic partnership offers Homeboyz an opportunity to be the agency that will trigger a paradigm shift in the delivery of integrated marketing and communication services in the region,” said Myke Rabar, Homeboyz Entertainment chief executive.
Publicis Groupe is one of the world’s largest marketing groups by revenue, and consists of companies that specialize in all aspects of the modern communication mix. It encompasses Saatchi & Saatchi, Publicis Worldwide, Leo Burnett, Arc, Starcom, MediaVest, Zenith, Optimedia and DigitasLBi, and serves a wide range of multi-national and local client companies across the continent.
The Publicis Africa Group has 52 partner agencies in Africa, with equity stakes in 20 of the agencies outside of South Africa, and majority ownership in a further 11 agencies in South Africa.
“Our choice of Homeboyz as a partner is because we see great opportunity in holistic, multi-disciplinary activities to build brands in Africa. The Homeboyz team bring a strong entrepreneurial and non-traditional approach to their creative endeavors, which will allow our clients to engage with their customers in a broader and deeper fashion, which goes beyond traditional advertising alone” said Kevin Tromp, the Publics Africa Group chief executive.
Besides running the agency business, Homeboyz has evolved to become a multifaceted group of companies that also operates six Audio Recording studios, two TV production facilities, an events management division, a full Audio/Visual rental and maintenance department, music technology academy, Homeboyz Radio, HBTV, a youth empowerment facility dubbed Y-Hub and a rugby club ran by Homeboyz Foundation.
Homeboy started off in 1995 as a DJ outfit and grew to become a household name in Kenya synonymous with entertainment and cultural expression. The company presently has 100-odd staff and occupies 24,000 square feet of equipment storage encompassing four warehouses with full service and maintenance crews.
