an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . february 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message akqa inc. type subsidiary of wpp plc founded march 2001 2001 03 in san francisco usa and london england area served worldwide key people ajaz ahmed ceo and founder tom bedecarr chairman services crm e commerce technology services media search and analytics digital business transformation and consulting interface design product development digital content creation and distribution social media marketing revenue us 250 million 2012 1 number of employees 2 000 website akqa.com akqa is a digital agency that specializes in creating digital services and products . it employs 2 000 staff globally . akqa has offices in europe amsterdam berlin london paris north america atlanta new york portland san francisco washington d.c. south america s o paulo and asia gurgaon shanghai tokyo . contents 1 history 2 awards and recognition 3 references 4 external links history edit akqa was founded in 1994 in london by ajaz ahmed and james hilton . 2 in 2001 the company became akqa holdings inc. after an investment of 70 million by francisco partners and accenture with san francisco as its new headquarters and four offices in the uk us and asia . in the same year nike run london a new branded sports format with 10 000 runners taking part was launched by akqa for nike . a year later in 2002 run london sold over 20 000 places in a few hours using an e commerce platform designed by akqa . in 2003 akqa created ideashappen.com in collaboration with visa usa and msn . the platform asked people to submit entrepreneurial and community based ideas . 3 during its first month the campaign attracted one million visitors . the agency also launched nike presto online with a collective of post graffiti artists where users could interact with art sound and hidden animation . 4 in 2004 the new york office opened to increase access to east coast clients and talent . 5 akqa also published akqa ideas volume 1 showcasing the agency s work within 100 pages . 6 the book sold out on amazon with proceeds for the sale donated to the nspcc and prince s trust charities . in 2005 akqa interface design practice helped microsoft create the new user experience for the xbox 360 gaming console . 7 akqa mobile was launched as a specialist division in 2006 . 8 in the same year akqa created the annual student competition future lions in collaboration with the cannes lions international advertising festival . this yearly competition has since challenged students to connect an audience to a product or service from a global brand in a way that wasn t possible five years ago . 9 on its website francisco partners reported selling akqa to general atlantic in 2006 although some news reports listed this as 2007 terms not disclosed but the transaction was brokered by morgan stanley . 10 in 2007 akqa opened new offices in amsterdam and shanghai . the agency also acquired searchrev and turned it into a dedicated search engine marketing practice . 11 revenue grew by 45 % . fiat eco drive launched at the paris motor show an in car app that helps drivers reduce their co2 emissions and fuel consumption . akqa was named on the adage digital a list in 2008 . work highlighted included the coca cola happiness factory digital experience the halo believe launch campaign mcdonald s alternative reality game the lost ring and products such as the nike route finder . 12 later that year akqa s christmas card starring a chorus of harmonic microwaves was a notable viral success and featured on more than 400 blogs . 13 the following year akqa was named in the adage book of tens as one of the outstanding agencies of the decade and won the cannes lions cyber grand prix for fiat eco drive in june 2009 . 14 other notable work included the alternate reality game for warner bros 221b the spoof film alpine legend for xbox and the campaign born to run for save the children . in 2010 akqa created key branded iphone apps launching that year gap style mixer nike true city nigella quick collection and vw real racing gti . the agency also opened a third european office in berlin . a year later in 2011 nike training club one of the world s most downloaded training apps wins awards worldwide . heineken star player the innovative dual screening game launched and swept the board of global awards . akqa was cited most awarded digital agency by the gunn report 15 and received international recognition on both sides of the atlantic when named agency of the year by campaign and adweek . in january 2012 akqa opened a fourth european office in paris with nike as founding client . velocity was published co authored by akqa founder and ceo ajaz ahmed and nike vp digital sport stefan olander with a foreword by sir richard branson . in june akqa joined wpp plc as an independent subsidiary within the world s largest communications group . 16 at the time it was reported that general atlantic owned 80 % and management 20 % although other published reports say general atlantic and other shareholders owned 80 % . 17 later that year akqa opened two new us offices in atlanta georgia and portland oregon followed by an eleventh office in tokyo japan . 18 in 2014 akqa opened offices in s o paulo 19 brazil and gurgaon india . 20 in 2015 akqa acquired italian digital agency h art 21 and later announced its first scandinavian office will launch later this year in gothenburg . 22 awards and recognition edit in 2015 akqa was named the most respected agency within econsultancy s annual report for the third year in a row as voted for by other agencies entering in the top 100 . 23 in 2014 akqa won queen s award for enterprise innovation 24 and was named most innovative agency at 2014 digiday awards . 25 2013 was the agency s most successful year at the cannes lions international festival of creativity to date . it won 14 lions including a gold cyber lion for nike kinect training and a titanium and integrated lion for nike find your greatness . 26 in 2011 akqa was named digital agency of the year by adweek 27 and campaign 28 magazines . combining the results of all the significant advertising industry awards the gunn report rated akqa the top digitally led agency of 2011 . new media age also named akqa the most respected agency as voted by industry peers . in 2010 akqa took home agency of the year for the second year running at the revolution awards 29 and agency of the year awards from new media age and the interactive advertising bureau . in 2009 akqa won five separate agency of the year awards . akqa has previously been named revolution s agency of the decade 1997 to 2007 . 30 in 2006 creativity magazine gave akqa its inaugural interactive agency of the year award recognising the agency s global culture creative hires and technological muscle . creativity editor teressa iezzi said we thought akqa embodied the spirit of the big idea first approach . 31 references edit living in a digital world . business sense . may 21 2012 . retrieved may 23 2012 . https www.thinkwithgoogle.com articles executive insight ajaz ahmed.html akqa helps visa reach dreamers . adweek . retrieved 25 april 2003 . akqa launches nike web presence for asia pacific market . adweek . retrieved 21 march 2003 . akqa to open new york office lars bastholm named executive creative director to launch ny office . econsultancy digital marketers united . retrieved 18 october 2004 . akqa ideas vol 1 . amazon . akqa revealed as agency behind microsoft s xbox 360 navigational interface . pr week . retrieved 20 may 2005 . akqa goes mobile . adweek . retrieved 10 march 2006 . future lions official web site digital marketer akqa to hire 100 . bizjournals . october 29 2010 . retrieved october 19 2014 . akqa acquires search agency . clickz . retrieved 23 august 2007 . digital a list 2008 no. 2 akqa . ad age . retrieved 17 march 2008 . kiss jemima 24 december 2008 . guardian viral video chart christmas special . london the guardian . retrieved 24 december 2008 . behind the scenes akqa s grand prix winning fiat campaign . brand republic . retrieved 25 june 2009 . the gunn report 2011 results . creative review . retrieved october 19 2014 . wpp doubles down on digital buys leading agency akqa . techcrunch . retrieved 20 june 2012 . wpp acquires akqa to beef up digital marketing . new york times . retrieved october 19 2014 . akqa opens tokyo office with launch clients nike and nissan . adage . november 8 2012 . retrieved october 20 2014 . akqa expands presence in asia . new york times . june 1 2014 . retrieved october 20 2014 . akqa expands presence in asia . campaign brief asia . july 29 2014 . retrieved october 20 2014 . akqa acquires italian digital agency h art . the drum . 24 april 2015 . retrieved 4 august 2015 . volvo picks akqa as its lead digital agency . adweek . 13 may 2015 . retrieved 5 august 2015 . top 100 digital agencies report 2015 . london econsultancy . june 2015 . retrieved 5 august 2015 . akqa wins the queen s award for enterprise innovation akqa . lbb online . retrieved october 19 2014 . akqa named top agency at 2014 digiday awards . digiday . retrieved 5 november 2014 . school reports 2014 akqa . campaign uk . retrieved october 19 2014 . agency of the year akqa . adweek . retrieved 12 december 2011 . digital agency of the year akqa . campaign uk . retrieved 15 december 2011 . comparethemarket.com spotify and akqa triumph at revolution awards . brandrepublic . retrieved april 11 2010 . the guardian s media 100 . london the guardian . 8 july 2007 . retrieved 6 september 2012 . akqa is creativity s first ever interactive agency of the year . marketingvox . retrieved 14 december 2005 . external links edit official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title akqa & oldid 743697720 categories 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