Peter Adderton, the man behind Boost Mobile and Amp’d Mobile Inc., has unveiled his next business venture. And like those before it, the plan doesn’t lack one bit in the department of grandiose.
This time, William Morris Agency’s got his back. WMA represents authors, actors and entertainers.
For WMA, Adderton’s Agency 3.0 marks a new foray into the digital media space that brings together a group of veterans in entertainment, telecommunications, marketing and business development. The agency will consult, develop and build digital media businesses out of existing companies, Adderton told RCR Wireless News.
Adderton and his team are thinking big. “I’m about game changing,” he said.
“To be honest, I’d like to take something on like Sprint,” Adderton added. “Because that’s a challenge.”
Later on, he mentioned Motorola Inc.
Both Motorola and Sprint Nextel Corp. are suffering serious financial difficulties.
The old crew
In his latest venture, Adderton teamed with longtime business partner Steve Stanford, the founder and CEO of Voce, an MVNO that imploded even more quickly, and in the same spectacular fashion, as Adderton’s Amp’d Mobile. Adderton and Stanford took light-hearted jabs at each other’s not-so-distant business failings. Stanford was also COO at Amp’d Mobile and senior VP at Boost Mobile.
Success and failure follow the pair like shadows, yet both presented a sense of clarity as they played up their strengths and experience while culling the successes they found in even the businesses that have ended in tatters.
“We’re going to do what we do well and stick to it,” Adderton said.
Pointing to accolades on marketing and development initiatives that were driven internally at Boost and Amp’d, Agency 3.0 plans to capitalize on those skills and more for a wide pool of clients already available at WMA and others that are showing interest.
The team said it is already working with some big names in wireless, but was not yet able to name any.
Urging improvement
Agency 3.0 is taking on everything from marketing and pricing to business models while playing an equally heavy hand in the development of content and user interfaces. The group pointed to a series of areas where entertainment companies, large and small, will have to improve before they reach success in the digital arena.
Agency 3.0 has already done work on new logos for existing companies. It is also diving into programming and began consulting clients on what types of content it believes play best in different environments.
Content and marketing are not mutually exclusive, Adderton said. He’s learned how intrinsically linked they are. Adderton said he’s looking to take on companies just entering the digital space or those that have remained stagnant while more innovative platforms rise. He called wireless companies “low-hanging fruit” for the joint venture.
Adderton heads up the group as chairman and CEO. Stanford, a partner and president in the joint venture, will focus on content and entertainment, while Greg Johnson, partner and president, will target brands and agencies, building on his extensive experience in digital marketing campaigns. Finally, Scott Anderson is partner and chief creative officer of Agency 3.0. Anderson co-founded Boost and Amp’d with Adderton.
Agency 3.0 operates out of WMA’s Beverly Hills headquarters and ownership is shared among WMA, Adderton and the rest of the executive team.
