Level Studios acquired by bigger firm
Level Studios, the biggest all-digital marketing firm in the Tri-Counties and a major tech employer with 140 people in San Luis Obispo, has been acquired by a New Jersey firm.
The acquisition by Princeton, N.J.-based Rosetta will put Level Studios — which works with clients as large as BlackBerry maker Research in Motion and as small as the city of San Luis Obispo — into an even bigger league.
Level Studios had about 220 employees across its three offices in San Luis Obispo, San Jose and Los Angeles, and was on track to bring in $45 million in revenue in 2010. Combined with Rosetta’s 850 employees, the now-larger firm is expected to bring in about $215 million this year.
Level Studios gives Rosetta a West Coast base. It will operate essentially as a standalone unit within Rosetta called “Level Studios, a Rosetta company,” and serve as Rosetta’s go-to division for consumer electronics and technology brands, Level’s historical strength. Rosetta CEO Chris Kuenne said Level’s expertise in marketing campaigns on devices such as the iPhone, iPad and other on-the-go, on-the-Web gadgets is what drew his firm’s interest.
“Marketing has moved from the act of broadcasting something about your brand to creating an interactive experience with your brand,” Kuenne told the Business Times. “We had been doing that exact same thing, but in more of a traditional Internet connection. Level has that very same vision, but was applying that vision to what they call connected devices.”
• For more on this story, look for Friday’s print edition of the Business Times.
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