News Archive - 11.18.02

LeapFrog Interactive Continues Interactive Consolidation

LeapFrog Interactive, a Louisville-based interactive agency, announced today the purchase of two Louisville-area businesses, Visual Savvy and Web Source Design in all cash deals. This decision continues an industry consolidation endeavor by LeapFrog Interactive started early this year with the acquisition of incuBusiness, followed by the acquisition of Fastball in late August. This latest move will consolidate the incuBusiness, Web Source Design and Visual Savvy businesses into a single division of LeapFrog Interactive. The division will take on the Visual Savvy name.

Jay Stewart, owner of Web Source Design, will become the President of the Visual Savvy division. "I am energized about becoming part of something this special and working with great group of new people who are motivated and already successful in their own right. Visual Savvy will focus on a clientele that are return-on-investment oriented, and those who are preparing to take revenue-effective steps on the web. We have tremendous resources and the region's best clients. It's an exciting time to be at LeapFrog Interactive"

Currently, Web Source Design has moved in to the LeapFrog Interactive offices, located in the Triad East Building at 10200 Linn Station Road. The group from Visual Savvy will maintain and expand their New Albany presence, while also having staff at the Linn Station Road location.

This is the fourth acquisition by LeapFrog Interactive in 2002 and continues an endeavor undertaken by the Louisville-based interactive agency to find strong partners who share their ideals of creating world-class programs and opportunities for their clients.

Alan Gilleo, Executive Vice President of LeapFrog Interactive has been closely involved in the consolidation discussions, and has witnessed firsthand how the business's capabilities have expanded and solidified. "As an interactive agency we are expected to have experts in fields ranging from e-mail marketing to website development to application creation to online product promotion and traffic building optimization. Each company has brought specific expertise to the table, and as a result, our overall capabilities and breadth of service has expanded greatly throughout the year. Offering clients new, stronger, more stable, and more effective ways to compete and grow their businesses is critical to not only their success, but our own."

Daniel Knapp, President and CEO of LeapFrog Interactive had this to say about the Visual Savvy purchase. "Visual Savvy was a perfect match for LeapFrog Interactive and compliments our long-term goals and plans regarding industry consolidation. The Louisville business community is poised to take advantage of interactive opportunities as perhaps never before. Businesses leaders have paid attention to the successes of interactive endeavors around the country, and are making smart, return-oriented, and bottom-line-effective decisions.

"The Louisville interactive community must prepare to provide second-to-none service to these very businesses. LeapFrog Interactive believes in the need for consolidation within the industry in order to create strong companies that provide complete, interactive agency services. The interactive agency model has been developed, implemented, and is successful in virtually every significant metropolitan area throughout the United States.

"The benefits of the interactive agency model are tremendous. It's much more than a "one-stop-shop"; It's the ability to tie every aspect of a company's interactive initiative together into a seamless, targeted, pin-point-accurate interactive machine. That machine can be tuned to support a 4-week product promotion, drive consistent and guaranteed traffic to a website, expand the reach of a sales team, or to seamlessly communicate with clients, investors, and prospects. Interactive agencies and advertising agencies work hand-in-hand to amplify the benefits of every promotion, every advertisement, and every opportunity that touches a current or prospective client.

"Louisville businesses are ready for world-class interactive agency services. They are ready to take advantage of the integration in interactive media; they are ready to increase the return on their interactive investments; and they are ready for down-to-earth, sensible approaches on how to address the Internet and the opportunity it presents. Should we, the Louisville interactive community, not step up to the plate...surely others will.

"LeapFrog Interactive is committed to finding ways to strengthen our service offering through internal growth and development, and through ongoing consolidation discussions with like-minded companies who believe in the future of the interactive community in Louisville."

LeapFrog Interactive is a Louisville-based interactive agency providing interactive services including website development, kiosk design, CD-ROMs, traffic building and interactive marketing services. Their clients include KFC International, Brown-Forman, the Louisville Orchestra and Thomas Industries.