The Independents announced on Wednesday that it has added the agency Ma+Group to its network, bringing the global communications group’s roster to 21 agencies.
Ma+Group, founded as an artist management agency by brothers Massimiliano and Michelangelo Di Battista in 1999, has since expanded to include a strategic and creative production arm designed to work in concert with its talent roster spanning stylists, set designers, creative directors and more. The group includes film and photography talent representation through Cadence Films and Cadence Image, beauty talent representation through Blend Management, local Italian talent management through Milan-based agency Atomo and production entities Experiential H and 360PM.
The Independents until now had “absolutely no artist management,” said The Independents co-founder Isabelle Chouvet. “In terms of content production, we have a lot to improve and to do more and to do differently, and [Ma+Group] have a lot to bring to the table.”
For The Independents, whose “main pillar,” according to Chouvet, has largely been public relations and experience production, these capabilities have become increasingly important as the demands for content production at speed become table stakes for brands at a time when the space “between fashion, luxury and entertainment almost doesn’t exist anymore,” said Chouvet.
Ma+Group is the 21st addition to The Independents’ stable of agencies — which include the likes of design studio 2×4 and public relations firm Lucien Pagès — and joins 2,000 global employees across 17 international offices. The agency will continue to be run independently within the group by its current leaders.
“We see it as a development in continuity with what we do by really relying on Isabelle and the group on potential bigger opportunities at a [broader] geographical level and client offering,” said Ma+Group chief executive and co-founder Massimilano Di Battista, highlighting The Independents’ expertise in Asia and the Middle East.
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Paris-based spatial and lighting design firm Matière Noire is the first company to join the program.