i-FRONTIER Brought Under Avenue A/Razorfish

aQuantive has integrated i-FRONTIER under behemoth sister agency Avenue A/Razorfish. The transition will see i-FRONTIER take on the larger agency’s name and more tightly mesh its sales and creative operations with that firm.

Philadelphia-based i-FRONTIER’s sales staff becomes part of Avenue A/Razorfish’s East region. Founder and President Brad Aronson will now report to Bob Lord, president of Avenue A/Razorfish East.

i-FRONTIER had already integrated its creative and SEO (define) operations with Avenue A/Razorfish for a number of accounts, so executives of both firms said they expect a smooth integration.

“Clearly they have the leading brand in the interactive space,” said Aronson. “We have worked well together on a number of clients, so we’ve been working together more than competing over the last couple years.”

Lord said the agencies share a strength in measurement and analytics, and that will be one of the key elements of the brand integration they’re now working out.

“The overlap in our strategy and our measurement offering is what’s going to pull us together very tightly. The analytical rigor both agencies bring is the [lynchpin],” he said.

i-FRONTIER’s client roster includes Alaska Airlines, AstraZeneca, Cadbury Adams, ING Direct, Wyeth, and Aventis. There are no plans to move or reduce i-FRONTIER’s offices or staff.