LAB "Labwerks" SERVICE LEARNING
Labwerks
Ten United has acquired Lawrenceville-based interactive firm Labwerks, enabling Pittsburgh's second-largest advertising agency to expand and revamp its interactive practice, Ten United CEO Bill Binstock confirmed this week. Labwerks founder and CEO John Kuntz will now serve as chief interactive officer and will head Labwerks@Ten United, a new subsidiary employing 25, about 18 of whom hailed from Labwerks and will be based Downtown. Ten United's own existing interactive division, Columbus, Ohio-based Motivo, which it acquired several years ago, has taken the Labwerks@Ten United name and reports to Kuntz. "This makes his company and my company much stronger," said Binstock. "It takes more than an advertising component to be effective." He said the transaction lets Ten United offer more services to existing clients, including sophisticated Web design, e-marketing and optimized search engines. Labwerks' roster, which includes big names such as Dell Computer Corp. and Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., may also open new doors for Ten United, Binstock added. Kuntz's high visibility in the community -- he serves on the boards of several organizations, including Pittsburgh Social Venture Partners -- and Labwerks' large slate of pro bono work for area nonprofits were another plus, Binstock said, particularly since Ten United has a relatively low profile in Pittsburgh. Kuntz said he had resisted such an acquisition for years, but thought this one made sense. "I had not wanted to do this forever," said Kuntz, who said he's turned down several would-be acquirers since he started his company in 1998. "I stood as far away from (advertising) agencies as possible. But there's been a blurring and you can't keep interactive away from traditional agencies any more. And Bill and I see eye to eye. This time, it made perfect sense to pull the trigger."