Media Storm

Media Storm, LLC is an American advertising and marketing agency focused primarily on media strategy, media buying, and promotional support for entertainment-related businesses. The company was founded in November 2001 by Tim Williams and Craig Woerz, who had previously worked together at AOL Time Warner. From its base in the South Norwalk section of Norwalk, Connecticut, the agency developed a specialist position serving television networks, entertainment marketers, retailers, and other organizations seeking to reach defined audiences through paid media. The agency's work includes helping clients identify suitable advertising vehicles, plan campaigns, and place advertisements. It has also supported the marketing of video-on-demand programming and assisted retailers with advertising placement. Its entertainment orientation has allowed it to work with television and cable brands as well as consumer-facing companies outside the media sector. Reported clients and relationships have included Tribune Entertainment, The Golf Channel, Speed Channel, Showtime Networks, Gold's Gym International, and Finance America. The company has also been described as agency of record for networks and entertainment brands including Fox, MTV, WE tv, Food Network, FX, and truTV. One of Media Storm's early projects was connected with the launch promotion of FX's television series The Shield. This work helped establish the agency's profile in entertainment marketing, where campaign timing, audience segmentation, channel selection, and cross-platform promotion are central to a program or network's commercial performance. Rather than operating as a general consumer advertising agency, Media Storm built its identity around specialized knowledge of entertainment audiences and the media environments used to reach them. The company received recognition during its early growth period. In May 2003, it was ranked fourteenth on the Entrepreneur magazine and Dun & Bradstreet Hot 100 list of fast-growing entrepreneurial companies in the United States. In 2006, it appeared at number 106 on the Inc. 500 list, with the publication reporting 869.7 percent growth over the preceding three years. These rankings reflected rapid expansion, although they do not by themselves establish current revenue, profitability, or present operating scale. Media Storm has maintained a presence in the New York metropolitan area, with its headquarters reported at 99 Washington Street in South Norwalk and an office at 170 Varick Street in New York City. In February 2020, the company was acquired by Dentsu Aegis Network, the international marketing and communications group that later operated under the broader dentsu identity. The acquisition placed Media Storm within a larger global agency network while preserving its historical association with entertainment-focused media services. Publicly available reference material does not establish the company's current standalone status, leadership, website, or detailed post-acquisition operating structure.

Media Storm was established in November 2001 in the United States by Tim Williams and Craig Woerz. The two founders had previously worked together at AOL Time Warner and used that shared experience to create an agency centered on media strategy and advertising execution. The company was designed to help entertainment marketers decide where and how to advertise, then coordinate the purchase and placement of those advertisements. Its services extended to retail advertising and the promotion of video-on-demand programming. The agency's early work included support for the launch of The Shield, an FX cable television program. This project aligned with Media Storm's developing specialization in entertainment marketing, an area requiring close attention to television audiences, programming schedules, network identities, and the timing of promotional campaigns. The agency subsequently attracted clients across television, entertainment, fitness, retail, and financial services. Reference material identifies Tribune Entertainment, The Golf Channel, Speed Channel, Showtime Networks, Gold's Gym International, and Finance America among its clients. It also describes Media Storm as agency of record for Fox, MTV, WE tv, Food Network, FX, and truTV. Media Storm's growth was recognized through business rankings. In May 2003, it placed fourteenth on the Hot 100 list published by Entrepreneur magazine and Dun & Bradstreet. In 2006, the company appeared at number 106 on the Inc. 500 list after reporting 869.7 percent growth over a three-year period. These recognitions indicate substantial expansion during the company's first years, but the available reference does not provide a complete financial history or enough information to assess later revenue and employment trends. The company was based in the New York metropolitan region. Its headquarters was reported at 99 Washington Street in South Norwalk, a section of Norwalk, Connecticut, and it also maintained an office at 170 Varick Street in New York City. This location strategy placed the agency near both Connecticut-based businesses and the broader New York advertising and media market. In February 2020, Dentsu Aegis Network acquired Media Storm. The transaction brought the agency into a multinational communications group and represented the principal ownership transition documented in the available material. The sources do not specify the transaction value, detailed terms, post-acquisition leadership, or whether Media Storm continues to operate as an independent brand. Media Storm should also be distinguished from the unrelated Brooklyn-based multimedia publisher named MediaStorm. Current operating status, official website, and present service structure require further verification.

• 2020

  Acquisition by Dentsu Aegis Network

  [1]Media Stormen.wikipedia.org

  Dentsu Aegis Network acquires Media Storm in February.

• 2006

  Inc. 500 recognition

  [1]Media Stormen.wikipedia.org

  The company ranks number 106 on the Inc. 500 after reporting 869.7 percent growth over three years.

• 2003

  Hot 100 recognition

  [1]Media Stormen.wikipedia.org

  Media Storm ranks fourteenth on the Entrepreneur and Dun & Bradstreet Hot 100 list of fast-growing U.S. entrepreneurial companies.

• 2001

  Media Storm is founded

  [1]Media Stormen.wikipedia.org

  Tim Williams and Craig Woerz establish Media Storm in November after previously working together at AOL Time Warner.

• 2001

  Early promotion of The Shield

  [1]Media Stormen.wikipedia.org

  One of the agency's early projects supports promotion for the debut of FX's television series The Shield.

A specialist media agency serving entertainment marketers and other advertisers through audience-focused planning, advertising placement, and promotional campaign support.

• Advertising services · 2001

  Entertainment media planning and buying

  Media Storm's core service is helping entertainment marketers identify effective advertising vehicles and arrange paid-media placement. The work is oriented toward television networks, programs, and other entertainment properties whose campaigns depend on audience selection, scheduling, and media-market execution.

• Entertainment marketing

  Television and network marketing

  The agency supports promotional activity for television and cable brands, including programming and network marketers. Its client and agency-of-record relationships have included major entertainment names such as Fox, MTV, WE tv, Food Network, FX, and truTV.

• Advertising services

  Retail advertising placement

  Media Storm also helps retailers plan and place advertisements. This broadens the company's work beyond television programming while retaining its emphasis on selecting advertising channels and executing media purchases.

• Digital and entertainment marketing

  Video-on-demand marketing

  The company markets video-on-demand programming, applying its entertainment-media expertise to a distribution format in which discoverability, audience targeting, and promotional timing are important.

• 2001The Shield debut promotion

  United States

  One of Media Storm's early projects helped promote the debut of The Shield, an FX cable television program.

  Source

• 2020

  Joining Dentsu Aegis NetworkM&A

  Background

  Media Storm had operated as an independent specialist advertising and marketing agency serving entertainment and other clients.

  Action taken

  Dentsu Aegis Network acquired the company in February 2020.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition placed Media Storm within the Dentsu international agency network. Public reference material does not establish the acquisition price or the agency's current standalone structure.

  Source

• 2020

  Dentsu Aegis Network acquires Media Storm[1]Media Stormen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Media Storm was acquired by Dentsu Aegis Network in February 2020, bringing the specialist agency into the international marketing and communications group.

• 2006

  Media Storm appears on the Inc. 500[1]Media Stormen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Media Storm was listed at number 106 on the Inc. 500, with reported three-year growth of 869.7 percent.

• 2003

  Media Storm ranks on the Hot 100 list of fast-growing companies[1]Media Stormen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The agency was ranked fourteenth on the Entrepreneur magazine and Dun & Bradstreet Hot 100 list of rapidly growing U.S. entrepreneurial companies.

• 2001

  Media Storm is founded by former AOL Time Warner colleagues[1]Media Stormen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Tim Williams and Craig Woerz founded Media Storm in November 2001 after working together at AOL Time Warner.

1. 1Media Stormen.wikipedia.org