On Friday, NYC-based Carat USA and digital marketing powerhouse Carat Fusion announced that they will become one fully integrated company – to be known as ‘Carat’ – under the leadership of Sarah Fay, CEO, and Scott Sorokin, president. Former Carat USA president Ray Warren is leaving the company.

Explaining the move, Carat America CEO David Verklin says: ‘Our clients are thirsting for a new model of communications that melds both traditional media and full-service digital marketing capabilities to effectively achieve business goals. We are creating the first fully integrated, consumer-centric, on/offline marketing communications agency of this size, scope and scale.

‘In order for traditional media to thrive in today’s marketing landscape,’ Verklin continues, ‘it must incorporate digital into the heart of the strategy. We believe that combining these two great companies together into a single organization reinvents the agency model. It is a game-changer. We are the first agency to offer this level of service, and I am so proud to be at the forefront of this monumental change.’

No comments were forthcoming by MiC‘s deadline about how, or if, the union will affect Carat Canada.

Established in 1968, Carat is part of the London, UK-HQ’d Aegis Group. One of the world’s fastest-growing marketing communications groups, it operates in media communications with Aegis Media, which includes Carat, Vizeum, Posterscope and Isobar, and market research with Synovate.