GROUP360 Worldwide & Trident Form Joint Venture To Provide Concept-To-Consumer Global Marketing And Packaging Solutions For Leading International Consumer Brands

ST. LOUIS and HULL, England, June 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- GROUP360 Worldwide and Trident, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sonoco Products Company – industry leaders in providing concept-to-consumer creative, strategy and premedia/print production solutions for iconic, international consumer brands – today announced the forming of a joint venture company called We Are Alexander Global Brand-Building Solutions to provide seamless, global consumer marketing and packaging solutions that ensure high-quality and consistent brand delivery around the world.

Leveraging a combined 75-plus years of experience in the technical, intellectual and artistic crafts of concept-to-consumer creative, strategy, premedia/print production and color management – together responsible for managing more than 250,000 packaging SKUs annually – We Are Alexander expands both companies' ability to service global brands at the local level with more than 900 employees located on five continents and capable of delivering in-market solutions to virtually every key market. Utilizing leading-edge technologies and laser-focused attention to process and quality, We Are Alexander provides global brands with customized solutions that ensure brand integrity is protected and a consistent product is delivered every time and everywhere throughout the globe, regardless of consumer challenge, printer, package and creative execution. Seamless workflow systems ensure ease of client engagement globally, and industry-leading e-commerce capabilities harness data and insights to create more powerful and meaningful consumer connections.

Both companies will continue to operate independently, and GROUP360 and Trident will deliver the benefits of this joint venture to a select group of global clients by leveraging the combined companies' capabilities and capacities to provide unprecedented value, speed and intellect to those highly specialized client partnerships. We Are Alexander is one of very few organizations completely dedicated to the craft and delivery of global concept-to-consumer solutions.

"GROUP360 Worldwide continues to grow and expand our business globally, and we've found in Trident a true partner that shares our passion and commitment to providing strategic, client-centric and high-quality concept-to-consumer marketing and packaging solutions that create value for our clients and their customers," said Tim Rutter, president and chief executive officer of GROUP360 Worldwide. "We Are Alexander gives us the ability and capacity to offer fully integrated brand-building solutions, systems and expertise across a broader global footprint, leveraging our unique strengths with those of Trident's and enabling our clients to authentically deliver their brands efficiently and consistently to consumers in local markets around the world."

"Trident has been rapidly growing its capability to service our global consumer goods clients for many years, but we realized that the success of our market-leading technology solutions and dedicated customer focus was generating more opportunities than we were able to successfully service," said Bob Carroll, global managing director of Trident. "Our quest to find a like-minded company, with a similar culture and capabilities, has not been easy, but in GROUP360 Worldwide we believe we have found the ideal partner. We are convinced that for clients who require integrated global solutions covering the full range from concept to consumer, We Are Alexander will be able to offer a unique and market-leading set of capabilities."

We Are Alexander will be headquartered in New York City. The company's name is inspired by three people who've made an everlasting impact on the world – named not for the individuals themselves, but rather for what the joint venture takes from them:

• French writer Alexandre Dumas, whose works including "The Three Musketeers" have been translated into nearly 100 languages: Remarkable and compelling creativity has the power to transcend borders, languages and time.
• Scientist and inventor Alexander Graham Bell, who became a catalyst for global revolution: When dreams and true conviction collide, powerful innovation is born.
• Superior leader Alexander the Great, whose innovative leadership and enduring vision ensured success: A clear vision, paired with an unwavering will to succeed, achieves victory.

For more information, visit www.WeAreAlexander.com.

About GROUP360 WorldwidePrivately held and headquartered in St. Louis since 1956, GROUP360 Worldwide is a leading global marketing communications firm that provides fully integrated concept-to-consumer marketing solutions for clients in the consumer packaged goods and retail industries. With 25 offices around the globe and more than 400 professionals, GROUP360 Worldwide engages and delivers all strategic, creative and executional elements of the marketing machine for a variety of iconic companies and brands, including Anheuser-Busch InBev, Johnson & Johnson, ConAgra Foods, Bass Pro Group, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Hill's Pet Nutrition and Snyder's-Lance, among other successful multinational organizations. For more information, visit www.group360.com.

About TridentFounded in 1993, Trident employs more than 500 people in 13 locations in United Kingdom, Central America, the United States and Asia. Trident is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sonoco (NYSE: SON), the $5 billion global packaging organization, based in Hartsville, S.C. With a client portfolio that includes some of the world's best-known brands, including Unilever, Colgate, P&G and RB, Trident is passionately committed to digital data management, technical development and investment, enabling consistent processes and improvements for premedia, packaging and production driven customers and colleagues. For more information, visit www.sonoco-trident.com.

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SOURCE GROUP360 Worldwide