Apple gets another dedicated advertising brand in advance of agency merger

Longtime Apple ad partner Rosetta appears to have launched a new Apple-exclusive agency brand in the runup to a merger that will see all of the Cupertino company's agency partners gather under the same corporate umbrella.

Rosetta has resurrected the once-powerful name of Level Studios with a simple, one-page website that includes a client list in which Apple stands alone. The site was first noticed by Advertising Age.

The publication speculates that moving Apple's business into a discrete agency brand could be a way for Rosetta to strengthen its hold on the account amidst consolidation in the industry and reports that Apple intends to increase the depth and breadth of its own internal marketing team. Apple has a similar arrangement with television agency TBWA Chiat Day, which created subsidiary TBWA Media Arts Lab to focus on Apple's campaigns.

Level Studios was Apple's first digital agency, joining forces with the iPhone maker soon after Steve Jobs's return in 1997. Rosetta acquired Level in 2010 and was itself acquired by multinational advertising conglomerate Publicis in 2012.

Publicis, in turn, agreed to merge with TBWA Chiat Day parent Omnicom last summer. It is unknown how the deal may affect the agencies' relationship with Apple, which has a long history with both groups.