QUISMA

In 2001 in Munich, Germany, Ronald Paul and Norman Nötzold started a company focused on a new and growing field: search engine marketing. They called it QUISMA. The business quickly established itself, becoming a significant player in Germany's search marketing landscape. Their playbook was simple: specialize in performance marketing, covering everything from search engine advertising and optimization to affiliate marketing. Their expertise did not go unnoticed. By 2007, the advertising giant GroupM saw the value in QUISMA's specialized knowledge. In a strategic move to bolster its own search and digital performance capabilities, GroupM acquired a majority stake in the German agency. This wasn't a small bet; it was a clear signal that performance marketing was a critical piece of the future. The acquisition provided QUISMA with the resources to expand its footprint significantly, growing from a local German expert into a European powerhouse with offices in multiple countries. Under the GroupM umbrella, QUISMA continued to operate with its own proprietary technology platform, adding to the larger group's arsenal of digital tools.