MDC Partners adds healthcare, fashion expertise to agency roster

http://www.marketingmag.ca/news/agency-news/mdc-partners-adds-healthcare-fashion-expertise-to-agency-roster-36241 The Concentric acquisition (terms of the deals were not disclosed) represents MDC Partners’ first foray into the burgeoning health care marketing sector. Recently named Agency of the Year by Med Ad News, Concentric’s revenues grew 40% to US$16.5 million in 2010 according to a July report in the trade journal Medical Marketing & Media, while its staff grew by 33% as a result of winning 11 pieces of new business – including being named the US AOR for Enbrel, an arthritis treatment co-marketed by Amgen and Pfizer.

The agency has offices in New York and London, and boasts a client roster that includes several major health care brands including Allergan, Bayer HealthCare, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche and Wyeth.
Laird+Partners is a 75-person shop with a client roster comprised of a who’s who of fashion brands that includes Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Karl Lagerfeld, Gap and Hermès. It was established in 2002 by Trey Laird, the former executive vice-president and corporate creative director of Donna Karan International.

Uncertainty on Wall Street, Big Deals on Madison Avenue

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/16/business/media/uncertainty-on-wall-street-big-deals-on-madison-avenue.html?_r=1

This summer, for instance, holding companies like Havas, the Publicis Groupe and WPP have announced deals for agencies like Big Fuel, DPZ, Host and Lunchbox.

And on Thursday, Publicis said that it would buy Schwartz Communications, a public relations agency with offices in Boston, London, San Francisco and Stockholm. It was the sixth acquisition of a public relations agency by Publicis in 18 months, according to The Holmes Report, a trade publication.

Another example of the trend will come on Friday, when MDC Partners, which owns agencies like Crispin Porter & Bogusky and Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal & Partners, is to announce the acquisition of majority stakes in two specialty agencies.

One agency, Concentric Pharma Advertising, creates campaigns for pharmaceutical marketers like Bayer, Novartis, Pfizer and Roche. Concentric has 75 employees who work at a headquarters in New York and an office in London.
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The other agency, Laird & Partners, is based in New York and also has about 75 employees. It specializes in ads for beauty, fashion and luxury-goods marketers like DKNY, Gap, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein.
MDC is estimated to be paying $20 million for the majority ownership stakes in both agencies, with additional considerations based on future performance.

The acquisitions are the second and third this year for MDC, which is based in Toronto and owns all or part of about 50 agencies. The previous deal in 2011 involved a New York agency named Anomaly. MDC made 13 acquisitions last year and two in 2009.

Publicis' MSL Group Acquires Schwartz Communications

http://adage.com/article/agency-news/publicis-msl-group-acquires-schwartz-communications/229787/
MSL Group, Publicis Groupe's $405 million PR network, has acquired Schwartz Communications in a move to strengthen its health-care and technology portfolio.

"Our aim is to become one of the top three global networks and companies, so we've been looking at acquisitions in many countries," MSL Group CEO Olivier Fleurot told Ad Age. "We have identified gaps in our network. Some are geographic; some are about sectors and industries; and we think Schwartz is the perfect fit."

Neither organization would disclose the terms of the deal, but the mid-sized, Massachusetts-based firm finished 2010 with just more than $25 million in fee billings, not including expenses, and 2% growth over 2009. More than 30% of its fee billings in 2010 came from its San Francisco office, which saw a 15% increase last year, said Mr. Scanlon. The firm would not disclose projections for 2011.

The acquisition should bolster MSLGroup's health-care expertise in the biotech and devices categories, as well as strengthen its technology portfolio and its presence on the West Coast and in New England. Its sixth acquisition in the category this year, the move also reflects a larger goal by Publicis Groupe to grow its global PR operations. The other five global agencies this year include: Genedigi in China; Andreoli MSL in Brazil; 20:20 MSL, a social-media firm in India; Eastwei MSL in China; and Interactive Communications Limited in Taiwan, which is now called ICL MSL.

ExactTarget Said to Hire JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank for IPO

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-09-13/exacttarget-said-to-hire-jpmorgan-and-deutsche-bank-for-ipo.html

ExactTarget Inc., an e-mail marketing company that canceled plans for an initial public offering during the 2009 financial crisis, hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Deutsche Bank AG to handle a new attempt, said two people familiar with the matter.

The Indianapolis-based company will sell shares when market conditions allow, said one of the people, who declined to be named because the plans haven’t been announced.

ExactTarget would follow Responsys Inc., another provider of marketing software, which has gained 3.3 percent since its April debut, and competitor Eloqua Ltd., which announced IPO plans last month. The companies are bucking the trend that has resulted in at least 24 U.S. IPOs getting shelved or scrapped in the past three months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

In May 2009, ExactTarget withdrew its initial filing, opting to raise $70 million in private capital from investors including Battery Ventures and Scale Venture Partners. ExactTarget said in July that revenue jumped 41 percent last year to $134 million. The company has more than 1,000 employees, compared with 283 at the end of 2007.

In its 2007 initial filing, ExactTarget said Thomas Weisel Partners LLC and William Blair & Co. were hired to manage the IPO. The company was about half its current size three years ago, with sales of $32.8 million in the first six months of 2008, a separate filing showed.

Investor Concern

Companies have withdrawn or postponed IPOs seeking to raise more than $3.4 billion amid investors’ concerns about the economy, the European debt crisis and Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the U.S. credit rating. Twenty-three have been pulled since the Aug. 5 downgrade, which roiled markets.

Responsys, based in San Bruno, California, reported 2010 sales of $94.1 million. As of yesterday’s market close, the company traded at 6.2 times last year’s sales. By that measure, ExactTarget would be valued at $831 million.

Eloqua, based in Vienna, Virginia, recorded revenue of $50.8 million last year. The company plans to raise $100 million in an initial share sale also led by JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank.

Eloqua, Jive Software file for $100 million stock offerings

Eloqua Ltd., a market leader in marketing automation and revenue performance solutions, and Jive Software, a marketer of social business software, have filed initial public offerings, with $100 million in common stock each.

Vienna-based Eloqua said it will use the proceeds to repay debt and capital lease obligations, as well as for working capital. Jive, with offices in Palo Alto, Calif., and Portland, Ore., has yet to achieve profitability and will apply its money to continuing operations aimed at gaining market share.

Eloqua claims more than 1,000 corporate customers for its marketing solutions, including Adobe Systems, American Express Co., McGraw-Hill Cos. and Wells Fargo & Co. Jive clients include Nike Inc. and Cisco Systems.

http://www.btobonline.com/article/20110825/STRATEGY04/308259999/eloqua-jive-software-file-for-100-million-stock-offerings?utm_source=dailynewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=editorial&utm_campaign=dailyclickthroughs

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/24/eloqua-idUSL4E7JO3Y620110824

Forrester: Interactive marketing spending will reach $76.6 billion by 2016

http://www.btobonline.com/article/20110825/ADVERTISING13/308259995/forrester-interactive-marketing-spending-will-reach-76-6-billion-by?utm_source=dailynewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=editorial&utm_campaign=dailyclickthroughs

U.S. interactive marketing spending will grow from $34.5 billion this year to $76.6 billion in 2016, a compound annual growth rate of 17%, according to a new report by Forrester Research.

Forrester's “U.S. Interactive Marketing Forecast, 2011-2016” projects that interactive marketing will make up 35% of all marketing spending by 2016, up from 19% this year.

Spending on search marketing will grow from $18.8 billion this year to $33.3 billion in 2016; display ads will grow from $10.9 billion this year to $27.6 billion; and social media will increase from $1.6 billion this year to $5.0 billion.

DG to Acquire EyeWonder From Limelight Networks

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/dg-to-acquire-eyewonder-from-limelight-networks-nasdaq-dgit-1554960.htm

DG (NASDAQ: DGIT), a leading provider of digital media solutions and technology to the advertising, entertainment and broadcast industries, today announced a definitive agreement to acquire Limelight Networks, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: LLNW) EyeWonder video and rich media advertising unit for approximately $66 million in cash.

EyeWonder is a leading provider of interactive digital advertising products and services, including online video and rich media solutions, serving Fortune 1000 companies and premium marketers around the globe. In addition to helping advertisers, interactive agencies and content publishers create, build, track and optimize campaigns, EyeWonder is recognized globally for its technological expertise around targeting. EyeWonder Predictive Behavioral Targeting served over 3.5 billion targeted impressions in the most recent quarter.

DG expects EyeWonder to generate revenues of approximately $36 million to $37 million for full year 2011. In addition, the Company anticipates realizing $7.0 million in cost synergies in the first twelve months following the close of the EyeWonder transaction.

SolutionSet, MediaWhiz merge into full-service agency

http://www.dmnews.com/solutionset-mediawhiz-merge-into-full-service-agency/article/209387/

The combined 700-employee agency will manage clients' marketing across the following five areas: relationship marketing, digital services, local marketing, data management and media services.

Agency clients include Adidas, AT&T and American Express.

The combined agency is financed by Lake Capital, a private equity firm based in Chicago.

Advice Interactive Group acquires B2 Digital Media

http://www.btobonline.com/article/20110902/STRATEGY10/309029994/advice-interactive-group-acquires-b2-digital-media?utm_source=dailynewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=editorial&utm_campaign=dailyclickthroughs

Advice Interactive Group, a search engine optimization and Web development company, announced the acquisition of B2 Digital Media, a Costa Mesa, Calif., local SEO company. Financial terms were not disclosed. Under the acquisition, B2 will become part of Advice Interactive, based in Dallas.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110901006410/en/Dallas-SEO-Firm-Acquires-B2-Digital-Media

Havas Has $1 Billion to Spend on Acquisitions but Thinks Digital Shops Are Pricey

http://adage.com/article/global-news/havas-announces-5-revenue-growth-half-2011/229544/

Mr. Jones confirmed that Havas is actively looking for acquisitions, particularly in the digital world, but cautioned, "We want to spend our money wisely. I've had 30 meetings with heads of companies but the valuation of digital businesses is extraordinarily high. I don't want to wish this on the business, but if the economy takes a downturn it could mean that our $1 billion goes a lot further."

BDS Marketing, Inc. (BDS), a leading sales and marketing agency, today announced a combination with Canadian-based Consumer Impact Marketing (CIM).

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110621007335/en/BDS-Marketing-Consumer-Impact-Marketing-Create-Powerful
With mutual goals of establishing a dominant presence in the U.S. and Canada respectively, the combined companies now offer an infrastructure of more than 600 full-time and 6,400 part-time employees who are focused on driving sales and building brand awareness.

Dowden Health Media Acquires Priority Integrated Marketing

Priority Integrated Marketing provides healthcare and financial marketing services to organizations nationwide. Founded in 1983 and located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Priority helps its clients reach their audience and deliver results through content marketing, custom publishing, email marketing, website design and development, social media marketing and search engine optimization. More information about Priority Integrated Marketing can be found on its website at http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.priorityresults.com&esheet=6747857&lan=en-US&anchor=www.priorityresults.com&index=2&md5=35fb969aef24902f0ca0c9842c184ecb.

Campbell Soup Vows to Hold Line on Marketing

http://adage.com/article/news/campbell-soup-vows-hold-line-marketing-economy/229611/

Despite a weakening economy, Campbell Soup Co. is not backing off its plans to plow more money into innovation and marketing and cut back on heavy discounting.

The company, which is trying to reverse sluggish soup trends by putting a new focus on taste, on a quarterly earnings call Friday reaffirmed its plans to put an additional $100 million into marketing and innovation in fiscal year 2012, which began Aug. 1. "The recovery has not progressed at the pace or intensity consumers had hoped for," said CEO Denise Morrison. But "in this environment it is critical for us to deliver meaningful innovation focused on consumer needs and to differentiate our brands through effective marketing that emphasizes our products' tangible benefits and value relative to the competition."

Campbell, like other food marketers, had been engaging in heavy promotional activity, but found that discounting has failed to raise volume as planned. For the fiscal year ending July 31, Campbell sales across all of its businesses increased by just 1%, while its U.S. simple meals sales -- which include soup -- dropped by 6%, the company reported. Net income for the year dropped 5% to $805 million, and fourth-quarter net earnings fell to $100 million from $113 million.

RR Donnelley Buys Custom-Packaging Provider Genesis Packaging

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110907-706238.html

Genesis, based in Lemont, Ill., also produces point-of-purchase displays and signage, and has the ability to print and coat on the inside of packaging products, which is attractive to customers in the food and beverage industry.
"We continue to expand our capabilities to serve our customers' packaging and merchandising needs," said R.R. Donnelley Chief Operating Officer John Paloian. "The addition of Genesis complements our [international packaging]platform with a centrally located facility, a superb range of capabilities and deep experience."

QuinStreet acquires IT Business Edge

QuinStreet Inc., an online media and vertical marketing company, has acquired IT Business Edge, which helps b2b tech marketers target customers and prospects. Financial terms of the deal, intended to expand QuinStreet's presence in tech b2b, were not disclosed. QuinStreet's “focus on performance-based marketing, proven technology platforms and scale will allow us to combine our users, audiences and capabilities to supercharge the rapid growth of QuinStreet's b2b lead-generation business, providing our mutual customers with greatly expanded and improved offerings,” said Phil Branon, president of IT Business Edge, in a statement.
http://www.btobonline.com/article/20110909/STRATEGY10/309099997/quinstreet-acquires-it-business-edge

Nurun acquires U.S.-based Odopod

http://www.marketingmag.ca/news/agency-news/nurun-acquires-u-s-based-odopod-35852

Nurun acquired San Francisco shop Odopod, a digital agency with more than 60 employees and clients such as Electronic Arts, Google and Tesla, marking another ex-U.S. agency digging deeper into the U.S. market. Odopod was named Ad Age‘s Small Agency of the Year for the Western Region this year.
Nurun is a small player stateside with just $6.7 million in U.S. revenue for 2010, according to Ad Age Datacenter. With Odopod, Nurun more than doubles that take: Odopod reported $11 million in 2010 revenue, up 100% from the year prior.

Borenstein Group acquires Q2 Marketing

The Borenstein Group, an integrated marketing communications company, has acquired interactive agency Q2 Marketing, based in Springfield, Va. Financial terms were undisclosed. Under the acquisition, Q2's brand and staff will be merged into Borenstein. The acquisition will expand the company's integrated offerings in healthcare IT and cloud computing technologies, according to Borenstein Group.

http://www.btobonline.com/article/20110907/STRATEGY10/309079993/borenstein-group-acquires-q2-marketing?utm_source=dailynewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=editorial&utm_campaign=dailyclickthroughs

SapientNitro Buys U.K. Shop Digital and Direct for $41 Million

http://adage.com/article/global-news/sapientnitro-buys-u-k-digital-direct-shop-dad/229661/

SapientNitro is announcing today the acquisition of independent U.K. agency Digital and Direct for $41 million, in a bid to bolster the network's direct-response offering.

Known as DAD, the London-based shop also has offices in Amsterdam and Munich. It specializes in customer acquisition and engagement, working with some of the biggest U.K. marketers including satellite TV company Sky, Vodafone and British retail giant Marks & Spencer.

DAD, which employs 200 people, began life as Finex in 1991. In 2000 it was sold to Incepta, a marketing and communications group, but founder Ray Fine bought the agency back in 2007, because -- according to the agency's website -- "being an entrepreneurial peg in a corporate hole wasn't the best fit for us."
Mr. Fine will join the SapientNitro European management team and will report to Nigel Vaz, managing director of SapientNitro in the U.K.

SapientNitro bought a small German mobile agency called CLANMO in July, its first acquisition since buying the Shanghai-based Nitro network in June 2009. That deal was an attempt to combine Nitro's offline advertising capabilities with Sapient's digital offering.

Speaking about the DAD acquisition, a Sapient spokesman said, "Think about it: You could see a product on a website, then visit a retail store, comparison shop for products at other merchants on your mobile phone, and buy at their online kiosk, crossing all those channels within seconds. There's a need for a new kind of marketing that can engage, satisfy -- and measure -- demand in whichever channels the customer happens to be in."

SapientNitro calls this concept "real-time marketing." The spokesman added, "We stand to benefit from the direct-response rigor and methodology that DAD will bring to our entire organization."

In August, SapientNitro, which has 33 offices in Europe, Asia and the Americas, reported first-half organic revenue growth of 27% to $254.6 million. Its clients include Foot Locker, New Balance, Coca-Cola, Dove ice cream, Tourism Queensland and Chrysler Group's Dodge.

Barclays: Expect A Pullback In Branded Ad Spending

http://paidcontent.org/article/419-barclays-slight-pullback-in-branded-ad-spend-expected/

There are two general rules when it comes to advertising spending these days: when times are tough, marketers tend to take money from brand awareness efforts to campaigns with a clearer return, like lead gen or direct response. The second rule is that nothing can stop the shift from traditional to digital. So it’s no surprise that Barclays has revised its U.S. ad spending projections downward for this year and next, while noting that while display’s momentum may still be strong, it’s not as robust as previously thought.

Specifically, Barclays lowered its total ad spend forecast to 1.4 percent from 2.9 percent in this year. Also, Barclays now anticipates a 4 percent rise in ad dollars instead of a 5.2 percent in 2012. And if it weren’t for the piles of cash likely to flow through next year’s presidential and congressional campaigns, ad spending in 2012 would only be 2.5 percent, says Barclays analyst Anthony DiClemente.

For online, spending will reach $29.9 billion, up 14.8 percent in 2011 and then gain 13.6 percent to end 2012 at $33.9 billion. Barclays previously anticipated a 16.5 percent increase for 2011 and 15.2 percent for 2012. Display should grow 14.9 percent to $13.2 billion, while search gains 14.5 percent to 15.9 billion in 2012. Barclays search forecast has remained unchanged, as the segment is considered to be the last ad category to be affected by a slowdown in spending and is often the first to comeback when ad budgets rise.
The main areas propelling online ad growth are video and mobile. Video remains the fastest growing part of online advertising in general and display in particular with 33 percent compound growth between 2010 and 1015, Barclays estimates.

Search currently represents a 46 percent share of total online spending, compared to banner ads, which the second largest slice, at 24 percent. Despite video’s growth, it pays to keep in mind how small it is, as it represents just 7 percent of all online ad spending.

Avoiding the vague worries about the threat of a double dip recession, Barclays’ reasons for revising its forecast down are attributed to weak estimates for back-to-school sales, pessimism around retail and coming holiday sales, and the increased likelihood that the auto industry’s recovery will sputter next year. After all, auto’s are a bellwether ad category, and it was continued spending by car makers and dealers that helped keep ad spending positive this past year. If auto goes down substantially, the rest of the leading categories could follow as well.

To put Barclays’ views in context, here are some of the recent ad spend forecasts:
—eMarketer expects online to rise 20.2 percent this year and 17 percent in 2012.
—Zenith revised its global ad spending outlook downward ever so slightly to a decent 4.1 percent rise from April’s prediction of a 4.2 percent gain. In addition, global internet advertising was also dialed back just a bit to a still robust 14.2 percent from 14.4 percent three months ago.
—WPP’s GroupM expects global ad growth of 6.8 percent in 2012 called for slowing growth, while online was still expected to grow even faster than previously thought, rising between 15- to 16 percent a year through 2012.
—IPG’s Magna Global said in April that online ads would rise 18.7 percent. It maintains that online advertising is expected to account for 17.3 percent ($30.1 billion) of total ad revenues and it expects this share will grow to 22.4 percent ($47.4 billion) in the next five years. The average growth per year will be 9.5 percent, which is quite strong in an economy expected to grow in the low single digits, on average.