Apr 2 2012

Global Partners with RBC on a Report That Examines Marketing Industry Through M&A Activity

The research looks at 350 industry merger and acquisition deals from 2007 to 2011

Global Advertising Strategies and Russia’s RosBusinessConsulting (RBC) published a research report that examines marketing industry trends through merger and acquisition activity over the last five years.The report looks at M&A deals among the five leading holding companies, including WPP, IPG, Omnicom, Publicis, and Aegis, and zeroes in on the geographic location of the activity and the type of the agency acquired.

The report reflected several M&A trends present in the emerging markets and the mature markets alike. As anticipated, agencies with digital focus continued to attract the lion’s share of investor interest and dollars worldwide, accounting for 20% of all M&A activity in 2011 alone. However, the report demonstrated a slight decline in that activity overall, indicating that key acquisitions have already been established within the sector. PR and Strategic Communications agencies came in at 16% in 2011, and Marketing Intelligence (Research & Data Management) companies were at 13% in 2011.

Released exclusively in Russian in its initial phase, the report becomes the first of its kind on the market. Russia’s marketing industry, still young in comparison to the U.S. and Western Europe, continues to attract solid investor interest in the post-crisis economic environment, recovering from the financial woes of 2008-2009. In response to the worldwide demand for ‘untapped’ creativity and innovation, Russia’s leading independent agencies are anxious to enter the global adland as well, looking to compete for and work on global accounts and brands. For most of them, this means partnering with an established international agency network.