As specialist advisers to the marketing communications and technologies industry, we are uniquely positioned to ensure that we are continually on top of key trends in this rapidly evolving landscape.
2. What’s hot in marcoms?
2
As specialist advisers to the marketing communications and technologies industry,
we are uniquely positioned to ensure that we are continually on top of key trends in
this rapidly evolving landscape.
One of our key tools is our global deal tracker, which gathers the details of all
completed deals in this sector, subcategorised and cross referenced by our team of
analysts. This, along with the hundreds of conversations we have each month with
both buyers and sellers, enables us to continuously identify emerging M&A trends.
With the ever blurring boundaries between “marcoms” and “martech”, it is maybe
unsurprising to see that the most talked about subsectors sit at their convergence
points, namely :
1. Content marketing
2. Data & analytics,
3. eCommerce
4. Digital marketing; and
5. Mobile marketing
This paper examines each subsector, the key trends and deal activity in 2014 YTD
using both proprietary and third party data.
Introduction
5. 5
Content Marketing Market Overview
Ecosystem
Content
App integration
In-feed
Social
Native ad platforms
Publishers
Video &
Mobile
Social
Networks
Brands
News &
Sharing
Search
6. 6
Content Marketing Market Overview
Key trends (1)
Small deals Publishers reinventing
Local deals
• Majority of content marketing firms are
small operations
• Deal sizes typically less than $5 million
• The $18 million consideration paid by Lin
Digital Media for Federated Media
Publishing being one of the bigger deals
seen in the space
• Firms have began developing stronger
connections with content producers to ensure
improved ROI
• For example, McLaren, through its spin-off
McLaren Animation, formed a long-term
partnership with Framestore
• Their first collaborative effort established itself as
a media property, eventually being broadcast
on Sky in its own right
Long-term partnerships
• Knowledge of the specific culture very
important
• Only 5 cross border content deals have
occurred since 2013 – 2 of which involved PE
buyers
• Little to no strategic interest in foreign
companies
• Firms with no previous experience in content
marketing aggressively pursuing acquisitions
• E.g. Fuel FX and Ideon Media, both multiple
buyers in the last year, buying small content firms
based in the same country (US and Canada
respectively)
Fast growing national players
• Epitomised by Advantage Business
Media, a PE-owned publisher
• From 2006 to 2011 digital revenues rose
from 11% to 50% (2)
• New York Times also has a documented
strategy to improve its readership
through content marketing
7. 7
Content Marketing Market Overview
Key trends & challenges (3)
Trends
Challenges
• 42% of marketers rarely or never use responsive design, despite up to 50% of their customers opening emails on
mobiles
• Calculating content marketing ROI
• Producing enough content that engages the consumer
• 60% of businesses are engaging in some form of content marketing, with 93% of B2B marketers now using content
marketing
• 44% of B2B marketers have a defined content strategy in place
• 78% of marketers are creating more content than they did last year
8. 8
Content Marketing Market Overview
Native Ads: A comparison with traditional advertising (4)
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Banner ads Native ads Content
0%
20%
40%
60%
Banner ads Native ads
Native ads have been shown to attract more viewer
attention than editorial content itself
26% of consumers view native ads against 24% for
editorial content, with traditional banner ads lagging
behind on 20%
0
1
2
3
4
5
Banner ads Native ads
Native ads significantly outperform their banner
counterparts in fostering purchase intent
Contribute to a 52% lift in buyer purchasing intent
The amount of times a visitor’s eye is drawn to each
type of ad is also significantly different
Native ads draw almost twice the amount of views
per session
Engagement
Buying
intent
Average
views
9. 9
Content Marketing Market Overview
87% 86% 85%
82%
77% 76%
73%
69%
57% 57% 55%
48%
45% 45% 45% 43%
40% 38% 38%
35% 34% 32% 31%
26% 25% 24%
20%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
UK firms on average use 14 of these content marketing distribution channels
Marketers in the UK utilise almost all of these channels to a greater extent than their North American and Australian
counterparts
In-person events, white papers, webinars and online presentations were the only categories North American marketers used
more frequently than UK marketers
Content marketing usage in the UK (5)
Distribution channels
10. 10
Content Marketing Market Overview
Role of social networks in content marketing (6)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
UK
USA
Marketers use of social media platforms in content distribution
Global research findings
• Marketers use an average of 6 social media platforms to distribute content
• In the UK, Twitter is used most often, at 87%
• In the US, LinkedIn is used most often, at 91%
• UK marketers regarded LinkedIn as the most effective platform, with Instagram viewed as the least effective in the
UK
12. 12
Content Marketing M&A Overview
Deal Volume
16
3
6
1
Cross Border
PE Backed
Target Region
Major Buyers Deal Types
Q1-Q3 2014 Content Marketing deals (7)
Quarterly Split
Q2
Q1
Q3
North America
UK
Western Europe
Africa
2 2
Ideon Media FuelFX
5
4
16
3
11
1
South America
30
Total Deals
3
APAC
13. 13
Content Marketing M&A Overview
Q1-Q3 2014 selected transactions
Date Buyer Target Target Location Target Description
Sep-14 USA
Media company powering the creation and
sharing of video content
Jul-14 USA Specialises in producing digital content
Jul-14 UK
Content marketing agency developing omni-channel
content
Apr-14 UK Video production company
Feb-14 USA
3D and interactive multimedia marketing
content producer
Feb-14 USA Graphics designer and developer
Feb-14 USA Digital, print & creative solutions
Feb-14 Netherlands
Entertainment programming & content
creation
Feb-14 USA Digitally focused media company
Jan-14 USA Conversational content for brand marketers
14. 14
Mobile Marketing M&A Market
References
1) Results Intelligence
2) Advantage Business Media’s digital road map, AdAge
3) Content Marketing in the UK: 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends: Content Marketing Institute/DMA UK
4) Nativeadvertising.com
5) Content Marketing in the UK: 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends: Content Marketing Institute/DMA UK
6) Content Marketing in the UK, Content Marketing in North America: 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends: Content Marketing Institute/DMA
7) CapIQ, 451, OneSource, Results Intelligence
8) ExactTarget Marketing Cloud 2014 State of Marketing Survey, Deloitte Analytics Trends 2014, IBM, TechRepublic
9) CapIQ, 451, MergerMarket, Results Intelligence
10) eConsultancy (January 2014), eMarketer (January & April 2014), International Business Times (October 2013), eCommerce Week (January 2014),
bpost International (January 2014)
11) eConsultancy (January 2014), IMRG (January 2014), eCommerce Week (January 2014), bpost International (January 2014), Statista (2014)
12) The Drum (February 2014), Talk Business Magazine (December 2013)
13) CapIQ, 451, MergerMarket, Results Intelligence
14) eMarketer (March 2014)
15) IAB Digital Adspend 2013
16) eMarketer (June 2014)
17) IAB/PWC Adspend 2013
18) IAB Digital Adspend 2013
19) CapIQ, 451, MergerMarket, Results Intelligence
20) Cisco VNI Mobile (2014), NPD DisplaySearch (February 2014), IDC Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker (2014)
21) IAB Native Advertising Playbook (2013), BIA/Kelsey
22) eMarketer (July 2014), Gartner (2013)
23) Google & Nielsen (March 2013), Cisco VNI Mobile (2014), relevant press, company websites
24) Gartner (September 2014), relevant press, company websites, Results Intelligence
25) eMarketer (August 2013), Kenshoo (December 2013)
26) CapIQ, Companies House documents, Press, company websites, Results intelligence
15. 15
About Results
Corporate Finance Advisors to the Marketing Services & Marketing Technology sectors
Selected clients and transaction counterparties
An established team of sector experts…
• Results International is a market-leading M&A advisory
firm founded in 1991
• Entrepreneurial and owner-managed
• 40 person global team with over 250 completed
transactions
• Senior level attention on all transactions
• Winner of Cross-Border Deal of the Year 2014 (sale of We
Are Social to Blue Focus)
Software
Marketing
Services
Marketing
Technology
Digital Media
Sector specialism
…with global reach
16. 16
About Results
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Unrivalled expertise in the Marcoms sector
17. 17
About Results
Mark Williams
Director
• Joined Results in 2010, with over
15 years of M&A experience
• Prior to joining Results Jim led
European M&A activity for the
marketing services division of
Omnicom (DAS)
• Clients include We are Social,
Blue Rubicon, Virgo Health,
Crayon and Iris
• Joined Results in 2005 - Previously
Head of M&A at Ernst & Young
• 20+ years experience in corporate
finance, including M&A,
fundraising, IPOs, JVs, MBOs and
MBIs
• Clients include The Group, Figtree,
Monitor Media, Spannerworks, Flip
Media, Transactis, Punktilio,
Flamingo, Brand X, and AIA
• Joined Results in 2012. He started
his career at KPMG working in
Financial Services M&A and
moved to Ingenious Corporate
Finance in 2010
• Clients include Staffcare,
Moonpig, St Ives, and Inflexion
Julia Crawley-Boevey
Director
• Joined Results in 2010 having spent
over four years at BDO where she
worked in both Audit and
Corporate Finance
• Clients include The Group, Blue
Rubicon, Virgo Health, Incite, and
Crayon
• Joined Results in 2012 to lead the
tech and digital media practice
• 15 years M&A experience at
Broadview then Jefferies, advising
tech and digital media companies
on M&A and fundraising
• Advised on transactions with
Oracle, Microsoft, Experian,
Moody’s, IAC, Axel Springer, DMGT,
and BT
• Joined Results in 2014, with over
15 years M&A experience
• Prior to joining Results, Chris led
the Technology M&A practice at
KPMG. He previously spent 11
years advising tech companies
at Arma Partners and JPMorgan
• Recent clients include Zinc
Ahead, Pushbutton and Irdeto
James Kesner
Manager
• Joined Results in 2013 from Kingston
Smith
• ACA qualified, previously worked
as a Finance Director for a London
based brand consultancy
• Clients include ID magazine, Not to
Scale, Writtle, Adam and Eve
Richard Latner
Manager
• Joined Results in 2014 after having
spent 9 years at KPMG across
audit, TS & M&A functions
• Clients include: WRG, Irdeto and
neoworks
Selected Team Members
Jim Houghton
Partner
Keith Hunt
Managing Partner
Julie Langley
Partner
Chris Lewis
Managing Director
18. 18
About Results
Selected Team Members – International
• Long career in marketing sector
(Ogilvy & Mather, The Ball
Partnership)
• Managed the acquisition of SMART
by McCann Worldgroup, CCG by
Publicis Group to establish Digitas
China, CIC by Kantar Media and
The Upper Storey by Isobar
Andrew Kefford
Managing Partner –
Asia Pacific & MENA
Chris Beaumont
Managing Partner –
North Asia
• 16 years of experience
consulting in Asia
• For 10 years Chris was with
McCann-Erickson in Asia; he was
both Vice-Chairman of its
operations in Tokyo and Chief
Strategy Officer for WorldGroup
across Asia
• Has closed over 35
transactions totaling $0.75
billion
• Experience includes advising
Hunt Mobile Advertising on its
transaction with Opera
Mediaworks
• Maurice has previously
worked at the Zanett Group,
Morgan Stanley and IBM
Maurice Watkins
Partner
• 27 years experience in the
advertising sector, including
as COO of JWT's Middle East
Network
• Joined Results International in
2008 and has since been
engaged in a number of buy
and sell mandates
Imad Kublawi
Regional Partner –
MENA
• Spent 24 years at Hindustan
Thompson (part of JWT), the
largest ad agency in India
• Other roles include COO at
RK Swamy/BBDO and as
advisor to companies in India,
Pakistan & Dubai
Sunil Gupta
Area Liaison –
South Asia
USA
Asia
Pierre-Georges Roy
Partner
• Closed $4.0 billion in cross-border
transactions
• Experience includes advising
Hunt Mobile Advertising on its
transaction with Opera
Mediaworks and Telesystem
International Wireless (NASDAQ:
TIWI) on its sale to Vodafone
19. For more information contact:
Jim Houghton
Partner
+44 (0) 20 7514 8234
jhoughton@resultsig.com
Julia Crawley-Boevey
Director
+44 (0) 20 7514 8239
jcrawley-boevey@resultsig.com
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