Accenture acquires CreativeDrive

Accenture has acquired global content production company CreativeDrive.

 

CreativeDrive uses cloud-based technology to produce content for clients. Accenture will use CreativeDrive’s platform to enhance its content, digital marketing, media and commerce service offerings.

 

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

 

Founded in 2015, CreativeDrive’s network includes more than 150 studios in the U.S., Latin America, Asia and Europe. The company’s client roster includes Estée Lauder, Michael Kors and Walmart.

 

“The acquisition of CreativeDrive is an investment in our clients and their future success — positioning us even more strongly to help them rise to this challenge and create a content revolution in a creative, cost-effective and agile manner,” said Brian Whipple, CEO of Accenture Interactive, in a statement.

 

New York-based CreativeDrive has 700 employees and more than 400,000 square feet of studio space.

 

In April 2019, Accenture acquired creative shop Droga5 in a deal that executives called a “seismic shift” for the industry.

 

David Clark, chief marketing officer of JEGI Clarity, an investment bank which advised on the CreativeDrive deal, said: “CreativeDrive is a challenger to the traditional agency model. Unlike other production firms who work with larger agencies (or within, for example, WPP’s Hogarth), CreativeDrive's relationships are ‘direct-to-client’."

 

There is a big opportunity because of the "high-volume, high-velocity creative production needs of large, multi-brand marketers – across logos, products, geographies, seasons, image types and distribution points – through a single relationship and on a single platform", he said, adding “the cost and process efficiencies involved here are enormous".

 

CreativeDrive's “really smart meta-tagging of digital marketing assets” also helps with "production automation, personalisation and performance tracking”, which was attractive to Accenture Interactive as it can be used “in concert” with the consulting firm's other capabilities such as programmatic and artificial intelligence, according to Clark.

 

(This article first appeared on CampaignLive.co.uk)