Dive Brief:
- Accenture has acquired The Stable, an agency that helps brands manage their digital commerce initiatives, to support its Song marketing services arm, per an announcement. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
- Founded in 2015, Minneapolis-based The Stable ranked among Inc. Magazine’s fastest-growing private companies last year and has worked with clients including WD-40, Pillsbury, Quip and Chubbies. The shop’s team of more than 400 employees will join Song with the transaction, which remains subject to regulatory approval.
- The move adds to a string of commerce-oriented purchases Accenture has made around the globe, including Businet System, Tambourine, Openmind, Glamit and Experity.
Dive Insight:
Commerce and performance media continue to guide Accenture’s dealmaking. The Stable purchase forwards those initiatives in North America, adding a team of hundreds of experts and connections to clients across a range of categories.
“Today, every company is a commerce company,” said Glen Hartman, Accenture Song’s global lead for commerce services, in a statement. “The B2B and B2C companies that fast-track their commerce transformation across the customers’ entire life journey will grow well into the future.”
The Stable will retain its existing offices in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Bentonville and Seattle for the foreseeable future, an Accenture spokesperson said in an email.
Other recent acquisitions from the management consultancy have eyed global markets: Businet System and Tambourine are Japan-based, while Opennmind operates out of Italy and Glamit and Experity are headquartered in Argentina and Brazil, respectively. The Stable has been acquisitive in its own right, most recently nabbing an agency called The Retail Firm, per Twin Cities Business.
A widening roster of commerce firms under Accenture speaks to continued client demand for such services, which grew ubiquitous during the pandemic as people shopped from home in greater numbers. The announcement cited a Grand View Research analysis that forecasts the global digital commerce market will hit $27 trillion by 2027.
There are strong indications that the pandemic-driven e-commerce frenzy has actually cooled, but businesses are still trying to iron out omnichannel strategies that can bridge their online and offline operations as other COVID-19 habits stick. Performance media is also expected to remain sturdy despite the economic downturn, as marketers often prioritize tactics that can be tied to last-click results in times of belt-tightening.
Accenture’s marketing services arm rebranded to Song from Accenture Interactive in late April to better unify its holdings and recognize the realities of a market altered by the pandemic. Top mandates include building out sales, commerce and marketing and business innovation.
The Song rebranding has extended to the 40-plus agencies Accenture snapped up over the past decade-plus, with the exception of Droga5, the creative crown jewel of its business. The Stable will now go to market as The Stable, part of Accenture Song, per the spokesperson.
Accenture Song expects it will generate $14 billion in revenue in 2022, landing it among the largest ad-holding companies. It has promoted itself as partnering with “future-facing” brands.
Noteworthy efforts this year so far have featured a Super Bowl campaign for cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. The 60-second commercial showed a bouncing QR code that sent viewers to a page offering $15 in free bitcoin if they signed up for the platform. The spot, one of the most talked about from the big game, secured the coveted Direct Grand Prix award at the Cannes Lions festival in June.
