Accenture sharpens content marketing capabilities with New Content acquisition

Dive Brief:

Accenture has agreed to acquire the São Paulo-based content marketing firm New Content, according to news shared with Marketing Dive. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
New Content aims to support content marketing efforts from Accenture Interactive, the consultancy's digital marketing services division, particularly in the Latin America region. New Content has roughly 200 professional staffers. Brand clients include the home appliance manufacturer Electrolux, the airline LATAM and the beauty and cosmetics marketer Natura.
The New Content leadership team of Giovanni Rivetti, Edoardo Rivetti, Beto Féres and Raphael Alcântara will continue in their roles following the acquisition. New Content has earned industry recognition with wins at Cannes Lions and Brazil's local Caboré awards. In 2015, it was named "Agency of the Year" at the Content Marketing Awards.

Dive Insight:

With the deal, Accenture is looking to hone its content marketing expertise and build out a talent pool in an emerging market for industry leadership. New Content's specialties could also help Accenture Interactive better serve brand clients that are feeling pressure to produce marketing content with greater efficiency and at scale, according to Eduardo Bicudo, Accenture Interactive's head of Latin American operations.

The acquisition continues a steady string of M&A activity for Accenture as the company looks to position Accenture Interactive to compete with traditional Madison Avenue agencies. In April, the consultancy purchased Meredith Xcelerated Marketing, or MXM, from the publishing giant Meredith Corporation. Like New Content, MXM is content-focused, offering integrated marketing services, cross-channel strategy development and creative execution. Other Accenture purchases over the past five years include Mackevision, Wire Stone, Clearhead, Media Hive and Karmarama, among others.

The competitive threat of consultancies' digital marketing arms has been more sharply felt by ad agencies, as companies like Accenture and Deloitte tend to have stronger backgrounds in technology integration and data, which brands are demanding more frequently to better personalize their marketing. According to Accenture's 2018 Personalization Pulse Check report, 91% of surveyed consumers said they're more likely to buy with brands that offer relevant, personalized marketing content and experiences.

Rounding out Accenture Interactive's capabilities through acquisitions could further support the division's growth. In a call discussing earnings in September, Accenture executives reported the company's "new" business category, which includes Accenture Interactive, Accenture Applied Intelligence and Industry X, had grown more than 20% over the past year.