Dive Brief:

• Digital marketing agency Mod Op has acquired Philadelphia-based creative agency Red Tettemer O’Connell + Partners (RTO+P), according to a release. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
• RTO+P will serve as Mod Op’s creative engine, boosting its existing services in this area. At the same time, the deal extends Mod Op’s capabilities into areas like social media, experiential marketing and content production.
• The news sees Mod Op complementing areas of expertise, like data science, digital services and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities at a time when pure-play digital agencies are looking for a point of differentiation.

Dive Insight:

Like Globant’s deal for Gut late last year, Mod Op’s acquisition of twenty-plus-year-old independent shop Red Tettemer O’Connell + Partners highlights the difficulties independent creative and digital agencies face trying to make it on their own. As AI and other data-driven tools become more deeply embedded within marketing, the line between “traditional” and “digital” is blurring and clients expect to see tangible results from their creative approaches.

“Client demands are changing quickly,” said Mod Op CEO Eric J Bertrand, in a release. “Brands need more than data to be successful. They must be able to apply creative thinking to leading-edge insights to generate breakthrough strategies and campaigns. The addition of RTO+P expands our creative capital and empowers clients to realize the full value of their digital investment.”

The expansion of low-cost AI content is expected to deepen the need for differentiation and lead to an increased focus on creativity, Forrester asserted in its 2024 agency predictions. Those pressures may be one reason why agencies like Mod Op and Globant have been on the lookout for creative acquisitions. Pure-play digital agencies could eventually disappear from the marketplace altogether under the current market conditions, Forrester predicted. 

RTO+P’s experience includes producing creative campaigns for clients such as Dietz & Watson, Stanley Black & Decker, MetLife and Nestle’s Nesquik. The acquisition will also brings social media, experiential marketing and content production know-how. By combining RTO+P’s creative approaches with Mod Op’s data science tools, agency executives believe they will unlock “a new level of data-driven creativity, ultimately delivering more resonant brand ideas that drive results for clients,” according to a release.

Mod Op has been on a bit of an acquisition spree of late. In Q4 2023, the agency acquired public relations firm Crenshaw Communications, as well as digital transformation consultancy dPrism.