Dive Brief:
- Omnicom Media Group (OMG), the media services division of ad holding company Omnicom Group, announced it acquired performance marketing firm Jump 450. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
- Jump 450 will serve as the foundation for a performance media platform and business unit within OMG while preserving its current management team, including co-founder and CEO Shaun Sheikh. The shop offers solutions around rapid creative testing, algorithmic campaign scaling, and data and analytics to optimize digital media spend and customer acquisition.
- Jump 450 does not list many of its clients by name on its website, but the announcement noted it has worked in industries spanning consumer products, health and wellness, gaming and fintech. Omnicom making a larger bet on performance media comes as brands invest more in e-commerce and direct-to-consumer (DTC) strategies.
Dive Insight:
OMG is shoring up its performance capabilities at a time when more brands are shifting their investments to that end of the marketing funnel. The pandemic has rapidly accelerated the adoption of channels that benefit from a performance mindset, including e-commerce, retail media and DTC, while marketers are working hard to ensure they can capitalize on the opportunity as demand mounts ahead of the holidays.
Along with performance expertise, Jump 450 offers creative services, suggesting OMG is looking to create a more holistic approach for its clients where they can link digital advertising closer to concrete results like purchases or app installs. Founded in 2016, the New York-based company specializes in customer acquisition strategies through media buying execution, data-driven creative development and customer journey optimization, according to its website.
"Jump hyper-scales growth by marrying the art of creative storytelling with the science of digital media buying to create highly effective advertising," its bio reads.
The firm is a Facebook marketing partner and has worked on other platforms including YouTube, Google, Pinterest and mobile apps. Named an Ad Age Best Place to Work in 2020, it is fairly tight-lipped about its operations, but a prior press release said it doubled its headcount in 2019 while seeing growth of more than 250% over that period. Its LinkedIn page lists 56 employees.
The announcement aligns with Omnicom's larger plans to pursue more acquisitions with some of its war chest replenished following a tough pandemic period. The agency group saw organic revenue, a key measure of health, up 24.4% in the second quarter. Discussing the earnings results in July, chief executive John Wren said the company would target its deals in precision marketing, digital transformation, commerce, media and healthcare.
Other recent moves from Omnicom include the establishment of a bespoke agency solution for Mercedes-Benz encompassing the automaker's global media, brand and performance marketing activities. Dubbed Team X, the unit is expected to roll out in January 2022. Omnicom is supporting the initiative through its recent acquisitions of Berlin-based digital agency Antoni and German public relations and communications agency Oliver Schrott Kommunikation GmbH.
