Largest independent global marketing and technology agency LBi taps social media agency Mr Youth to strengthen its social media marketing offerings.
Amsterdam-based LBi provides a combination of insight, media, creative and technical expertise from operations in sixteen countries. Its services include analytics, direct marketing and digital competences to help companies attract, engage and manage their customers. LBi claims the acquisition perfectly fits its philosophy of blending marketing and technology services in-house. The transaction is valued between $40-50 million.
Founded in 2002, New York-headquartered Mr Youth assists clients in driving engagement with the new generation of consumers and creating lasting brand advocacy through non-traditional channels including social media, experiential, and word-of-mouth marketing. The firm has 140 full-time employees, and expects 2011 revenue of around $25m. The deal will see Mr Youth operate as a division within LBi, with founder Matt Britton remaining at the helm of the company.
CEO of LBi, Luke Taylor comments:
Demand in social media is massively outstripping the supply; all of our clients are asking for it. It’s tough to scale organically, so we were looking for acquisitions. Of course you go to the United States – where Facebook and Twitter were born, so it’s uncontroversially the best place today to get the best skills.
Mr Youth was recently ranked 7th among Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies in Advertising and Marketing” in the world. In the past year, Advertising Age named Mr Youth as one of its Top 10 “Best Places to Work,” and in 2009 Mr Youth was awarded “Social Media Agency of the Year” by Mashable’s Open Web Awards.
