CyberSight, part of Canadian marketing conglomerate Maxxcom Inc.'s ever-expanding portfolio of shops, acquired interactive marketing agency Nine Dots, Irvine, CA.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but CyberSight, Portland, OR, said Nine Dots would become a wholly owned subsidiary, retaining its staff and offices. Full integration between the two agencies is under way.
“We were specifically looking for an organization that would complement us with services that were different from ours,” said Andrew Shakman, president/CEO of CyberSight. “CyberSight has been focused on consumer marketing, and Nine Dots has more experience in business-to-business marketing.”
Shakman said Nine Dots had vertical expertise in automotive, technology and healthcare. This focus complemented CyberSight's work in consumer goods, financial services and travel.
For Nine Dots, the decision to sell was based on market realities and issues of scale.
“We were looking for a strategic partner that would enable us to further our growth,” said Craig Holland, president/CEO of Nine Dots. “We have, for some time, been an undercapitalized business, so we were looking for not just a financially strong partner, but also for a strategic and geographic fit.”
Holland will remain head of Nine Dots and will assume the new title of vice president for Southern California at CyberSight.
Founded in 1994, two years after Nine Dots, CyberSight's key offering is Relationship Intelligence, an integrated service to help marketers develop and maintain relationships with consumers.
CyberSight's services include marketing and promotion strategy, interactive business strategy, Web site design and operations, online media planning and buying, eCRM application development, and customer segmentation and database analytics.
Clients of CyberSight include Quaker Oats Co., Northwest Airlines, IBM Corp., Honda and Acura Canada, Dole Food Co., Molson Canada, Visa USA and Visa International.
Nine Dots, on the other hand, focuses more on work for emerging companies. Among Nine Dots' clients are General Motors Corp., Struxicon, Kawama.com, Rainbow Technologies and Adaptec.
Combined with Nine Dots, CyberSight will have offices in Portland, OR; Irvine, CA; Tacoma, WA; San Francisco; Los Angeles; and Toronto. Both agencies will have a total of 185 employees.
“Nine Dots will account for 25 percent of the total business on a head count and revenue basis,” CyberSight's Shakman said.
