Accenture has acquired The Monkeys and design agency Maud for an undisclosed fee. The Monkeys has been independent for more than 10 years - founded by Mark Green, Justin Drape and Scott Nowell - and is one of Australia’s most respected advertising agencies.
Accenture says the move strengthens the customer experience capabilities of its Accenture Interactive business and another significant investment in the marketing and advertising industry.
Recently, Accenture Interactive revealed plans to help clients in-house programmatic trading as it moves further into the media agency space.
The Monkeys has led advertising creative for some of Australia's biggest brands, including Telstra and Qantas, in recent years, scooping up a spate of awards. The agency took out the AdNews Agency of the Year gong last year.
Green, Drape and Nowell will continue their current roles, and Maud chief creative officer David Park, and take on additional Accenture Interactive leadership positions.
The consultancy space has been moving further into media and marketing in recent years, with Deloitte, Accenture and PwC each boosting their capabilities. Russel Howcroft recently joined PwC as its chief creative officer and created a CMO panel to better connect with clients.
Accenture has already acquired independent creative agency Karmarama last year, followed by an acquisition of major Japanese creative IMJ and Melbourne agency Reactive in 2014. This is the 12th acquisition Accenture Interactive has made since 2013.
Accenture is a global consultancy that traditionally builds capability by acquiring and integrating specialist businesses.
The move will shock the Australian industry as The Monkeys is regarded as a bastion of independent creative agencies in this market. The agency has been approached by every single network over the past decade.
How this acquisition will change the role and independence of The Monkeys remains to be seen.
“The combination of Accenture Interactive, The Monkeys and Maud is a great opportunity for our clients and teams as it will dramatically enhance our ability to connect brand strategy and creative all the way through to customer experience delivery,” Green says in a statement.
“We look forward to offering clients an unrivalled and holistic customer experience offering.”
Accenture Interactive global head Brian Whipple adds: “Customer experience is the new battleground and this acquisition will enable Accenture Interactive to integrate creative excellence with digital customer experience delivery.
“Together, we’re bringing our unique model to the market: part creative agency, part business consultancy, and part technology powerhouse – all focused on creating the best customer experiences on the planet."
Michael Buckley, Accenture Interactive's Australia and New Zealand lead, adds: “For over a decade, The Monkeys has created provocative ideas that have redefined the industry and delivered innovative customer experiences,” says Michael Buckley, head of Accenture Interactive in Australia and New Zealand.
“This acquisition further differentiates Accenture Interactive as a new breed of agency providing CMOs with innovative thinking and a new set of connected capabilities to win in today’s experience-led economy.”
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