Accenture has acquired the creative agency The Monkeys and design business, Maud, as the consultancy house expands its digital offerings across Australia and New Zealand.
Based in Sydney, The Monkeys specialises in providing creative work across advertising, entertainment, technology and design.
Leveraging the agency’s brand strategy and creative talent, the acquisition is designed to strengthen the customer experience capabilities of Accenture Interactive, allowing the global system integrator (GSI) to offer end-to-end solutions across marketing, branding and customer service.
“Customer experience is the new battleground and this acquisition will enable Accenture Interactive to integrate creative excellence with digital customer experience delivery,” Accenture Interactive senior managing director Brian Whipple said.
“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.”
Whipple said the acquisition bolsters the full suite of digital customer transformation services Accenture Interactive provides to chief marketing officers and chief digital officers, from creative to technology, spanning experience design, marketing, content and commerce.
As one of Australia’s most awarded independent creative advertising agencies, The Monkeys are behind brand campaigns such as Telstra’s: Thrive On; Meat and Livestock Australia’s You Never Lamb Alone and, most recently, Qantas’ Dreamliner launch.
“For over a decade, The Monkeys has created provocative ideas that have redefined the industry and delivered innovative customer experiences,” Accenture Interactive Australia and New Zealand managing director Michael Buckley added.
“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.”
Terms of the deal will see The Monkeys’ Mark Green (chief executive officer), Justin Drape (chief creative officer), Scott Nowell (chief creative officer) and David Park (Maud chief creative officer) continue in their current roles and take on additional Accenture Interactive leadership positions to drive brand strategy and creativity on both sides of the Tasman.
“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,” The Monkeys CEO Mark Green added.
“We look forward to offering clients an unrivalled and holistic customer experience offering.”
This is the twelfth acquisition Accenture Interactive has made since 2013 to expand the reach, scope, and depth of its end-to-end customer experience services globally.
Most recently, Accenture Interactive acquired Belgium-based integrated communications agency, Kunstmaan, while other recent acquisitions include Karmarama, SinnerSchrader, IMJ, AD.Dialeto, Pacific Link, Chaotic Moon and Melbourne-based Reactive.
The deal follows plans by Melbourne IT to acquire digital marketing agency WME Group, with the ASX-listed domain name registrar raising new capital to fund a $39 million deal.
As reported by ARN, the deal is designed to strengthen Melbourne IT’s managed marketing capabilities, positioning the business as a leader in online marketing solutions for small and medium sized businesses (SMB).
