Owner of Cannes Lions Ad Festival to Acquire MediaLink Consulting Firm
February 07 2017 - 9:01AM
Dow Jones News
By Suzanne Vranica and Alexandra Bruell
Ascential PLC has agreed to acquire MediaLink LLC, an
influential advertising and media consulting firm with strong ties
to media companies, big brands and agency bigwigs at a time when
all three types of businesses face massive changes.
Ascential, which went public on the London Stock Exchange last
year, is the parent company of the Cannes Lions International
Festival of Creativity, the largest and most prestigious event in
the advertising and marketing industries.
Through the acquisition of MediaLink, Ascential is pairing the
ad industry's top event and information services provider with a
consulting firm that has some of the deepest ties across the
industry. With his high-profile connections ranging from Madison
Avenue to Hollywood, Michael Kassan, MediaLink's chief executive
officer, is considered one of the most looped-in executives in the
ad and media business.
"We were attracted to MediaLink for its deep relationships with
marketers," said Ascential CEO Duncan Painter.
The deal includes a cash payment of $69 million, but that can
reach $207 million over the course of three years if the company
hits certain targets, according to MediaLink.
Founded in 2003, closely held MediaLink employs more than 120
people in the U.S. and had revenue of about $54 million last year,
MediaLink said. Its clients have included a wide range of companies
such as Time Inc., Condé Nast, Unilever, AT&T and 21st Century
Fox.
Mr. Kassan said he was attracted to the deal because he needed
to expand his business globally. "The reality is this is about
getting feet on the street in London and Hong Kong," he said.
Ascential has offices 16 countries and does business in 160
countries around the world.
Mr. Kassan has signed a four-year deal with Ascential and will
continue as CEO of MediaLink, which will be run independently
within Ascential.
MediaLink started out largely a one-man show, but over the past
few years, it has aggressively expanded into new areas, including
offering media companies strategic services such as helping firms
revamp to adapt to the digital age. Last year, for example,
MediaLink worked with Condé Nast to help reorganize its ranks.
The company also helps marketers select which agencies they
should hire and helps digital startups make connections to brands
and agencies. More recently, the firm has expanded into executive
recruiting.
Mr. Kassan's business got a significant boost after he hired
Wenda Harris Millard, a widely-respected executive, in 2009 from
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, where she served as co-CEO and
president. Before that, Ms. Millard had served as chief sales
officer at Yahoo.
A number of agencies, publishers, brands and advertising
technology companies pay MediaLink for access to its massive
Rolodex and star-studded, VIP events at large industry conferences
like the Cannes Lions festival and the CES trade show, as well as
for connections to prospective clients and business advice.
More than ever, publishers are looking for advice on how to
rethink their businesses to rake in more digital ad revenue as
people consume content online and eschew traditional ads.
Advertisers are looking for insight into how media companies are
evolving, and they're also making digital investments. They're also
rethinking their agency relationships as they move more dollars
online and grapple with complexities surrounding digital
advertising and media. Agencies, meanwhile, are facing more
competition than ever from media companies and consultancies, and
even clients are bringing agency services in-house.
MediaLink finds itself in the middle of all these issues,
offering Ascential a leg up in a complex industry.
In 2008, Mr. Kassan and his firm helped Microsoft lobby Madison
Avenue's advertising and media-buying executives, as well as
marketers, to oppose an advertising deal between Google and Yahoo
as the Justice Department was considering whether to go to court to
block the agreement. He played a role in getting the Association of
National Advertisers, a trade group that represents major companies
like Procter & Gamble and General Motors, to send a letter to
the Justice Department at the time calling the deal bad for
advertisers and recommending that it be blocked. The deal
eventually fell apart in the face of opposition from antitrust
regulators.
Write to Suzanne Vranica at suzanne.vranica@wsj.com and
Alexandra Bruell at alexandra.bruell@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 07, 2017 08:46 ET (13:46 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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