Accenture Buys Media Audits

Global consultancy Accenture has expanded its Marketing Sciences practice through the acquisition of Media Audits, a specialist in measuring return on advertising investment. The Marketing Sciences practice will now comprise 200 staff, working to help clients measure, evaluate and optimise marketing and media investments.

Media Audits currently has ten offices across the US and Europe (in London, New York, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Poland and Spain), and works with 400 clients across 50 countries.

Julian Spooner, currently the CEO of Media Audits, will take on the new position of Chief Operating Officer of Accenture Marketing Sciences. Jeffery Merrihue, who currently leads Accenture's Marketing Sciences practice, has assumed the newly created position of CEO of the practice.

According to Accenture, industry analysts predict that, by 2008, 40 to 60% of marketers will use analytics to help them improve marketing and measure their returns on investment. Taking advantage of this, the expanded Marketing Sciences practice will offer services that allow marketers to track their investments, and those of their competitors, on a monthly basis via web-enabled programs.

Merrihue says the addition of Media Audits means his division 'will be able to provide clients with the full range of services necessary to help them assess their marketing programs - to track not only whether an advertisement ran, but also whether it reached the target audience and whether that media buy was made at a competitive price. As CEOs turn up the heat on their marketers to demonstrate a return on investment, this is the kind of data that will be needed.'

Spooner says he looks forward to bringing 'a new set of rigorous processes and measures to the decision-making and overall management' of marketing sciences. He adds: 'By joining Accenture, we will give clients access to more of the services they require to plan and evaluate the effectiveness of their media buys throughout the world.'

Accenture is online at www.accenture.com . The Media Audits web site is at www.mediaudits.com.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.