DMG buys Cybercom and Gasbox

The deal is worth £7m, plus up to a further £12m based on performance over the next 18 months, expands DMG’s offer in digital direct marketing.

Cybercom, an ecommerce technology provider, will join DMG’s online media and marketing business segment.  Gasbox, a consumer voice company, will be part of DMG’s Direct Marketing segment.  

London based ecommerce specialist Cybercom has a strong portfolio of blue chip clients including IBM, John Lewis Partnership, Kickers, Lloyds TSB, Speedo, Thomson Reuters, Tomy and Waitrose.

Cybercom provides the a range of services required for the delivery of a complete IT solution from early stage design through to project management, implementation and support. Cybercom is a Tier 1 IBM Business Partner, specialising in WebSphere Commerce technologies.

The acquisition of Cybercom will complement DMG’s e-commerce offering, further strengthening DMG’s position in the market where it is already recognised as the UK’s third largest digital marketing agency (NMA September 2008).

 E-commerce has continued to grow substantially despite the economic slowdown. eMarketer predicts that UK business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce sales will total £59.8 billion ($116.6 billion) in 2008, up more than 28% since 2007 driven by competitive prices, easy product comparisons, fuel savings and other convenience factors.   (UK B2C E-Commerce: Continued Growth in Tricky Times, July 2008). eMarketer predicts that online sales will hit £94.2 billion ($169.6 billion) by 2012.

Gasbox develops and executes direct voice marketing campaigns based on highly targeted customer information and dynamic data management. 

The company was launched in 2006 by ex Egg CEO Paul Gratton and Andy Gardner and Martin Boddy, founders and current managers of Jaywing, the data services company in DMG. 

Gasbox has an established relationship with Jaywing and a proven track record of working together on the successful delivery of client projects.

Jaywing’s ‘Digital Brain’ service enables the creation of contact strategies for each individual consumer based on historical data and real-time interactions, which is then combined with the execution capabilities of Gasbox. 

Gasbox also complements DMG’s existing voice marketing business, HSM, and the acquisition enables the Group to offer clients an integrated voice and data business with both B2B and B2C offerings.

Commenting on the acquisitions, Ben Langdon, Digital Marketing Group’s Chief Executive, said: "I am delighted to announce both acquisitions.  Cybercom will bring new expertise and skills into the Group and complement further our specialist digital marketing offering. E-commerce represents a substantial growth opportunity and the acquisition of Cybercom strengthens our position to capitalise on it. Gasbox will give DMG a new route to deliver and leverage our Digital Brain offering.  Gasbox’s successful track record at working with the Group confirms the opportunity to be gained from bringing the companies together.”

Commenting on the transaction, Terry Hunter, Managing Director of Cybercom Group UK said: “Becoming part of DMG represents a tremendous opportunity for our team and offers an exciting platform for the continued development and future growth of the business. The company has grown profitably for several years and, with the continued forecast expansion of e-commerce, we see many opportunities for this growth to continue further. We are very much looking forward to becoming part of the DMG team. They have wide experience in the digital market and we can help them by sharing our in depth expertise of e-commerce and electronic trading.”

Chris Hancock, Managing Director of Gasbox said: “Joining DMG marks the beginning of an exciting phase in Gasbox’s development.  Our consumer voice expertise and growth ambitions are a natural fit with DMG; highlighted by our recent award win for a campaign that used Digital Brain.  I look forward to the opportunity to grow our business and proposition as part of an organisation that is at the cutting edge of marketing.”