Dive Brief:

• Accenture Song, the marketing services division of consultancy Accenture, has acquired social-first agency Superdigital, according to a press release. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 
• Founded in 2013, Superdigital is credited for its expertise in social strategy, community building and content production, with a specialization in areas like short-form video. The Florida-based shop has over 40 employees and has worked with clients including Welch’s, Microsoft and Nerf. 
• The acquisition responds to social media’s growing importance for CMOs as well as the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the industry. Deep-pocketed marketers like Unilever are starting to shift more significant spend to social and influencers to keep pace with modern consumers. 

Dive Insight:

Social media is nothing new, but the demand for social-first marketing strategies tailored to platforms like TikTok continues to climb. Accenture Song sees acquiring Superdigital as a way to refine its capabilities in areas such as community building and crafting native social content as it looks to stay ahead of the industry curve. 

The rise of generative AI has further sped up the already fast pace of social, with CMOs feeling pressure to produce more content, quicker, while avoiding pitfalls typically associated with the nascent technology. Linear TV, once the main lever for mass reach, also remains on a downward trajectory and largely ignored by the valuable young cohorts brands want to win over, like Gen Z.

“For many of our clients, social media is where their audiences see them first. Leading with social is essential to building connections, experiences and driving demand,” said Sean Lackey, marketing practice lead for the Americas at Accenture Song, in a statement around the deal. “Superdigital brings added strength in areas where our clients are seeking an advantage — at the intersection of creativity, data, and technology — and complements our vision for marketing reinvention.”  

Recent Superdigital activations include a bodega-style pop-up for Welch’s in New York that featured a hidden speakeasy, the type of experience that brands hope will get consumers posting on their personal feeds. Microsoft, a frequent partner, recently enlisted the agency for an influencer-heavy campaign promoting the benefits of new PCs souped up with its Copilot+ AI.  

Other agency networks have leveraged M&A to enrich their know-how in social- and influencer-led marketing. Publicis Groupe last year acquired Influential, at the time the largest influencer marketing platform by revenue, for $500 million. In May, the group also snapped up Captiv8, which specializes in services like influencer talent management, measurement and social commerce. 

Accenture built out Song, formerly Accenture Interactive, through an aggressive approach to dealmaking that reached its peak in the late 2010s, when the unit purchased creative darling Droga5 for $475 million. The company became the poster child for the growing encroachment of consultancies on traditional ad agency work as clients sought more expertise in tech-enabled transformation. Song’s more recent acquisitions include CRM-focused firm Unlimited, digital product company Work & Co and Brazilian creative agency Soko.

Droga5’s founder, David Droga, announced plans to step away from leading Song earlier this year. Ndidi Oteh, an Accenture veteran, is slated to become its next CEO on Sept. 1.