This story has been updated.
Toronto retail and experiential marketing agency Mosaic Sales Solutions has created what CEO Aidan Tracey calls a “market-leading powerhouse” by acquiring the sales and merchandising operations of Consumer Impact Marketing (CIM). Terms of the deal, which was formalized Wednesday, were not disclosed.
The current CIM CEO, Mike Smith, will remain head of the company’s experiential marketing division, Launch, will proceed as an independent entity. Shaun McKenna, a former partner and executive vice-president at CIM, joins Mosaic as the senior vice-president, overseeing its Canadian sales and merchandising operations.
The acquisition represents the first major acquisition in five years for Mosaic, which Tracey said is in growth mode following several years of significant revenue growth created by increased advertiser adoption of retail marketing tactics.
Mosaic and CIM have been in negotiations for the past “number of months,” said Tracey in an interview with Marketing.
“We’ve had a strong mutual respect over the last 15 years, and as we started to look at the potential, we really felt we would be better together,” he said. “It’s a great day for our organizations. We have common cultures, very similar values, and we both believe we’ve got the best people in the industry.
“We thought that by coming together, we would be able to provide additional scale and quality for our clients.”
Mosaic will integrate approximately 130 full-time staff – including management and client service teams – and an estimated 1,100 field representatives from CIM beginning early next year, said Tracey, with the CIM name ultimately being phased out.
“CIM is a great name, it’s been part of the Canadian market for a long time, and it’s something that will likely be part of our soft transition plan, but ultimately… it will become part of Mosaic’s sales and merchandising division.”
Mosaic recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, while CIM has been in business for approximately 16 years. “We’re taking two of the most experienced teams in the country and putting them together to create what we believe is a market-leading powerhouse,” said Tracey.
Mosaic has been experiencing what Tracey characterized as “tremendous” organic growth over the past three years, a testament to what he said is the company’s strategic approach to helping clients win at the retail level, and increased advertiser investment in the retail marketing space.
“We hired, trained and deployed over 7,000 Canadians last year to go interact with consumers and build brands,” said Tracey. “Our business model is well positioned for the type and marketing and sales world we’re now in.”
Update (12:38 p.m. Nov. 18, 2011): The original version of this story reported that PepsiCo Beverages Canada and Dairy Farmers of Canada would become Mosaic clients as a result of the acquisition. This was incorrect. Marketing regrets the error.
