Accenture acquires marketing and sales consultancy Brand Learning

Accenture has acquired marketing and sales consultancy Brand Learning into its Customers and Channels practice, in the latest deal in a sustained period of inorganic growth. The purchase, which further expands the company’s digital offering Accenture Interactive, is aimed at helping the firm’s clients to make more of their marketing and sales functions and develop better customer experiences, in collaboration with Accenture Interactive.

Global professional services giant Accenture has acquired marketing and sales capability consultancy Brand Learning, for an undisclosed fee. The purchase, which is the latest in a $1.8 billion acquisition plan drawn up by the consulting firm for 2017, is targeted at meeting the increasing demands of clients looking to experience sustained customer led growth by enhancing their marketing, sales, HR and leadership capabilities.

Award-winning industry consultancy Brand Learning has over 160 clients in more than 60 countries across a broad range of industries, giving Accenture access to a range of new markets and opportunities, while also enabling them to leverage Brand Learning’s customer strategies, innovative new operating models, process development, content, cultural change and learning programs. The acquisition strengthens Accenture’s ability to drive end-to-end marketing and sales transformation for clients, by aiming to create a seamless service spanning marketing and sales strategy, organisational design and industry-specific consulting, while linking with the digital design and engagement capabilities of Accenture Interactive. The deal follows shortly after the firm also acquired digital product development firm Intrepid to the same end, as the consulting industry continues its trend of investing heavily in design solutions.

Headquartered in London with regional offices in New York and Singapore, Brand Learning employs approximately 120 people globally, who will remain with the company after the deal. Its experienced, high level advisory team will be combined with Accenture’s Customer and Channels management consulting and industry experts. The diverse Brand Learning workforce contains a significant proportion of women in senior leadership positions, a key aim of an increasing number of businesses looking to broaden their outlooks in order to innovate, including its executive president and co-founder Mhairi McEwan and over 60% of its operating board. Accenture themselves already boast a global workforce of more than 411,000 people, serving clients in more than 120 countries, having been praised by UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond for a recent investment in 1,700 jobs in British digital infrastructure advisory.

“More than 90 percent of CMOs say marketing will undergo fundamental change in the next five years, driven by analytics, digital and mobile technologies,” said Laura Gurski, Senior Managing Director and head of Accenture’s Customer & Channels practice for consumer goods and services, retail, travel, life sciences, automotive and industrial industries. “With increasing digital innovation and personalised customer engagement, the marketing and sales functions are now seen as the key driver of top-line growth. Accenture’s acquisition of Brand Learning, with its impressive track record in building client capabilities in marketing and sales strategy and organisation change will further enable us to help clients deliver more integrated customer experiences across the organisation – to drive and manage that business growth.”

“Accenture is a leading global force in digital transformation and it is very exciting that we are coming together and that our talented team will also help contribute to the development of deeper consulting capabilities within Accenture,” said Mhairi McEwan, Executive President and co-founder of Brand Learning. “Being part of Accenture will allow our clients to benefit from a seamless service, building their marketing and sales capabilities to create the outstanding and connected customer experiences needed to drive growth.”