You never forget your first acquisition.
On Monday, PMG acquired Camelot, an independent media and marketing agency that specializes in buying video, OTT and CTV.
This acquisition marks PMG’s first since its founding 13 years ago. The bootstrapped indie media agency, which has roots in programmatic, performance and digital media, declined to disclose the financial details of the deal.
Camelot’s video-focused buying, strategy and measurement capabilities, particularly its expertise in video-based ad units, fill a critical gap for PMG.
The feeling is mutual
And just as Camelot will expand PMG’s linear, OTT and CTV business, PMG also supplies resources on the search, social, programmatic and technology side to Camelot. For instance, PMG’s Alli marketing intelligence platform gathers and normalizes data from various sources in a central location to help marketers build personalized campaigns.
One factor that attracted PMG to the deal was that PMG’s clients wanted a full slate of integrated marketing services, according to CEO and founder George Popstefanov. They were also interested in streaming. “We saw a tremendous need to bolster our capabilities beyond [what we had],” he said.
They also both target large enterprise brands. PMG works with the likes of Nike, Apple and Ralph Lauren, while Camelot’s client roster includes Nordstrom, Whole Foods and Experian.
Not to mention the hometown connection: Both PMG and Camelot are headquartered in Dallas. Popstefanov’s longtime admiration of Camelot and desire to build a strong joint company culture played a part in the acquisition decision.
A finger on the pulse
To assess Camelot, PMG has been closely watching the agency’s recent moves. It took note when Camelot piloted Dish Connected in May, which lets agencies buy addressable linear and streaming inventory programmatically.
The agency signed up as a launch partner for ClearLine, Magnite’s direct-buy video platform, in April. And in August, when Magnite teamed up with purchase data company Attain, Camelot gained the ability to better tie streaming ads to sales without having to rely on retail media’s walled gardens.
Also in August, Camelot selected iSpot.tv as its preferred measurement partner for TV and video buys in an agreement spanning three years.
Camelot has forged relationships with Netflix, NBCUniversal and Roku as well. Last year, Camelot was a launch partner for Roku’s clean room tool and joined OneView, its ad buying platform.
Our way
In the next 90 days, PMG will concentrate on supporting employees and customers to make the transition as smooth as possible, Popstefanov said. The agencies won’t shake things up in Q4 – when brands refuse to try new things. In 2024, he said, the tech and services integrations will begin in earnest.
Camelot’s roughly 150 employees will all be hired by PMG, bringing total headcount to about 700, with another 30-40 open roles. Popstefanov estimates that half of the people the company currently hires come from data, engineering and analytics backgrounds.
“We believe marketing will continue to become more technology-driven,” he said. In keeping with this belief, PMG has “tripled down the last two years in technology,” investing in areas like AI, creative insights, strategy and audience measurement.
At this point, PMG has no plans to acquire any more companies or to go on sale itself. Popstefanov relishes the company’s independence, which he said allows it to continue “doing it our way.”
But never say never, he added.
“I’m 41. I have a lot of gas in the tank,” he said. “After COVID [began], I’ve tried not to predict anything past six to 12 months, because you never know.”
