Accenture has acquired consulting firm INSITUM in a move that the company hopes will bolster its Fjord agency and grow its footprint in Latin America. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Fjord is part of Accenture Interactive – an “experience agency” division of the company. The combination of Fjord and INSITUM will create leading design and innovation capabilities, the company said. It will also expand Accenture Interactive’s presence in the rapidly growing Latin America market, especially in Mexico, the home country of INSITUM. Beyond that, it will give Fjord a footprint in Argentina, Colombia, and Peru while strengthening existing operations in Brazil, the firm announced.
Eduardo Bicudo, LatAm lead, Accenture Interactive, commented on the deal:
“Having INSITUM join the Accenture Interactive family in Latin America represents an exciting new chapter in our journey to be the leading Experience Agency in the region. With INSITUM, we will boost Accenture Interactive’s reach in the region and improve our Fjord design capability, which is a crucial component of our mission to deliver the best, most meaningful experiences to people. We’re thrilled about the possibilities of what we can achieve together.”
Baiju Shah, chief strategy officer, Accenture Interactive and global co-lead, Fjord, also commented:
“Today’s problems can no longer be solved with yesterday’s solutions. To tackle these challenges, clients must be agile and focus on blending a human-centered design approach with an analytics-led strategy to keep ahead of the unprecedented pace of change and ambiguity we live in. By adding the INSITUM team to the family, we will continue to grow our mission in Latin America by putting design at the heart of innovation.”
INSITUM’s Global Reach
Founded 16 years ago, INSITUM has grown to be a multinational company through its combination of design thinking methods and behavioral science, ethnographic research and business strategy, according to Accenture.
Headquartered in Mexico City, the firm has more than 200 designers, researchers, and strategists across Latin America, Europe, and the United States. It has additional studios in Barcelona, Bogota, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Lima, and
INSITUM was founded in 2003 and has more than 200 designers, researchers and strategists across Latin America, Europe and the U.S. with headquarters in Mexico City and São Paulo.
Luis Arnal, partner and CEO of INSITUM, said:
“We are convinced that design is a key ingredient of innovation and a powerful tool to make the world a better place — truly successful companies know how to incorporate design thinking in everything they do. Being part of Accenture Interactive will allow us to integrate our strategic innovation expertise with new technologies and capabilities in order to amplify the value we deliver to our clients.”
Accenture Mergers, Acquisitions
Accenture continues to push forward with its $1.5 billion 2019 acquisition strategy, which has largely been focused on digital, cloud and cybersecurity plays.
Design-focused acquisitions fit into the digital strategy -- including the acquisitions of Brazil-based marketing agencies AD.Dialeto and New Content. One of Accenture’s biggest deals of 2019 came in April when the company bought Spanish brand communications agency Shackleton for an undisclosed sum. That same month it acquired Droga5, a New York-based creative agency and advertising firm.
Accenture Interactive was formed by the company in 2009 and now includes notable agencies like Karmarama, The Monkeys, Rothco, and of course Fjord and Droga5.
Other key deals have included:
- French Google Cloud services provider Cirruseo;
- German technology consultancy Zielpuls.
- Storm Digital, a digital marketing agency in the Netherlands
- Kolle Rebbe, a digital media agency.
The company has seen some changes at its executive level as well. In July, Julie Sweet was named the company’s global CEO, taking over for interim CEO David Rowland. Also James Etheredge was shifted into Sweet’s previous position of chief executive for Accenture’s North America business.
Accenture is also a Top 100 MSSP, according to MSSP Alert, ChannelE2E’s sister site.
