Accenture’s Brazil Acquisition Boosts Digital Marketing Services

Accenture has snatched up Brazilian digital agency AD.Dialeto to bolster the operation of its digital arm Accenture Interactive across Latin America. The acquisition comes months after the outsourcing giant launched its design studio Fjord in the South American country.

Brazil’s economy is in doldrums, but Accenture, it seems, considers it the right time to expand. In February, it acquired a local analytics company Gapso, and, then in June, announced plans to hire more than a thousand technology professionals for its delivery center in Recife.

The acquisition fits well into Accenture’s operation in Brazil, where the outsourcer also offers technology solutions for corporate companies looking to go digital. Unilever is said to be one of the companies that has signed up for this service.

Based in Sao Paulo, Dialeto provides end-to-end marketing services across strategy, media planning, search, mobile and social. Accenture will likely integrate Dialeto into its digital arm (Interactive) and offer digital marketing services to its existing clients in the region.

Dialeto counts several multinationals and local firms – including B2W, Electrolux, Accor Hotels, Rossi Telhanorte and Serasa Experian – among its clients.

Over the past few years, Accenture has acquired several digital technology firms elsewhere in the world. Recently Accenture acquired Chaotic Moon, a creative technology studio in Austin, Texas; Pacific Link, a set of independent digital agencies serving Hong Kong and Greater China; and Brightstep, a Swedish provider of content and commerce solutions.

Led by Leo Cid Ferreira and Philippe Jorge, AD.Dialeto was named ‘the best digital agency’ last year. “The addition of AD.Dialeto to our ecosystem here will enhance our digital customer capabilities, providing a true customer journey transformation to our clients,” said José Gonçalves, leader for Accenture Interactive in Latin America.

One of the larger IT employers in the region, Accenture’s industry verticals in Brazil include finance, health, telecommunications, consumer goods and natural resources.

“Brazil represents a huge and rapidly evolving market for many of our global clients and our mission was clear – to help them reach their target customers in this increasingly connected market,” said Brian Whipple, senior managing director, Accenture Interactive.