Image by: David Tran, ©2018 Getty Images
Today, Adobe announced what is seen as its largest acquisition to date and a move toward being a one-stop-shop for marketers, with their agreement to acquire marketing automation firm Marketo for $4.75 billion.
Marketo brings Adobe over 5,000 customers and an expansive partner ecosystem of over 500 partners that rely on this marketing technology to help track customer actions online, from getting an email to purchasing a product. It's cloud-native platform is designed to provide marketers with lead and account-based information they can use to serve up more personalized promotions.
This deal will add scale to Adobe’s existing marketing technology capabilities, bolstering the company’s clout with business-to-business (B2B) brands. Until recently, Adobe has been focusing on building and buying capabilities for business-to-consumer brands (B2C). This acquisition is expected to expand relationships with Adobe’s existing clients in categories like telecommunications and financial services that have both B2C and B2B divisions.
This acquisition positions Adobe to become a leading player in both the B2C and B2B segment, providing tools and services to marketers seeking easy-to-use solutions and services for marketing automation.
This deal will add scale to Adobe’s existing marketing technology capabilities, bolstering the company’s clout with business-to-business (B2B) brands. Until recently, Adobe has been focusing on building and buying capabilities for business-to-consumer brands (B2C). This acquisition is expected to expand relationships with Adobe’s existing clients in categories like telecommunications and financial services that have both B2C and B2B divisions.
The deal is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2018. Marketo CEO Steve Lucas is expected to join Adobe's senior leadership team, where he will lead Marketo as part of Adobe’s Digital Experience business.
This acquisition positions Adobe to become a leading player in both the B2C and B2B segment, providing tools and services to marketers seeking easy-to-use solutions and services for marketing automation.
The addition of Marketo to its rapidly expanding suite of marketing automation tools certainly rounds out the capabilities Adobe has to offer. The key will be one of simplicity of use, seamless integration, or at least interoperability across the various products, and clear messaging on how all of the pieces join together in a business sense.
Bob Larrivee is a recognized expert in the application of advanced technologies and process improvement to solve business problems and enhance business operations. He reports on the latest information management technologies for DOCUMENT Strategy. Follow him on Twitter @BobLarrivee or visit boblarriveeconsulting.com.
