BarkleyOKRP Acquires Performance Media and Marketing Technology Company Adlucent
01 Mayo 2024 - 4:00PM
Business Wire
Acquisition of Google’s Largest Shopping Ads
Agency in the U.S. Bolsters Performance Media and Technology
Practice, Further Expanding BarkleyOKRP’s Full-Service Capabilities
and “Big Indie” Market Presence
BarkleyOKRP, one of the largest full-service independent
marketing firms in the U.S., announced today the acquisition of
Adlucent, from Advantage Solutions. Based in Austin, Texas, the
performance media and marketing technology company works with
brands such as Zappos, The Vitamin Shoppe, 1-800-Contacts,
Rawlings, and Global Industrial, among others. This is the first
acquisition the firm has made since Barkley and OKRP merged in
March of this year, creating BarkleyOKRP, a “big indie” that sparks
with consumers and drives outsized results for clients.
With deep industry expertise in e-commerce, retail, and lead
generation, Adlucent creates custom paid media strategies for
retail and service companies that deliver business results across
search, display, social, and retail media networks. Adlucent excels
in full-funnel media services, leveraging cutting-edge proprietary
technology, which has propelled the company to the forefront of
digital marketing solutions. As a testament to its expertise,
Adlucent is a certified Google Marketing Platform, Google Premier
Partner, Google Cloud Partner, Microsoft Advertising Elite Partner
and Meta Business Partner. As Google’s largest shopping ads agency
in the U.S., Adlucent’s unique positioning in the industry allows
for a tremendous amount of power and scale while retaining the
nimbleness of an independent agency.
“BarkleyOKRP fills the gap between holding companies and
boutique shops, providing the best of both — broad capabilities led
by breakthrough strategy and creative. We affectionately call it
‘big indie,’ which perfectly aligns with Adlucent’s competitive
advantage in the marketplace,” said Jeff King, CEO of BarkleyOKRP.
“This acquisition of Adlucent supports our strategic vision to
scale integrated media capabilities, expand our technology
offering, and grow our media and data team to more than 250
experts, driving consumer engagement and ROI for our clients.”
BarkleyOKRP will now have offices in Kansas City, Chicago,
Denver, New York City, Pittsburgh and Austin, with more than 800
employees dedicated to creating bold work that resonates with the
modern consumer. The firm also serves brands such as Burger King,
Metro by T-Mobile, Planet Fitness, Motel 6, Corona Premier, AMC
Theatres, Winnebago and more.
"Joining forces with BarkleyOKRP feels like the perfect fit for
Adlucent —where our innovative thinkers and the power of technology
combine with their creatively brilliant people to solve business
problems. Their status as a Certified B Corporation as well as
their industry-leading initiatives in DEI+B are in perfect harmony
with our values. Together, we'll continue delivering bold ideas and
exceptional results for brands," said Ashwani Dhar, CEO of
Adlucent, who now becomes Chief Performance Officer at
BarkleyOKRP.
Dhar is joining BarkleyOKRP’s executive team and will help lead
Adlucent’s integration with BarkleyOKRP’s media practice, led by
Chief Media Officer Reshma Karnik. He will also support his team’s
continued focus on clients, talent and technology. Dhar will report
to King, who is excited to welcome Adlucent’s 180 employees into
its broader media practice; they will begin integrating their
differentiated performance media and technology expertise to
support clients connecting with modern consumers.
About BarkleyOKRP
BarkleyOKRP is one of the largest full-service independent
marketing firms in the U.S. As an alternative agency model,
BarkleyOKRP is independent enough to make bold work that sparks
with the modern consumer and big enough to build whole brands with
its full spectrum of capabilities. The firm is also one of the
largest Certified B Corporation agencies with industry recognition
that includes four times on AdAge’s A-List, as well as being named
AdAge “Small Agency of the Year - Culture,” Convergence “Fastest
Growing Agencies,'' and Adweek “Agency of the Year” shortlist, The
4A’s Foundation “Independent Agency of the Year” for DEI+B
practices, and the ANA’s Multicultural Excellence Award. Learn more
at barkleyokrp.com.
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Mariah Haberman BarkleyOKRP mhaberman@barkleyokrp.com