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By Lara O'Reilly 

Accenture Interactive is continuing its push into digital media buying with an agreement to acquire New York City-based Adaptly, an ad-tech company that helps marketers buy targeted ads across online platforms including Amazon, Google and Facebook.

Adaptly was founded in 2010 and has nearly 150 employees across offices in New York City, London, Chicago and Los Angeles. It has raised over $13 million in funding, according to funding-data provider Crunchbase. Terms of the Accenture deal weren't disclosed.

Accenture Interactive, the marketing services arm of Accenture, last May announced the introduction of its Programmatic Services practice, positioning its offering as an alternative to those of established advertising holding companies such as WPP PLC and Omnicom Group Inc.

The division has worked for clients including Radisson Hotel Group and HP Inc. to assist them with the planning, buying and management of their digital media. Sprint, Prudential and Mazda are among the brands in Adaptly's client roster.

The Adaptly acquisition will help Accenture Interactive "enable workflow, improve quality assurance and really just operate better and faster and more effectively for clients," said Scott Tieman, global head of programmatic services at Accenture Interactive.

Accenture Interactive has been acquiring marketing-related businesses -- from traditional ad agencies to design firms -- as its parent company looks to expand the services it can offer to the marketing portion of the C-suite. Other consulting firms, including Deloitte and PwC, have embarked on similar strategies, although Accenture has pushed furthest into the area of media buying so far.

In a presentation to investors in London Tuesday, WPP, the world's largest ad firm, listed competition from consultants in the areas of technology and talent as one of the key challenges the advertising industry faces. That has put pressure on traditional Madison Avenue firms to counter by broadening the consulting services they offer marketers.

Accenture Interactive has faced criticism for creating a media-buying division. The 4A's ad-agency trade group said in May that the new unit was "a clear conflict of interest" because Accenture, the parent company, also has an auditing division "responsible for auditing the trading results and processes of its competitors."

Nikki Mendonça, president of Accenture Interactive Operations, where Adaptly will sit once the acquisition is complete, said the company is "very strict" about adhering to confidentiality protocols. The auditing side of the business is housed within Accenture's procurement arm, "a completely separate division" from Accenture Interactive's operations, she said.

Write to Lara O'Reilly at lara.oreilly@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 12, 2018 11:52 ET (16:52 GMT)

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