Boston social-marketing company BzzAgent said today it is being acquired by U.K.-based consumer analytics firm Dunnhumby, a subsidiary of retail giant Tesco. Terms were not disclosed, but various media reports put the acquisition price at $60 million, contingent on BzzAgent hitting certain milestones.
BzzAgent started in 2001 and has amassed a network of 800,000 consumer “agents” who try out goods and services and compete to generate buzz about them. Its big customers include Procter & Gamble, Unilever, L’Oreal, and Michelin. The company has more than 50 employees and has been backed by Flybridge Capital Partners and General Catalyst Partners.
BzzAgent is part of a marketing-tech mini-cluster around Boston which also includes HubSpot, Constant Contact, Demandware, Performable, oneforty, and SMTP. BzzAgent will operate as a stand-alone business within Dunnhumby, and founder and CEO Dave Balter will continue in his current role, according to the press release.
It sounds like the merger of these companies will lead to an interesting exploration of how social buzz translates into consumer spending habits—which will be of great interest to technologists, marketers, and retailers alike.
Author: Gregory T. Huang
Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003.
Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
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