Atlanta's Definition 6 Secures $15 Million to Buy Rivals

Atlanta-based agency Definition 6 plans to buy two to three digital marketing firms in the next 17 months, thanks to a private equity investment of up to $15 million from Navigation Capital Partners.

The expansion plans come just six months after the full service interactive agency laid off a number of staff amid worsening ad industry conditions. At the time CEO Michael Kogon said paralysis of credit markets and client cost cutting would result in a bleak year.

Now he says the picture is brighter, at least for those agencies that have successfully controlled costs and shifted their services to accommodate clients’ growing appetite for rapid ROI. Definition 6 has done both, reducing staff and offering more quick turnaround projects such as micro-sites and analytics programs that can be measured in the same quarter.

“We’re having a better run of it than those that didn’t take steps on both sides,” Kogon said. “It’s been tougher than one would like but not as dreary as we had feared.”

Definition 6 is already in talks with potential acquisition targets, including other marketing services firms and technology providers. Kogon said one example of a technology the company might consider buying would be a social marketing monitoring product.

Service areas where Definition 6 will seek to add depth include rich media, social marketing, search, and analytics. Most of the agency’s current services revolve around demand generation on the Web, as well as user experience design, content management systems, and e-commerce infrastructure. Its major clients include La Quinta Inns and VeriFone.

In addition to buying other firms, Definition 6 expects to seek organic growth through new office openings.