I talk with advertising and digital agencies every week that want to “sell in five or fewer years.” We discuss how they can begin to position themselves for a future sale. Well, one way isn’t to be “full-service” or another “social media guru.” These generalist brand positions are not going to get the attention of a WPP or even the larger shop down the street.
One of the paths to SOLD! is to find a niche to own. A niche that a larger company might want. At the moment, and for the foreseeable future, a technology niche is what the bigger boys are looking for. Portland’s not yet three year-old tech niche-owning Vizify (“Vizify turns your social media data into interactive infographics, videos, and more”) just got bought by Yahoo!
Vizify found a data visualization niche and worked it.
I know. They aren’t an advertising agency. But… so what. There is still a lesson here for you ad guys.
What is Yahoo! gonna do with Vizify? Who the hell knows. (OK, it might have been a talent acquisition since Vizify is shutting down.)
As Selena Larson on readwrite writes… “Yahoo is shutting down innovative apps and services right and left as it snaps up startups—to no clear purpose.” So, go figure. But, the guys that sold the company are smiling.
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