McKinsey steps into performance marketing with ET Medialabs acquisition

Consulting firm McKinsey has acquired India-based performance marketing shop ET Medialabs (ETML).

Around 60 employees from ETML will join McKinsey’s digital marketing operations and tech team, which now boasts over 200 analysts, performance marketers and data scientists across two of its global hubs in Asia and Latin America.

ETML has driven growth for scale-ups, unicorns, and multinationals, offering capabilities ranging from reducing ad waste to optimising budgets and campaign impact time. For example; its diagnostic-to-insight approach cuts digital adspend optimisation time by 66% and boosts campaign impact time by 62%.

Raghav Kansal, founder of ETML, said: “Customer first is core to our DNA. It’s a value we immediately felt was shared by McKinsey and deeply embedded in their culture,

“We pride ourselves on our deep sense of caring and relentless focus on the growth of both our people and our clients. This partnership with McKinsey represents a tectonic shift in the trajectory of career growth for our people with infinite learning opportunities and exposure to high-impact projects across some of the biggest companies in the world.”

The two companies have had a strategic partnership for more than two years and together, have conducted 20 pilot tests with over 15 clients across India, Thailand, Indonesia and Japan.

Stephan Zimmermann, a McKinsey senior partner and leader of its digital marketing operations and tech team, said: “What sets ETML apart is the speed and consistency of messaging across channels. Automation alone isn’t enough. 

“Using customer insights to effectively personalise and enable clients to connect with their audience is where we’re most excited to see rapid impact.” 

The move comes three years after the company acquired Latin American boutique digital agency, LOBO. 

This article first appeared on Performance Marketing World.