One of the world's hottest and most innovative agency networks has been acquired—not by one of the traditional advertising giants, but by tech company Globant.
While the deal is not without precedent—Accenture's 2019 acquisition of Droga5 comes to mind—it will no doubt have taken many in the industry by surprise, with more than a few asking: “Gut sold to who?”
While the deal is not without precedent—Accenture's 2019 acquisition of Droga5 comes to mind—it will no doubt have taken many in the industry by surprise, with more than a few asking: “Gut sold to who?”
Launched in Argentina in 2003, Globant specializes in digital transformation, and has grown to 27,000+ employees in 30 countries, with reported revenue of $1.78 billion in 2022. Clients include Google, EA and Santander, and it has moved quickly to earn a reputation as a leader in AI.
Gut, meanwhile, has emerged as one of the most buzzworthy agency brands in the world since launching just five years ago. With Tim Hortons and parent company Restaurant Brands International as a key client, Toronto became its fourth office in early 2021 after launching in Buenos Aires and Miami in 2018.
Since then, Gut has added Goodlife Fitness, Spin Master and KY to its Canadian client list. Internationally, it was named Independent Network of the Year in Cannes after winning three Grands Prix, eight Gold Lions, and 35 Lions in total.
And while the holdco CEOs may be disappointed they didn’t get to add Gut to their network, the deal reflects larger macro shifts upending the entire industry: specifically the fusion of technology and creativity in ways traditional ad companies have not yet mastered, and the fascination with perceived opportunities arising from AI.
Globant said Gut will continue to operate independently, with no changes to its leadership team, and both companies “will work together identifying cross-selling opportunities and leveraging their unique skills to provide even more innovative solutions to their customers.”
“Technology and creativity have never been more closely linked than they are today,” said Globant CEO Martin Migoya, in a release. “We always say that Globant is where innovation, design, and engineering meet scale, and we couldn’t be more excited to bring the world’s most creative marketing and communications company into the mix.”
“Our mission when we founded Gut was to be the most diverse, creative, and influential agency network ever, so we know that this reinvention with Globant will only accelerate that goal to hopefully becoming our reality soon,” said Gut's co-founder and creative chairman Anselmo Ramos.
The measured messaging of the press release is replaced by more lofty rhetoric in the consumer-facing announcement on the Globant website, which describes the deal as “completely unexpected and thought-provoking.”
Adding Gut's advertising and brand storytelling abilities will make Globant “one of the world’s most complete tech companies,” it said, adding that Gut will be able to “expand its brave creativity beyond advertising through unlimited disciplines.
“We can design, code and market any tech idea. There’s nothing we can’t do.”
