Direct Media Inc. landed several major brokerage accounts when it acquired the list brokerage Clark Mackain on Nov. 1. Terms for the acquisition were not disclosed.
Clark Mackain’s roster of list brokerage clients includes Disney’s Buena Vista Entertainment, Doubleday Entertainment’s book clubs, North American Affinity Clubs, International Masters Publishing, CMP Media, Hartford Financial Services Group, Hershey Direct, Highlights for Children and Essence magazine, among others.
“But it really comes down to the individual brokers who matter most. Direct Media will benefit from these extraordinarily talented people who bring decades of experience,” said Larry May, CEO of Direct Media.
“We bring a great number of tools (to Clark Mackain) for order entry, accounting, an analytical department and inhouse modeling,” said May.
Direct Media was one of several companies that had been seeking to acquire Clark Mackain during the last five years, according to David Clark, one of the firm’s founding partners. “It was Direct Media that fit with our corporate culture. And we’ve done a lot of work with them over the years,” he added.
Clark Mackain will operate as an independent division of Direct Media and retain its name. All its present brokers are expected to remain with the firm. Clark Mackain has about 20 employees. Direct Media has roughly 240.
Three or four support personnel positions involving computer services and billing will be phased out, as Direct Media assumes those responsibilities, allowing Clark Mackain to focus exclusively on list brokerage.
Clark Mackain’s offices will be relocated to another location in New York City, when its existing Manhattan office lease expires in January. A few employees who work in Direct Media’s small satellite New York office will be moving into Clark Mackain’s new offices as well. “That will give Direct Media offices in the heart of New York for meetings,” said Clark.
For Clark Mackain the acquisition means it can broaden the services it offers clients to include custom database development and analytical services through Direct Media, which will help Clark Mackain “hang on to clients,” he said.
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