MediaMonks bets on martech as it rebrands BizTech unit

MediaMonks is dropping the name of BizTech, its specialist Adobe marketing outfit, in a rebrand as the digital content production company says clients are increasingly asking for an "end-to-end solution" from idea creation to implementation.

Victor Knaap, chief executive of MediaMonks, said his company is "very good at the ‘front end’ side of the business" in terms of creative content production, but it wants to be able to manage campaigns by using marketing technology – rather than leaving that to "systems integrators" such as Accenture and Capgemini.

Sir Martin Sorrell’s S4 Capital, the parent company of MediaMonks, bought Melbourne-based BizTech last year.

As a specialist in managing the Adobe marketing technology "stack", BizTech offers a broad range of services that can involve digital asset management, campaign management and analytics.

"What everyone is going through is building an ecosystem to manage the whole [marketing] funnel," Knaap said, explaining the importance of managing the Adobe stack for brands as they seek to manage both their paid and owned media in a joined-up way.

Previously, the chief marketing officer might oversee paid media such as advertising and a chief technology officer or chief information officer would look after owned media such as a brand’s own platforms, sites and apps. 

Now, those roles are blurring as clients need "speed, quality and value", Knaap said, adding that brands are looking for fewer agency and production partners – another reason for MediaMonks to manage the whole funnel.

"We can add value throughout the process – from the discovery of what a platform should be to the defining and implementation for the best customer experience," he said.

Managing marketing tech can matter as much as creativity for the success of a campaign and vice versa, according to Knaap.

Michael Patishman, senior vice-president of MediaMonks Solutions and previously chief executive of BizTech, said the merger made sense because "we can bring creative and engineering together" as clients seek digital transformation.

Recent client wins Australia Post Corporation and AkzoNobel.

Adobe's digital marketing tools have become one of the most important campaign management platforms for brands.

A growing number of clients and agencies have been training their staff on Adobe and Salesforce as martech is playing a growing role in the marketing mix.

MediaMonks, S4’s first acquisition in 2018, has doubled its headcount through mergers and acquisitions, and now employs almost 2,000 people, including 120 from BizTech.

S4 is already valued at close to £1bn.