LIN Media has become the latest big publisher to diversify into digital agency services, announcing a deal late Friday to acquire HYFN, a full-service digital agency with offices in Los Angeles
and New York. The deal, which was done by Providence, RI-based LIN TV Corp., comes as LIN expands its digital marketing offerings and follows other big publishers such as Meredith and Hearst into the
digital agency business.
Terms were not disclosed, but HYFN was founded in 2000 and works for a wide range of mid-size, Fortune 500 and global clients, ranging from
Coca-Cola Co. to Google. The agency operates its own proprietary social media management system, HYFN8, and is a member of Facebook’s elite Preferred Marketing Developer program.
The deal is “part of our continued investment to build our digital media ecosystem in a strategic way that drives synergies and positions us as … (a) one-stop-shop
for all marketing needs,” stated Vincent Sadusky, LIN CEO.
LIN operates a slew of TV stations and has a presence in 23 markets. It owns the CBS outlets in
Portland, Providence and Birmingham. The Portland and Birmingham stations came via an acquisition from New Vision last year.
The deal is the latest by a big media sales
organization to diversify into digital agency services and follows Hearst's 2010 acquisition of iCrossing, and a feeding frenzy of digital services shops by Meredith starting in 2006 that have become
the basis for its Meredith Xcelerated Marketing (MXM) group.
“The demand for robust social and mobile marketing solutions that break through the clutter continues
to grow at a rapid pace,” Robb Richter, senior vice president digital at LIN, stated. “We've been extremely impressed with HYFN’s digital capabilities, business model and the
strength of their management team. There are important competitive advantages that result from having the agency’s creative talent in the same room as their engineers.”