• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, September 1, 2010

UK-based marketing services provider Alterian on Wednesday announced the acquisition of social media consulting firm Intrepid. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

A provider of content management and social media monitoring tools, Alterian said the deal was necessary to meet a growing demand for packaged social media products, including best practices, services and software.

"Brands are well aware of the need to harness this exciting new channel," David Eldridge, CEO of Alterian said of social media. "However, a large proportion do not yet have the necessary in-house skills to use social media analytics to best effect."

A recent study conducted by Alterian suggested that 66% of marketers would invest in social media marketing this year.

Intrepid brings with it about 40 employees, and offices in Seattle and London, as well as a social media analytics team in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

This marks Alterian's third acquisition in two years, which began with online content manager Mediasurface, and then social media monitor Techrigy last summer.

Techrigy markets an enterprise-grade SMM and analysis solution called SM2 for PR and marketing professionals interested in tracking online buzz.

As a provider of various marketing services, Alterian's products haven't always earned the highest rankings. Regarding its email services, for one, Alterian was labeled as a "safe bet" by Forrester late last year.

Along with a few other "safe bets," Forrester said of this group: "While these vendors have their individual strengths, they lack features such as advanced segmentation and analysis tools that would meet the demands of today's enterprise-class clients."