• by Gavin O'Malley , July 24, 2008

Significantly expanding its industry presence, interactive agency Rosetta Marketing today is expected to announce the acquisition of companion agency Brulant.

"We are creating one of the nation's biggest interactive agencies which will allow us to grow current relationships and build new ones quite dramatically," said Chris Kuenne, Rosetta's founder, chairman and CEO. "The interactive marketing landscape is rapidly shifting from mass to personalized targeting and from fuzzy equity measures to precisely measured, managed and optimized customer relationship economics."

Founded in 1998, Rosetta's client list includes Johnson & Johnson, Bristol Myers Squibb, Allergan, Shire, HSBC and Microsoft. The firm's 2007 revenue totaled $50 million.

The company's combined revenues are expected to total $130 million this year, according to Kuenne.

In addition, Brulant adds 370 employees to Rosetta's existing stable of some 230 employees.

"We were determined to be one of the top interactive agencies in the U.S.," said Len Pagon, Brulant's founder and CEO. "Combining our technology-infused solutions with Rosetta's personality-based segmentation and personalized marketing expertise ensures that will happen."

Clients of the Cleveland-based Brulant include Borders, Coach, Nationwide, Citizens Bank, National City Bank, Marriott and Scholastic, among others.

Rosetta and Brulant are expected to consolidate under the Rosetta brand after a short transition period. Pagon will remain vice chairman of growth initiatives for Rosetta.

The acquisition will add offices in Cleveland, Chicago, and Boston to Rosetta's current locations in Princeton, N.J., New York and Denver.

In 2005, the Princeton-based Rosetta acquired interactive marketing agency SimStar, Inc., also based in Princeton. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

According to Pagon, the combined companies plan additional growth, partly through acquisitions.

"We have our eye on about 100 companies, which can help us grow in the areas of mobile, rich media, and social networking," Pagon said.