Haggin Marketing Buys SolutionSet

Haggin Marketing, a San Francisco-based multichannel direct marketing services agency, has acquired Palo Alto, Calif.-based digital marketing agency SolutionSet. No pricing terms were disclosed. The deal was financed by Haggin Marketing sponsor Lake Capital. SolutionSet had raised venture capital from Fog City Fund.

PRESS RELEASE

Haggin Marketing, a leading multichannel direct marketing services agency, today announced that it has acquired digital marketing agency SolutionSet. Based in Palo Alto, SolutionSet was recognized last year by Inc. Magazine as the number one fastest growing company in Silicon Valley and the 23rd fastest growing company in the nation. The acquisition adds more than 100 employees to Haggin Marketing, for a total of 400 employees. The transaction was financed by Lake Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm that focuses on investing in leading service-based enterprises.

The acquisition gives Haggin Marketing a new edge in delivering its BrandActional® approach to support brands while driving transactions and consistently providing exceptional results.

Offering full-service digital marketing and technology capabilities from its offices in Palo Alto and San Francisco, SolutionSet has built integrated marketing solutions for clients including eBay, TIVO, Stanford, and Autodesk. Haggin Marketing clients will benefit from SolutionSet’s strategy of coupling deep technical expertise with compelling visual and user experience design to create effective, innovative solutions in four specialized categories:

Digital Marketing

Consumer and Ecommerce Websites

Communities and Social Media

Rich Interfaces and Web Applications

SolutionSet’s capabilities will seamlessly complement Haggin Marketing’s expertise in creating direct interactions that leverage multiple customer touchpoints to drive increased sales.

“Joining Haggin Marketing lets us build our expertise into a more complete solution,” said Kurt Garbe, chief executive officer of SolutionSet. “Together, we can address marketers’ needs across all channels with the most creative and effective approaches available.”

Alex Kaplinsky, founding partner of SolutionSet added, “I’m proud that this combination enables such extraordinary opportunity for all of our associates. The power of our cultures and people working together to serve clients is, I think, unstoppable.”

SolutionSet successfully drives transactions and builds brand value across channels and over time through a wide range of marketing and technical solutions. The company’s capabilities span PHP, Java, Microsoft technologies (.Net) and Flash/Flex, in addition to extensive knowledge of Information Architecture, Visual and User Interface Design.

“Acquiring SolutionSet is one more exciting step in Haggin Marketing’s commitment to offer the very best in digital and direct marketing, shaping solutions that demand response and create stellar, measurable results,” said Jeff Haggin, chief executive officer of Haggin Marketing. “Adding SolutionSet and its more than one hundred employees to the Haggin Marketing family will translate into great value for our clients.”

Marc Landsberg, director at Lake Capital said, “We fully believe that all marketing solutions will be data-driven and technology-enabled. Haggin Marketing has been at the leading edge of data-driven marketing for years, delivering multichannel direct marketing solutions for some of the world’s best-known brands. The acquisition of SolutionSet will accelerate Haggin Marketing’s ability to fully leverage emerging technologies and media to engage consumers and business customers in every relevant channel to drive a transaction.”

About SolutionSet

SolutionSet is an interactive and digital marketing agency that combines user-centered creative and leading-edge technology to deliver the next new thinking in web development, digital marketing, and brand experience. Visit: www.solutionset.com.

About Haggin Marketing

Haggin Marketing is a multichannel direct marketing agency that delivers inspiring creative and measurable results for clients including adidas, American Express, AT&T, Dell, eBay, Sunglass Hut International, and more. Haggin Marketing offers sophisticated data management and processing services through its business unit, I-Centrix, and advanced, trigger-based direct marketing solutions through Getmembers.com. The company has over 400 employees in offices nationwide. Visit: www.hagginmarketing.com.

About Lake Capital

Lake Capital is a private equity firm that focuses on investments in service-based enterprises across various industries. The firm currently manages more than $1.3 billion in equity commitments and seeks to build leading services companies through organic and acquisition-enhanced growth. Visit: www.lakecapital.com.