By Business & Finance Snap Ireland today announced the acquisition of The DG Group, one of the country’s leading digital marketing services companies. This acquisition further strengthens the brand’s position as the first port of call for businesses looking for a total marketing, design and print solution both on and off line.
Snap Ireland is one of the highest employers of graphic designers in the country with over 25% of their 130 staff working full time on bespoke design solutions for clients across the 21 franchises.
The acquisition of The DG Group will increase their design and digital capabilities further with a particular focus on web design and management. A new ‘Digital Marketing Centre’ will act as a central resource and will support the needs of all franchises across the country.
Both Snap and The DG Group have successfully worked in partnership since 2010 developing web design and management solutions for Irish and international brands. In 2013 the group was responsible for the launch of over 150 websites. The number of websites – as a result of the acquisition – will now increase to 450 and Snap expects this figure to double next year.
Commenting on this acquisition, Snap Group chairman, Michael Kearney said: “Years ago we saw the beginnings of the plateau in print spend by Irish corporate and SME businesses, as they looked at new ways to approach their marketing with a particular interest in the opportunities offered by digital marketing.
“Snap has always been an invaluable resource and partner to the SME sector so it was essential that we listened and responded to our customers’ needs by offering them solutions that would strengthen and grow their presence in the digital and online space. Our partners in this process were The DG Group who were leaders in their field and in particular pioneers of mobile web design.
“This acquisition is the culmination of a successful working relationship between our two companies. It further strengthens our ability to deliver cutting-edge, yet cost-effective website solutions to the businesses of Ireland,” Kearney said.
The DG Group was formed in 2009 with a focus on delivering digital marketing services and specifically website solutions to SMEs across Ireland. The DG Group was one of the first web companies in Ireland to deliver mobile websites and has led the way in offering fully responsive and adaptive designs to the SME sector.
Franco De Bonis, The DG Group’s owner and now Snap’s Director of Digital Marketing Services added, “All business owners start a business with the hope that one day their efforts would create a large national brand or lead to an acquisition by an established and successful brand. This acquisition is therefore a dream come true and an affirmation of the hard work put in by our whole team over the years. Snap has partnered with a small number of other web design agencies over the years while they worked to establish a digital marketing arm to their business. It was our process and quality-driven approach to website delivery that made The DG Group their first choice supplier and ultimately led to this acquisition.
“We are tremendously excited by the scale of the opportunity that Snap brings in the marketing space and about our ability to apply our prodigious expertise in web design and specifically responsive/adaptive design to a larger audience than we could have ever reached on our own.”
Chairman of Snap Ireland Michael Kearney said: “The SME sector can often be a crowded but lonely place for businesses. There’s a great deal of fragmentation particularly within the fields of marketing communication, web management and design. This makes choice extremely difficult for companies who realise the important role marketing plays in their business but simply don’t know where to start looking for support.
“Snap is a name they recognise and trust and I am confident, that with this acquisition, SMEs will come to us more and more for their total bespoke marketing solutions.”
Founded in 1984 by Irish businessman, Michael Kearney, Snap employs 130 people across its 21 Irish franchises. This week the group further strengthened its franchise offering with the opening of a new centre in Sligo town.
Snap offers a comprehensive range of marketing products and services including marketing communication advice, graphic design, direct mail, promotional products, point of sale, personalisation and fulfilment services, online marketing and all forms of digital and lithographic printing.
