Acquisitions

2021 was a year of growth for Incubeta, and we were delighted to welcome three new brands to our ever-growing family; Groundswell, Maze-One and Panalysis. With these acquisitions, Incubeta increased its global presence, enhancing our current offering and enabling us to cover more of the customer journey.

On the 16th March, Incubeta acquired Ecommerce Agency Groundswell, a Belfast-based business who specialize in ecommerce consultancy, conversion optimization, customer acquisition and analytics. We were thrilled to have 11 new experts join the Incubeta family. 

On the 16th September, Incubeta acquired Global Marketplace Expert, Maze-One, a full-service marketplace agency that works closely with over 140 clients to ensure their brands build sustainable, profitable relationships with Amazon and other marketplaces. With Headquarters in Amsterdam and offices in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the UK, we expanded our global employee roster by 50+ talented experts! 

On the 6th October, Incubeta acquired Analytics Partner Panalysis, a Sydney based agency who specialize in Strategy & Design, Implementation, Data Quality & Support, Operational Support, Google Marketing Platform and Consulting services,  gaining notoriety in 2006 as Google’s first premium partner in Australia, and one of the first 15 globally. Our Sydney office was thrilled to welcome 7 wonderful new colleagues!

Expansion

Alongside our acquisitions, Incubeta opened offices in both Mexico City and Dubai, taking  the next steps in our brand journey and expanding our global reach that much further to operate across 15 countries worldwide. Read all about our new offices; Incubeta Expands to Dubai & Mexico. 

We were also thrilled to expand our sports betting footprint with license acceptance in Michigan, in addition to our US office gaining Google full-stack certification, an achievement that allows us to fully amplify business growth for our clients via Google’s expansive resources and powerful platforms.

Awards

It’s been a year for awards, and across the globe we’ve seen triumph after triumph with award ceremonies, shortlists, highly commended and wins. Worldwide we’ve won 16 awards, been shortlisted 28 times, and been recognised as highly commended 10 times. 

In the UK, we’ve won:

• Microsoft Partnership Awards (Inclusive Culture & Marketing Award) – Incubeta, February 
• The Drum Digital Advertising (Best Health Campaign) – Superdrug, March
• The Drum Digital Advertising (Most Effective Use of Creativity) – Quintain Living, March 
• UK Biddable Media Awards (Best Use of Data) – Superdrug, March
• Campaign Best Places to Work – Incubeta UK, May 
• The PMAs (Best Retail & Ecommerce Campaign) – Laithwaite’s Wine, June
• Global Business Tech Awards (Best Use of Data) – Laithwaite’s Wine, June
• Media Week 30 Under 30 – Anna Jorysz, June
• Effective Digital Marketing Awards (Most Effective Data Campaign) – Laithwaite’s Wine, July
• The Wires (Best New Product or Service: Buy Side) – Laithwaite’s Wine, October

In the US, we’ve won:

• MOXIE Awards (Rising Star) – Fabiola Bias, April
• Promax North America Awards (Website) – TNT, September
• Promax North America Awards (Microsite) – TNT, September
• Bronze: MUSE Creative Awards (Website – Television), TNT, March

In South Africa, we’ve won:

• Silver: Bookmark Awards (Social Paid Advertising) – Hyundai/Smartly, July
• Bronze: Bookmark Awards (Organic Search Marketing) – Hyundai/Smartly, July
• Bronze: New Gen (Best Integrated Marketing Award) – Hyundai, September
• Leader: ASSEGAI Awards (Section A Search Marketing: SEO and PPC) – Hyundai, September

In APAC, we’ve won:

• Retail Solution Partner Awards (The Retailers Choice) – Incubeta, April
• Highly Commended: The Drum Digital Advertising APAC (Best Video) – Les Mills, October

Events

Despite being a year filled with uncertainty and physical restrictions we still managed to host a number of insightful and topical events – check out our full list of on demand recordings on Incubeta’s YouTube.

Upgrade Your Growth

Upgrade Your Growth brought together a range of experts from around the world to discuss ways of unleashing growth potential in uncertain, unpredictable and volatile times. Click here to register, and watch the full recording of our global event; Upgrade Your Growth. 

Cutting Through the Noise; What Privacy Means for Marketers

An hour long session stripping away the technical jargon, and providing actionable takeaways to help tackle the world of privacy head-on. 

Incubeta Ignite: GA4, The Future of Measurement

The panel discussion took a deep-dive into the latest GA4 opportunities & technicalities, explaining the importance of ensuring your business is up to date with the latest modifications. Followed by a sneak peak tutorial of the platform’s user interface by Jade Arenstein.

Rebrand

On the 12th April, perhaps the biggest achievement for Incubeta this year, we rebranded as a new generation of digital partner to help businesses amplify their growth. Our new brand identity unites specialist teams, knocking down the silos of marketing to build world-class solutions. The launch of the new positioning is aligned with our emphasis on helping businesses to upgrade their growth through creativity, collaboration and expertise. Reinforcing our commitment to being true performance partners and helping businesses find the right opportunities to accelerate growth.

Not to mention our vibrant new colour scheme…

Sustainability

Sustainability was a key focus for us in 2021, and will continue to be so in 2022, and beyond. Check out Incubeta’s Digital Footprint Pledge put together by our Sustainability Committee, plus have a read of Celebrating of Earth Day; The Value of Sustainability, by Lauren Furmidge, our UK Agency Account Manager.

Our sustainability efforts have been echoed across the globe, from thought leadership pieces in the UK, panel discussions and roundtables in the US, to beach cleans in South Africa. 

“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it” – Robert Swan.

Diversity & Inclusion

As always, we’ve strived to maintain a culture of inclusivity and diversity in all that we do at Incubeta. And 2021 was no different. In May, we were proud to have participated in CEO Action’s third annual Day of Understanding. Incubeta joined nearly 400 organizations in a commitment to engage in this important dialogue, fostering cultures of greater belonging at a critical time.

In June we focused on the creative space, and how brands can use creative to maximise reach and return from affinity networks. Consumers want to feel represented within marketing efforts. And using relevant and appropriate creatives to target your audience helps develop this sense of representation, which in turn allows brands to build strong relationships with their consumers and increase brand favorability.

In October 2021, we hosted a panel focusing on “Race Representation in the Media”. Our panel discussed their experiences and understanding of media representation, and shared challenges that have faced as a result of this. The panel also opened up to a live Q&A, answering audience questions and offering suggestions on how to be an ally on the topic both as a business and as individuals. 

Thought Leadership

It’s been a busy year for content, and across the globe our teams have worked on a number of insightful reports, blogs, whitepapers and prediction pieces. Here’s our top 5 pieces of content from 2021

The Value of Inclusive Marketing: as societies’ vocalisation of diversity increases fourfold, a substantial number of consumers are responding to inclusive marketing – becoming more intersectional and rewarding brands and businesses that choose to mirror real-world demographics within their campaigns. This blog explores the importance of inclusive marketing and best practices; including ad messaging, internal education and diversifying from the ground up.

Getting Back to Normal: 4 Essential Trends for Retail: we sat down with our Incubeta leadership team to hear their thoughts and opinions on the state of the retail landscape in a post-Covid world. This infographic and blog covers the readjustment in ecommerce spending, sustainability & ethical marketing, and the future role of physical stores.

Incubeta’s Essential Guide to a Privacy-First Future: with Apple’s iOS 14 update that allows users to opt out of tracking across iOS apps and websites using Apple’s device identifier, plus Google’s phasing out of 3rd Party Cookies, both the privacy landscape and the way we advertise has changed dramatically. This whitepaper explores how we as marketers prepare, and build for a privacy first world.

Digital Responsibility is the New Paradigm for Corporate Responsibility: when digital responsibility becomes corporate responsibility, it serves to guide how a brand relates to consumers, leading to better, actionable data that supports both short and long-term goals. This whitepaper breaks down How Evolving Data & Regulation is Offering Brands an Opportunity to Reset Consumer Expectations, The Inefficiencies of Outmoded Data Practices & How the Industry is Responding, A Working Guide to Consumer Data Use Through the Lens of Digital Responsibility, and The Imperative of Digital Responsibility as Corporate Responsibility.  

Embracing a Harmonic Relationship between Physical and Digital Retail: while the Covid-19 pandemic did wreak havoc both far and wide, it would be naive to discredit the wealth of opportunity it also reaped. From the substantial migration of consumers to digital, to the generational shift in online demographics, the digital landscape morphed into a plethora of opportunities, yielding benefits for those willing to take the leap. This whitepaper explores the benefits of embracing a strong relationship between physical and digital retail. 

Ps. Don’t forget about our 2022 Predictions piece – All Eyes on 2022.

And that’s a wrap on 2021…