Impact Group Acquires Cluep to Bring AI-Powered Digital Services to Grocery Industry

BOISE, Idaho, Sept. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In a landmark move amidst rapidly-evolving consumer behavior, Impact Group, a leading grocery sales and marketing agency that works with over 700 CPG companies, announced today that the company has acquired Cluep, a groundbreaking digital advertising platform. Investment bank Petsky Prunier represented Cluep in this transaction.

Cluep will continue operating as a separate division under the Cluep brand and will complement Impact Group's sales, marketing, and merchandising expertise and value-added service offerings.

Through artificial intelligence (AI), Cluep helps brands connect with consumers by serving targeted advertising based on individuals' social media activity. Impact Group's strategic acquisition of the digital ad platform is a direct response to ongoing market shifts in retail and grocery: with online grocery sales projected to reach $100 billion by 2025, many brands and retailers are rethinking their approach to marketing and how they reach consumers in the digital space, including mobile, where consumers are increasingly spending their time. Having extensive industry experience, significant geographic reach, and deep relationships with brand clients and retailers alike, Impact Group gains an additional competitive advantage for its client brands through the acquisition of Cluep and its intelligent, proactive online consumer engagement.

"Today's consumer is highly engaged in the digital world, and we're seeing them embrace brands through digital interactions at an unprecedented rate," said Carl Pennington, president and chief executive officer of Impact Group. "Our acquisition of Cluep is not only a strategic part of our growth: it's crucial to providing our CPG clients with access to proven digital resources that can propel their brands forward in a way that bolsters their retail presence and helps them win with today's shoppers. We look forward to improving reach and elevating results for our CPG clients and retail customers through the acquisition of Cluep."

Founded in 2012 by Karan Walia, Anton Mamonov and Sobi Walia, Cluep's AI digital advertising platform targets potential customers on social media based on what they are sharing, how they are feeling, and where they have been. Having executed over 1,500 campaigns for over 400 brands across the world, the Toronto-based company leverages proprietary text analysis, real-time targeting, facial recognition, vision recognition and more to identify and anticipate customer interest and connect brands with such customers. The platform offers a variety of products, including Cluep Posts, Cluep Pics and Cluep Places, and currently services high-profile brands like Coca-Cola, Kraft, Walmart, and Unilever. In addition to retaining Cluep's employees as part of the acquisition, Impact Group also plans to add to Cluep's resources with additional hires in the coming months.

"Using artificial intelligence to help brands connect and engage with people represents the next big chapter at Impact Group ? and the Cluep team is honored to be part of it.," said Karan Walia, co-founder of Cluep. "We have exciting plans and new AI innovations on the roadmap, so it's time to get to work."

ABOUT CLUEP
Founded in 2012, Cluep is an artificially intelligent mobile advertising platform that targets people based on what they are sharing, how they are feeling and where they have been. With business in the U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and India, Cluep services a range of high profile national and global brands across industries. For more information on Cluep, please visit https://cluep.com.  

ABOUT IMPACT GROUP
Founded in 1994, Impact Group is a passionate sales and marketing agency with offices and teams spread strategically across the country. Impact Group has decades of combined experience in the retail broker and CPG industry, which enables clients to more effectively connect with retailers and drive aggressive growth and sales. Impact Group focuses on leading change through disruptive and innovative services including sales, merchandising, and category analytical support to companies in the CPG industry. Over 700 remarkable CPG companies trust Impact Group to represent their brand. Impact Group is known for fostering a culture that is authentic, strategic, collaborative, and entrepreneurial.  For more information on Impact Group, please visit www.impactgrp.com.

Impact Group is a CI Capital Partners portfolio company.

ABOUT CI CAPITAL PARTNERS
CI Capital Partners LLC is a leading North American private equity investment firm that has invested in middle-market companies since 1993. CI Capital forms partnerships with experienced management teams and entrepreneurs to build substantial businesses through add-on acquisitions, organic growth, and operational improvements. Since inception, CI Capital and its portfolio companies have made over 290 acquisitions representing over $9 billion in enterprise value. For more information on CI Capital Partners, please visit www.cicapllc.com.    

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SOURCE Impact Group