Innocean acquires Korean media marketing firm D-Plan360

South Korea's second-largest agency network, Innocean, has acquired D-Plan360, a media marketing services firm based in Seoul with capabilities in media data, strategy, execution, targeting and analytics. The acquisition will see D-Plan360 and its roughly 40 employees become a digital subsidiary of Innocean.

An official agency of online platforms Naver and Kakao for mobile and display ads and a Google partner, D-Plan360 works as a media representative company, effectively as go-between buying agencies and media owners. 

Media representatives in Korea sell advertisements for major broadcasters such as KBS and MBC and online players like the ones listed above. They create media mixes and proposals based on the budget and objectives of agencies and manage the execution of advertisers' and agencies' campaigns with media outlets.

Founded in 2019, D-Plan360's offering purports to go beyond those of established media reps by providing integrated campaigns from branding to performance marketing. Innocean's aim in acquiring capabilities across creative, branding and media is to provide full "digital all-in-one" services to grow its advertising business while expanding its media business.

“D-Plan360 is a company we’ve been working with since 2021 on various campaigns, and we’ve seen them grow at a remarkable pace,” Innocean said in a release. "This acquisition will provide us with significant synergy by internalising digital media revenue and expanding our capabilities for collecting, managing, and utilising data based on an advertising platform."

Innocean has been actively bulking up its digital marketing capabilities in Korea in recent years, acquiring performance marketing firm D.Purple in 2021 and visual effects company Studio Lennon in 2022. The agency is not done with its expansion push either, saying it plans to continue to pursue more mergers and acquisitions with domestic and foreign players to augment its "value chain" as an integrated one-stop digital marketing service provider. 

“By expanding our media business across the board, we will be able to meet the diverse and specific digital marketing needs of our advertisers," said Innocean CEO William Lee. “We will continue to make active investments, including acquiring stakes in companies, to ensure we are proactive and prepared for the rapidly changing market environment. 

Editor's note: This article was updated from its orginal version to clarify that Innocean has taken 100% ownership of D-Plan360 and to include its employee head count.