ANA swells its ranks with its acquisition of DMA, making it the largest marketing trade group in the US

The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) announced Thursday that it will acquire the Data & Marketing Association (DMA), creating the largest advertising/marketing trade group in the United States. The combined organization will reach 150,000 industry professionals and include 2,000 corporate enterprises representing 20,000 brands.

ANA provides a number of services to its members, including public policy work, and as its numbers rise, so does it lobbying power. The move follows ANA’s acquisition of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) in January and several acquisitions in 2014 and 2015.

Members of both groups include some of the nation’s leading advertisers, as well as advertising agencies, media companies, law firms, consultancies, ad tech and advertising companies and marketing solution and service providers.

Though the action was approved by each organization’s board of directors, it is still awaiting formal approval by the voting members of the DMA. The integration should be complete by July 1, 2018.

“The combination of these two venerable institutions brings immense value to both member bases, as they will share a wide array of valuable resources and leadership platforms,” ANA Chief Executive Bob Liodice said in a press release announcing the move. “The ANA/DMA collaboration creates a dynamic new entity dedicated to comprehensively serving virtually every aspect of marketing with distinction and professionalism. The ANA is particularly enthused at the potential for enhancing consumer engagement and business value through innovative, data-driven marketing.”

The DMA will become a part of the ANA division and will be headed by current DMA CEO Tom Benton. The DMA’s Nonprofit Federation and Email Experience Council (EEC) will continue to operate within the ANA framework as they have within the DMA.

Enhanced benefits

Liodice and Benton noted a series of member benefits resulting from the acquisition:

• Shared resources and assets to build a data-driven marketing community.
• Greater access to education, training and professional development initiatives for member advancement and recognition.
• New opportunities for members to share knowledge beyond existing communities and committees.
• Optimized research capabilities for sharper insights and innovation.
• Codification of data-driven marketing standards and certifications to deliver superior marketing experiences that exceed business and consumer expectations.
• Combined thought leadership to address data privacy, security and identity issues for future generations.
• The ability to advance the development of new technology platforms to energize brand- and business-building efforts in the marketing ecosystem.

“The ANA and DMA memberships are composed of the most talented and professional advertising and marketing organizations in the world,” Benton said. “The combination of these two associations will provide all DMA and ANA members with the power to responsibly guide data-driven marketing that delivers value to consumers and customers.”