EXCLUSIVE: Harvest Group CEO Talks Bold Strategies Inc. Acquisition
Harvest Group, a national integrated commerce agency, has acquired Bold Strategies Inc. (BOLD), an e-commerce, shopper marketing and creative services agency.
This acquisition expands Harvest Group’s marketing and digital commerce capabilities and increase its managed media spend by 20%, according to a media release, first shared with P2PI. The deal further expands the agency’s presence in the rapidly growing retail media sector, which is quickly emerging as the new center of the advertising universe. It’s expected to surpass linear TV in spend next year, and by 2028, it will triple, reaching $129.9 billion, a $75 billion increase from 2024, according to various projections.
"The future belongs to companies that can seamlessly merge physical and digital retail,” Allan Peretz, founder and chairman of BOLD, said in the release. “By joining Harvest Group, we’re creating the first true ‘total retail’ agency that can serve brands’ sales and marketing needs in every channel, online and off.”
The deal also includes BOLD Labs, the company’s R&D (research and development) unit, which uses proprietary technology to test products in the market and develop innovation strategies. The addition of BOLD brings Harvest Group’s total headcount to 350 employees.
"BOLD's digital capabilities paired with their creative team has developed into a powerful rapid innovation testing capability that we're excited to bring to our clients,” Ross Cully, CEO of Harvest Group, told P2PI. “This allows us to optimize everything from product development to ad campaigns with data-driven confidence."
"Marketing channels today have a reinforcing and amplifying effect on one another,” Cully added. “Currently, many marketers face complexity and inefficiency working across various agencies and silos to coordinate their efforts. With these channels rapidly evolving, having an integrated shopper and creative team that's connected to a retail media team helps us move and adapt faster for our clients than if we were working in disconnected silos.”
Harvest Group is also one of only two managed service providers that are API partners with the top five retail media networks, which Cully said “gives us a real edge when it comes to adaptability and speed for our clients.”
With BOLD’s integration, Harvest Group’s full-service capabilities now include:
- Comprehensive shopper marketing solutions.
- Full-service creative design capabilities.
- Digital market testing tool to ensure product success before full-scale launch.
- Direct-to-consumer (DTC) strategies.
- Increased depth in retail media and Amazon services.
The acquisition enables Harvest Group to serve brands “at the convergence of media and commerce,” offering a one-stop solution designed to simplify processes, the company said. Additionally, the agency’s retailer, consumer and media closed-loop reporting and insights allow brand partners to measure impact for further optimization.
On how this deal came to be, Cully told P2PI that his relationship with Peretz dates back a while. “We initially met for lunch in April, and through our continued conversations about our respective companies, we discovered we had deeply aligned values and very complimentary service models that almost miraculously lined up with specific capabilities our clients had been requesting," he said.
"In the landscape of integrated commerce, there are agencies of various sizes finding their way,” Cully added. “What impressed us about BOLD is that they're e-commerce first — they're among the early pioneers in this space, and that focus really matters."
BOLD, founded in 2017, was recognized twice on The Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies. Specialized in digital retail, the agency provides a range of commerce services to mid-sized and enterprise brands, including strategy development, creative execution, retail media management, website development, testing and analytics.
Harvest Group, founded in 2006, works with CPG brands at retailers, including Walmart, Sam’s Club, Target, Amazon, Costco, Harris Teeter and Kroger, as well as top retail media and social platforms.
“This acquisition is about people,” Darcy Ramler, CEO of BOLD, said in the release. “Together, we’re creating a fully integrated team that connects across commerce: in-store, online, media, creative and shopper marketing, to drive real impact for our clients."