SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — INNOCEAN announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire a stake in digital marketing company D-PLAN360 at a signing ceremony held at INNOCEAN’s Seoul headquarters attended by top executives from both companies, including William Lee, CEO of INNOCEAN, and Shin Young-hee, CEO of D-PLAN360.
D-PLAN360 possesses the core capabilities of a media representative. A media representative is a company that sells advertisements for major Korean broadcasters such as KBS and MBC, generalist channels, and online media companies such as Naver, Kakao, and Google. They support the creation of media proposals/media mixes based on the budget and objectives requested by the agency and operate/manage advertising products between advertisers and agencies or between media outlets.
Founded in 2019, D-PLAN360 is optimized to provide a full range of digital marketing services, including media strategy and execution, targeting, and effectiveness analysis. In particular, it has been recognized for its excellence in mobile and display advertising by being selected as an official agency of advertising platform NAVER GFA and Kakao Moment, as well as an official partner of Google.
D-PLAN360, which means to find a different angle for each advertiser and provide 360-degree media services, is characterized by its integrated campaign capabilities from branding to performance marketing.
INNOCEAN said, “D-PLAN360 has proven its digital capabilities by successfully working with a variety of domestic and international clients in the fields of food, construction, real estate, government offices, and cosmetics.”
The company emphasized, “The fact that they are differentiated from traditional media representatives by providing customized strategic planning and operational services based on the advertiser’s marketing goals also played a part in our decision to acquire D-PLAN360.”
With the acquisition of D-PLAN360, INNOCEAN will further strengthen its digital marketing capabilities. With the addition of creative, branding, and performance marketing, as well as a unique media and data specialty business, the acquisition will enable INNOCEAN to provide a digital all-in-one package service as a comprehensive advertising agency.
INNOCEAN said, “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.” It added, “This acquisition will provide us with significant synergy by internalizing digital media revenue and expanding our capabilities for collecting, managing, and utilizing data based on an advertising platform.”
According to the Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation, the domestic digital advertising market is growing every year and reached KRW 9 trillion in 2023. Accordingly, with this acquisition, INNOCEAN is aiming to expand its media business while also expanding the profitability of its advertising business.
In particular, as D-PLAN360 becomes a new digital subsidiary under INNOCEAN, “CDM,” the company’s future business strategy announced last year, is expected to gain momentum. INNOCEAN expects persistent high growth with the full-fledged promotion of “digital and data” related businesses, the D in CDM.
William Lee, CEO of INNOCEAN, said, “By expanding our media business across the board, we will be able to meet the diverse and specific digital marketing needs of our advertisers. We will continue to make active investments, including acquiring stakes in companies, to ensure that we are proactive and prepared for the rapidly changing market environment.”
Meanwhile, INNOCEAN has been actively strengthening its digital marketing service capabilities by acquiring the performance marketing company D.PURPLE in 2021 and the VFX (visual effects) company Studio Lennon in 2022.
D.PURPL has a unique competitive edge in search marketing and digital content strategy, providing search advertising (SA) and display advertising (DA) services in various fields such as finance, shopping, travel, and education. Studio Lennon produces a variety of digital content, including specialty films such as VFX and new media.
With D-PLAN360 now part of the family, INNOCEAN plans to continue to pursue mergers and acquisitions with domestic and foreign companies, including social operations, to complete a “value chain” that provides one-stop digital marketing integration solutions.
