MarketInk: MindgruveMacarta Acquires Cincinnati’s Icon Commerce in Merger

MindgruveMacarta , a San Diego-based marketing agency, has announced a merger with Icon Commerce , an independent commerce marketing agency with a single office in Cincinnati.

A statement said the merger will bring together industry expertise in consumer, consumer packaged goods, business-to-business, healthcare, financial services and technology sectors, as well as platform experience in Google, Meta, LinkedIn, Amazon, Walmart and Mercado Libre.

The combined agency will serve a diverse client base, including Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Tempur Sealy, Dupont, Deckorators, Sony, Mattel, 3M and Wrangler.

A MindgruveMacarta spokesperson told Times of San Diego the two companies have not previously worked together on client projects. Sanjay Chadda, an investment banker with Canaaccord Genuity Corp. of Canada, served as a financial advisor to Icon Commerce in connection with the transaction.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The spokesperson said that while an undisclosed amount of dollars were exchanged and a purchase price was not disclosed, the transaction is considered a merger.

"We are proud to announce we've merged with Icon Commerce," said Chad Robley, chairman and CEO of MindgruveMacarta. "Icon Commerce's physical in-store retail marketing experience combined with their direct-to-consumer and marketplace expertise further strengthens our enterprise omnichannel commerce capability for clients worldwide. Their headquarters in Cincinnati strategically positions the combined agency to continue to grow our footprint in the Midwest."

This is the second merger this year for Chad Robley, who founded Mindgruve in 2001. In June, Mindgruve announced it had merged with retail media agency Macarta, based in Denver. The combined entity is called MindgruveMacarta and Robley serves as chairman and CEO of the agency.

Icon Commerce will retain its name, the spokesperson said. The agency's 75 employees will join MindgruveMacarta's current staff of more than 300 employees. The combined staff will include strategists, creatives, media and marketplace experts, data scientists and engineers. No layoffs for either company are expected as a result of the merger.

In recent years, Icon Commerce acquired two e-commerce agencies, including Marketplace Clicks in 2020 and Spaceshop Commerce in 2022. The acquisitions added Amazon, Shopify and Adobe Commerce expertise to Icon's integrated service offerings, a statement said.

Icon Commerce was founded in 1997 by Shawn Murdock, who will continue to serve as its CEO.

"Joining forces with MindgruveMacarta represents an exciting new chapter for us," said Murdock. "It was clear from the beginning that our companies aligned culturally and shared a common vision of investing in the best and brightest people. Our strategy, creative, and marketing service offerings are designed to grow retailers and direct-to-consumer clients and are aligned perfectly with MindgruveMacarta's performance marketing, retail media, and advanced analytics offerings. We're excited to bring the latest enterprise commerce solutions to brands in the Midwest and globally."

A statement said the deal expands MindgruveMacarta's expertise across in-store retail, marketplace and direct-to-consumer commerce.

Journalism Partnership 'Public Matters' Covers Local Politics

Three local independent nonprofit news organizations, including KPBS, inewsource and Voice of San Diego, have announced a partnership to share news, conversation and event content as part of an initiative called Public Matters.

The content will include news stories on politics and governance, as well as housing affordability, public safety, neighborhood improvements and social justice. The three news organizations will feature a Public Matters hub on their respective websites.

A statement said Public Matters will strive to expand the culture of community involvement through increased public conversation and news coverage of issues that matter to the region, specifically within communities that are often left on the fringes of political power.

"This is about you and your neighborhood," Deanna Mackey, KPBS general manager, said in a statement. "What do you need to make positive change happen? How can we have difficult conversations and listen to each other respectfully, perhaps agreeing to disagree, but walk away in understanding rather than walking away in anger. Public Matters is here to help."

Lorie Hearn, founder, CEO and editor of inewsource, said, "The Public Matters project is built on the premise that a neighborhood, a community, a county, a state, a country are all stronger when we engage each other in conversation and participate in local decision-making. It is about reminding us that we have a shared humanity, and together we are empowered to make positive change."

The Public Matters initiative is funded for the next three years from a $3 million gift given to KPBS by Joan and Irwin Jacobs. The gift was announced in March 2024. At that time, the initiative was called the Democracy Project.

TelevisaUnivision Replaces CEO Who Led Merger

TelevisaUnivision , an influential Spanish-language media company that operates two San Diego radio stations, has replaced its chief executive officer who led the merger of Televisa with Univision four years ago.

Wade Davis, former CEO of Televisa who led the 2020 acquisition of rival Univision with a buyout of private-equity owners, will remain a TelevisaUnivision shareholder and serve on the company's board as its vice chairman.

Daniel Alegre, with 30 years of media experience, is the new CEO of TelevisaUnivision. Most recently, Alegre was CEO of Yuga Labs, a web company. Before that, he was president of video game company Activision Blizzard. He also spent 16 years at Google in roles that included president of global and strategic partnerships, president of shopping and payments and president of Asia Pacific and Latin America.

"It's been a very dynamic media environment, and we are grateful for what Wade has accomplished in the turnaround of Univision and the subsequent transformative merger between Univision and Televisa's content business to create TelevisaUnivision, the world's leading Spanish-language media and content company," Alfonso de Angoitia, executive chairman, said in a statement.

"As we look to grow our unparalleled market position and the recent investments in our linear and streaming platforms as well as our news and sports products, Daniel is the right leader at the right time to take the helm. His unique global operational experience working in the U.S., Mexico, and Latin America across technology, digital platforms and entertainment honed over three decades is exactly what TelevisaUnivision needs to drive our next phase."

The New York Times described the leadership change at TelevisaUnivision as "a stunning turn of events." The company reportedly has been struggling to grow profits and pay down its debt since the merger. Sources told the Times the company has not met several of its own internal budget targets in recent years and is not on track to meet financial targets this year.

"The media landscape is undergoing a profound transformation and TelevisaUnivision is strategically poised to seize new opportunities while staying deeply connected to the communities we serve," Alegre said in a statement. "The U.S. and Mexico represent the most valuable and populous Spanish-language markets in the world, a demographic that is becoming more prominent both regionally and globally."

"Building on TelevisaUnivision's solid foundation, global content pipeline, ongoing investments in cutting-edge technologies, and unmatched reach, we are uniquely positioned to continue serving this vital audience. Wade and the entire TelevisaUnivision team have created a strong multi-platform media business with world-class quality and breadth of entertainment, news and sports programming."

TelevisaUnivision's presence in San Diego includes operating KLQV 102.9-FM, also known as "Amor 102.9," and KLNV 106.5-FM, also known as "Que Buena." Studios are located in Downtown San Diego at 600 West Broadway. TelevisaUnivision is also affiliated with XEWT-TV Channel 12, which operates a studio in Seaport Village.

Additional radio stations owned by TelevisaUnivision are in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Jose, Austin, Monterey-Salinas-Santa Cruz in California and Beaumont-Port Arthur in Texas.

About 40% of U.S. adults, ages 18 to 29, regularly get their news from TikTok , according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. That's up from 32% a year ago and 9% in 2020.

In a statement, Pew said TikTok, the social media app owned by China-based ByteDance Ltd., is the fastest growing social media platform in the share of Americans who regularly turn to it for news. In just four years, the share of all adults, ages 18 to 68 and older, who say they regularly get news from TikTok has grown about fivefold, from 3% in 2020 to 17% in 2024.

Pew said TikTok users are more likely to get news from TikTok than Facebook users are to get news from Facebook. Still, TikTok users are less likely than users of X (formerly Twitter) to get news on that site.

The survey results, announced last week, were based on a survey conducted from July 15 to Aug. 4 of more than 10,650 U.S. adults. It has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 1.2% points.

Pew's survey was published a day after TikTok reportedly faced pushback in a federal court over its efforts to stop a law that requires the app to divest from its Chinese ownership or face a ban in the U.S.

The U.S. government alleges TikTok, primarily known for short-form video sharing, allows Beijing to collect data and spy on users. It also says TikTok is a conduit to spread propaganda. China and the company strongly deny these claims. TikTok has until January to find a buyer or face the ban.