At the main strategic session of the National Advertising Forum (NAF8), the Igronik Group of Companies announced a new M&A deal - the acquisition of a majority stake in the communication group of Affect and DARK Creative Agency agencies.

The Igronik Group of Companies announced at NAF8 the purchase of a majority stake in the communication agencies Affect and DARK Creative Agency.

Affect is a full-service creative digital marketing agency with more than 20 years of history and many awards. DARK is a creative agency with extensive experience in complex markets, which has been promoting pharmaceutical, alcohol and tobacco brands, as well as FMCG and other products for more than five years.

"We joined the capital of the Affect and Dark group of agencies, acquired a majority share, and now they are part of our large team. This is a new, invaluable and unique experience - both a challenge and a help for us. Affect is one of the most titled creative digital agencies in Russia with a 20-year history, they are in a sense pioneers of digital marketing in our country, they actually created viral marketing, and their viral works were included in books and textbooks on marketing" - said Nikita Pipko, CEO of the Igronik Group of Companies.

Ilya Korneev, managing director of the Affect and DARK Creative Agency communications group, added on the sidelines of NRF8: "The main advantage of our association is that we are very different. Our products, approach to work, and expertise differ, but that's exactly the advantage — we complement each other perfectly. Despite the fact that we remain an independent agency, we will have access to very serious media expertise, resources, and powerful corporate practices. In turn, we will bring our strong creative product, smart communication strategies, and a special humane approach to customer service to the partnership.

The first joint projects have shown very high efficiency, so now the synergy of our agencies will help us together take a larger market share, become even more valuable and attractive to potential customers and investors."

In his speech on the Day of Strategic Initiatives of NAF8, Nikita Pipko, CEO of Igronika, shared the holding's development strategy for the near future: among the priority business tasks are the development of e-commerce and retail media tools for customers, in-depth work with influencer marketing, improvement of customer service, development of own technological products based on AI.

"We learn from our customers. All that we have achieved is, first of all, the lessons that our clients have taught us. We are trying to anticipate their request and develop serviceability. This year we have created a new division - we have been dealing with e-com and bloggers for quite a long time, and now we will develop our own tools and practices," said Nikita Pipko, CEO of the Group.

He spoke about the management structure of the company, the new modern and technological office and how the agency has managed to preserve its identity and unique handwriting for 33 years of existence, to change while remaining true to itself and its values. "Transformation is about change and permanence.  We did not come up with this philosophical maxim, but it is this thesis that reflects our professional principles."