Self-service marketing company VerticalResponse acquired social marketing firm Roost, the company said on Dec. 15. VerticalResponse CEO Janine Popick said the acquisition closed yesterday but declined to disclose terms.
As a result of the acquisition, VerticalResponse will integrate Roost’s social media management capabilities with VerticalResponse’s email marketing management platform, allowing marketers to operate their social and email campaigns through one dashboard.
“We released a social media tool earlier this year that enabled our customers to post their email marketing subject lines and their hosted campaigns out to their social networks,” said Popick. She added that “it was almost a natural step” for VerticalResponse to offer the capability for marketers to post “smaller offers or snippets” to their social networks outside of those tied to their email program.
In addition to email and social, VerticalResponse operates self-service platforms for direct mail, online surveys and event marketing. The company’s offerings cater to small businesses and nonprofit organizations that “don’t really have the time to be marketers,” Popick said.
Roost CEO Alex Chang will serve as VP of social platform at VerticalResponse. Roost’s San Francisco office will close and all employees will relocate to VerticalResponse’s San Francisco headquarters on Friday, Popick said.
Whether Roost will retain its brand is “still up for discussion,” said Popick, who added that she is leaning toward Roost being folded into VerticalResponse.
Popick said VerticalResponse considered other companies for acquisition but chose Roost because of the firm’s focus on the small business market.
