A recent report that indicated that the $492 billion global social commerce industry is expected to grow three times as fast as traditional ecommerce to $1.2 trillion by 2025 has spotlighted how social platforms have become entry points for everything users do online from accessing news, entertainment, communication and now shopping. This growth is predicted to be driven primarily by Gen Z and Millennial social media users, accounting for 62% of global social commerce spend by 2025.

According to the Accenture report dubbed, “Why Shopping’s Set for a Social Revolution,” social commerce means a person’s entire shopping experience — from product discovery to the check-out process — takes place on a social media platform. Just under two thirds (64%) of social media users surveyed said they made a social commerce purchase in the last year, which Accenture estimates to reflect nearly 2 billion social buyers globally.

Elsewhere in mergers, acquisitions and partnership news that made headline this week, Microsoft Corp.has announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), a company in game development and interactive entertainment content publisher. This acquisition will accelerate the growth in Microsoft’s gaming business across mobile, PC, console and cloud and will provide building blocks for the metaverse.

Microsoft will acquire Activision Blizzard for $95.00 per share, in an all-cash transaction valued at $68.7 billion, inclusive of Activision Blizzard’s net cash.

GrowForce, a growth marketing agency which has made its name in the Benelux, has joined Upthrust, one of the 5 driving forces behind Customer Collective. The integration of GrowForce with Upthrust makes the latter a European market leader in growth marketing services.

GrowForce has built a solid reputation over the past 3 years as a growth marketing agency in the Benelux. The company has a diverse customer portfolio: with names such as Unilever, P&G, KBC, Nestlé and Ethnicraft, it consists of corporates, start-ups and SMEs.

Global media company ViacomCBS and Nexstar Media Group, Inc. have announced that Nexstar's wholly owned subsidiary, Nexstar Media Inc., and its operating partners have reached comprehensive multi-year agreements to renew the existing CBS Television Network affiliations in 39 markets across the country.

The 39 markets combined reach 14% of the U.S. audience, serving 17.4 million television households. Following three affiliation agreements that were renewed early last year, this agreement completes all of ViacomCBS and Nexstar's affiliation renewals.

NBCUniversal, a global media and entertainment company, has unveiled a ground-breaking new partnership with RTL AdConnect, the international advertising sales house of RTL Group, which will see both brands – for the first time – give each other access to their premium TV and digital inventory assets, unleashing an unparalleled opportunity for marketers globally.

This bilateral, international partnership will open up new advertising opportunities for marketers across the US, Europe and Asia. From today, RTL AdConnect will be able to provide its European clients and partner agencies access to all NBCUniversal-owned & operated premium, brand-safe TV and digital inventory.

In other news, UK companies revised their total marketing budgets up in the fourth quarter of 2021, marking a third successive quarter of expansion, reveals the IPA Bellwether Report.

A net balance of +6.1% of companies upwardly revised their total marketing budgets at the end of last year as recovery efforts from the pandemic continued. That said, amid the emergence of the Omicron strain of COVID-19, heavy supply-chain disruption and strong inflationary pressures, total marketing budget growth slowed from the third quarter of 2021 (net balance of +12.8%).

Last month Belgium-based brewer AB InBev announced the launch of its global purpose— “We dream big to create a future with more cheers”—as well as the consumer-first strategy that will move it from being a category leader to leading category growth.

The company has now announced that it is building on these announcements with the unveiling of our new visual brand identity, which connects with its new purpose and evolved strategy.

The brewer further says its new visual expression better represents who it is, what it stands for, and where it wants to go.

And finally, Yieldmo, an advertising technology company that operates a smart exchange for buyers and sellers, has announced the appointment of Stephen Cutbill in the newly created role of UK General Manager. Stephen will spearhead developing and executing the company’s local strategy, as well as acquiring new clients. The move signals the company’s commitment to international expansion, especially in the UK market.

Bob Koigi is an editor at Marketing Report EU

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