In an effort to beef up its online talent listings, advertising and
marketing portal BrandEra.com Inc.
this week bought the Black Book
Marketing Group, a publisher of talent source books for advertisers and
marketers.
BrandEra.com (BRND) is paying for the company by issuing two million
shares of its common stock, which was valued at $1 3/4 at Tuesday’s close.
Based on that price, the deal is worth $3.5 million.
The Black Book directories, which help around 30,000 marketing and
advertising professionals every year in choosing photographers,
illustrators, and graphic designers, are basically the offline analogue to
what BrandEra.com is doing online with Portfolios.com and adsGallery.com.
“In becoming part of BrandEra.com, we seized the opportunity to integrate
our know-how with a leader in the ‘new economy’ for the marketing
communications industry,” said Christina Holbrook, president of the Black
Book Marketing Group.
“We’ll be able to offer our creative talent a broad range of digital tools
and new media opportunities with which to enhance their businesses online.”
Holbrook will continue in her role as president of Black Book, and will
also take on the job of vice president of sales for BrandEra.com. Black
Book has been in the traditional publishing business for 30 years and also
has an online service.
“The acquisition of The Black Book offers BrandEra many immediate benefits,
including top line revenues, a strong brand and customer relationships, an
experienced national sales and customer service team, high-end publishing
capabilities, and a significant presence in New York,” said Robert Aronoff,
chief operating officer, BrandEra.com.