MARCO acquires Carmela, the branded content production company founded by Antonio Resines
MARCO reinforces its commitment to the production of content for brands with the acquisition of a stake in Carmela Produce, a company specialising in the creation of fiction and entertainment to connect with consumers, according to DIRCOMFIDENCIAL.
Carmela Produce was founded in September 2020 by actor Antonio Resines -current shareholder-, Jorge Martínez -CEO- and Paco Baró -partner and CEO-. With eight employees, it develops audiovisual production projects, inbound marketing, spots, audioposts, fashion films and documentaries, among others. The company has worked for IKEA, Carrefour, Correos, Creditea and Antena 3.
With this operation, MARCO will reinforce its video department and Carmela will use the communication agency to multiply the diffusion of its contents.
MARCO is a communication firm with an important video department, which produces an average of 12-15 contents per day and is directed by Diego Mansilla. With this acquisition, it aims to add resources and quality to its audiovisual work, with the objective of offering a high range, with the advantage of producing them in house.
Didier Lagae, founder and CEO of MARCO, told DIRCOMFIDENCIAL that “we see a clear opportunity in the market. With COVID-19, the whole video format and creativity has been accelerated. Communication and public relations agencies should no longer base their work on press releases, they have to evolve towards a 360º model. This is what we are looking for at MARCO, where we already have 200 consultants in 17 offices.
Carmela Produce will not limit itself to working for MARCO clients. It will maintain its own portfolio of advertisers and will continue to operate under its own brand. In fact, the production company will continue to be located in its own headquarters, which it now has to move to a larger one due to its rapid growth.
For Jorge Martínez, CEO of Carmela Produce, the union with MARCO is a “winning bet”, especially at a time when “it is increasingly difficult to go it alone in a world of communication where there are so many disciplines”. The executive maintains that “MARCO is a puzzle and Carmela is a key piece to provide our clients and their clients with an integrated branded content strategy”. Carmela especially values the diffusion that its new partner can provide to its projects. “It makes much more sense to rely on a communication agency for the dissemination of content than a paid media“, he corroborates. In fact, the CEO of Carmela reveals in declarations to this media that “we have felt the absence of a MARCO in many of our projects because we lacked the basic element of dissemination”.
49% growth by 2021
This corporate operation carried out by MARCO is added to other important ones that the communications firm has been undertaking in recent months, such as the acquisition of 51% of the shares of Africa Communications Media Group last November, or the launch of a foundation aimed, among other social issues, at promoting the employment of young Africans, which is expected to be launched in September.
Last year was one of the biggest in MARCO’s history, with a turnover of more than 13 million euros, a year-on-year growth of 49%.
