ET Medialabs joins McKinsey in latest acquisition

McKinsey has announced its acquisition of ET Medialabs (ETML), a performance marketing and analytics agency based in India. The move aims to strengthen the company's Digital Marketing Operations and Technology (DMOT) capabilities, adding 60 analytics and marketing professionals from ETML to its global workforce.

With this acquisition, the company now has over 200 digital marketing analysts, performance marketers, and data scientists spread across two global hubs in Asia and Latin America. The collaboration seeks to enhance the company's offerings in customer-centric digital marketing.

“Customer first is core to our DNA,” said Raghav Kansal, founder of ETML. “It’s a value we immediately felt was shared by McKinsey and deeply embedded in their culture.”

The acquisition follows a strategic partnership between McKinsey and ETML, during which they conducted 20 pilot tests with over 15 clients across India, Thailand, Indonesia, and Japan. According to McKinsey senior partner Eunjo Chon, “Typically, it takes at least six to 12 months to see impact from digital marketing. We’re seeing it immediately.”

ETML’s proprietary technology, including over 100 analytics frameworks and machine learning models, is expected to enhance the company's ability to optimise ad spend and personalise customer outreach. In a joint project with a Japanese women’s apparel company, McKinsey and ETML used real-time insights to adjust budget allocations and target customer segments across multiple platforms.

Kansal noted that ETML’s approach to performance marketing has yielded a 15 per cent reduction in acquisition costs and a fourfold revenue increase for an Indian life insurance company. Similarly, a real estate firm achieved twice the number of leads without increasing its advertising budget.

McKinsey partner Lisa Harkness highlighted the global implications of the deal. “Their deep domain expertise along with McKinsey’s breadth of knowledge brings a unique end-to-end offering to clients, enabling both short- and long-term impact.”

The acquisition builds on the company's 2022 purchase of LOBO, a Latin American digital agency, and aligns with its strategy to scale digital marketing solutions globally. According to the company, 60 per cent of its marketing projects now integrate DMOT capabilities.

“Automation alone isn’t enough,” said McKinsey senior partner Stephan Zimmermann. “Using customer insights to effectively personalise and enable clients to connect with their audience is where we’re most excited to see rapid impact.”

“We pride ourselves on our deep sense of caring and relentless focus on the growth of both our people and our clients,” said Kansal. “This partnership with McKinsey represents a tectonic shift in the trajectory of career growth for our people with infinite learning opportunities and exposure to high-impact projects across some of the biggest companies in the world.”

The McKinsey–ETML collaboration aims to support clients in scaling their digital marketing operations, combining technology, analytics, and strategic insights to drive growth across markets.