Collective Bias of Rogers Sold to North Carolina-based Inmar Inc.

North Carolina-based retail technology firm Inmar Inc., through its directly owned subsidiary Carolina Promotions Services Inc., announced Thursday (Nov. 17) it has acquired shopper marketing agency Collective Bias of Rogers.

Inmar is based in Winstom-Salem and has more than 4,000 employees in North America. Collective Bias was founded in 2009 and has 145 employees based in offices in Chicago, Cincinnati, Minneapolis, New York City, San Francisco and Seattle.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Collective Bias will retain its name and operate as its own entity, according to a news release. President and CEO Bill Sussman will retain the title of president of Collective Bias, take on additional responsibilities as a senior vice president at Inmar and report directly to Inmar Chairman and CEO David Mounts.

“Inmar’s vast experience in technology-enabled marketing services and data sciences will enable our next phase of growth and innovation,” Sussman said in a statement. “Combining our social engagement data with Inmar’s retail promotion and POS data will create combined shopper marketing solutions that are even more compelling for our customers and give us the ability to provide a holistic solution for corporate brand and media buying agencies.”

New York-based Inc. magazine ranked Collective Bias the second-fastest growing company based in Arkansas in its annual Inc. 5000 list, published in September. Rankings are based on how fast a company’s revenue grew in a three-year period. To qualify for the 2016 list, a company must have generated at least $100,000 in revenue in 2012 and more than $2 million in 2015. Collective Bias experienced revenue growth of 409 percent in the past three years, with $33.7 million in revenue in 2015.

Collective Bias uses proprietary technology to harness the power of consumer recommendation and endorsement across thousands of websites and millions of social media connections to support brands and retailers. In 2015, the company generated 2 billion impressions for some of the biggest national brands and retailers.

”As shopper buying behavior continues to evolve, particularly among the coveted Millennial market, smart brands must look beyond more traditional marketing efforts and meet shoppers where they are – which is increasingly on social platforms,” Mounts said in a statement. “We have shown that great content along with optimized promotions rooted in shopper behavior data is a winning formula for shoppers, brands and retailers.  We are impressed with Collective Bias’ strong leadership and the business they have built. With this acquisition, we gain an impressive technology platform, social measurement data, and an elite community of influencers.”