Internet marketing agency BlueGlass Interactive has just acquired Voltier Digital, a digital agency specializing in content marketing, infographic creation and data visualization. Voltier, whose clients include eBay, CEO.com, Fanhattan, WellHome, COLOURlovers.com, Greatist, and others, will be relocating its entire six person team to BlueGlass’s Tampa offices immediately. In addition, Voltier’s three founders, Dan Tynski, Nicholas Santillo and Chris Tynski, will hold senior roles on BlueGlass’ production and marketing teams.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The acquisition represents a strategic move for BlueGlass, which currently offers search engine optimization and social media marketing services. Now the company will expand into new areas, including data visualization, infographic production, and kinetic typography, thanks to Voltier.
Although you may not have heard the name Voltier before, you’ve likely come across the company’s work without knowing it. The firm has produced dozens of infographics, which have been posted to numerous tech blogs in the recents months. Subjects have included everything from energy pricing to comic books and more.
BlueGlass was formed in summer 2010 from four companies, 10e20, Search and Social, Brent Csutoras and Second Step Search. Following its October 2010 acquisition of 3 Dog Media, the company claimed it then had five of the top fifteen social media experts in the field.
Explains BlueGlass Co-founder Chris Winfield, content marketing is one of these new “buzzwords,” but the idea has been around forever. “It’s one of those things where now everyone’s interested in it – and these guys [Voltier] have the best systems and the best technology around it out there,” he says. And it’s one of the biggest areas for growth for firms like his, he adds.
“Companies are now caring about putting out content that people want to read, rather than just creating things like ‘brochureware,’ and things like that,” Winfield explains. “Instead of just investing in their blog and blogging strategies, they’re investing in content people will actually want to share. Even if it’s not directly related to selling something, it’s still branding.” (For example, all those darned infographics!)
Self-funded BlueGlass is headquartered in Tampa, Florida with offices in Los Angeles, New York and Australia.