Content Marketing Co. Acquired by Major Valley Marketing Agency

Digital marketing and branding agency LaneTerralever is acquiring Convince & Convert, a global leader in content marketing and customer-experience, founded by industry pioneer Jay Baer. By combining the practices of the two agencies, companies will be able to access the full scope of services needed to guide the customer-experience journey, from initial insights and strategy to a complete portfolio of creative executions, under the guidance of one, cohesive team.

LaneTerralever also is launching a collective called Experience Dynamic, which will be the first truly integrated group of companies, brought together to create winning integrated customer experiences for your business. Convince & Convert will fall under Experience Dynamic as its inaugural acquisition. Both LaneTerralever, one of the southwest’s largest full-service marketing agencies, and Convince & Convert will continue to work with clients independently, and they will join forces to offer a complete portfolio of CX services, under the Experience Dynamic umbrella.

Baer will sit on the advisory board of Experience Dynamic as he continues to lead key client relationships at Convince & Convert, alongside its team of 14 global marketing and CX strategists. Kelly Santina, Convince & Convert’s new President, will continue to lead the agency, which handles CX, marketing and content strategy and planning for such clients as Oracle, Cisco, Visit California, Purdue University and Sam’s Club.

Headshot from L to R: Andy Parnell, President, LaneTerralever; Kelly Santina President, Convince & Convert; Chris Johnson, CEO and Founder, LaneTerralever; and Jay Baer, Founder, Convince & Convert

Chris Johnson, CEO and founder of LaneTerralever, which counts the Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at San Manuel, TruGreen, Toyota, Western Alliance Bancorporation, and The University of Arizona Global Campus among its clients, is adding the role of CEO of the new Experience Dynamic. With Convince & Convert as Experience Dynamic’s founding partner consultancy, Johnson and team will continue to acquire inter-related agencies, across data management, event-marketing and other disciplines, to form a convergence of CX strategic and marketing companies and will be turnkey advisors for brands.

“I have admired Jay and his team for years and no consultancy has a better understanding of how to treat customers in today’s fragmented environment,” said Johnson. “We’re excited to join forces to help CMOs and CTOs tackle what are the greatest challenges of marketers today, customer retention and growth.

Baer, who is the author of six best-selling books on marketing and customer experience, and an inductee into the professional speaking hall of fame, said: “Customer experience marketing without strategy is a recipe for frustration and ineffectiveness. Conversely, customer experience strategy without execution tends to be a lot of ‘holding hands by the campfire’ exercises. To make a meaningful difference, you have to combine both. Combining strategy and execution in one place better serves today’s CMOs who are responsible for guiding an increasingly complex customer journey.”

Utilizing consumer data in a purposeful way will be a main objective of Experience Dynamic, noted Johnson, a former industrial engineer. “So much of the focus we see today is on the pre-sales customer experience. This shouldn’t come as a surprise: 80% of CMOs today are charged with leading CX transformation, along with delivering on growth. However, the reality is that to truly deliver exceptional experiences change must be made across the entire enterprise. I’m excited to be building a collective that is prepared to help business leaders tackle customer experience transformation by guiding our customers in their evolutions toward truly integrated CX transformation.”

Experience Dynamic is launching as digital transformation has accelerated, often outpacing brands capabilities to fulfill promises. A recent study by Twilio estimated that six years of digital transformation had been condensed into months, as part of the COVID-19 lockdowns. swept across industries. Meanwhile, customer satisfaction has been declining since 2018 and remains weak, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

“The data show that marketing departments are increasingly responsible for the entirety of the customer experience,” said Baer. “Now is the right time to bring together these two disciplines, with the understanding that it is a full-line process of research, strategy, execution and metrics.”