Worldwide direct and targeted marketing company, Harte-Hanks – which is headquartered in North America – has just announced that it acquired Information Arts (UK) Limited yesterday, August 31.  

Information Arts, based in High Wycombe, is a provider of data-driven marketing insight to business-to-business marketers across Europe – and increasingly across the globe.  

It will operate as a business unit of Harte-Hanks Direct Marketing under Information Arts’ current leadership of Simon Lawrence and Gary Selby, who jointly founded their company in 2000. Information Arts and Harte-Hanks’ other marketing offerings in Europe will be combined to deliver multichannel ‘Demand Center’ solutions – integrated lead generation and lead management programs.  

The two companies have been working together since 2007 and deliver marketing solutions to a number of clients. Information Arts already uses the Harte-Hanks Trillium Software System postal and geocode tables to facilitate high data quality and integrates the Harte-Hanks Ci Technology Database in some of its data offerings.    

Robert Howells, group managing director of Harte-Hanks Direct Marketing international businesses, said: "We believe that Information Arts is one of the best data analytics and insight companies in Europe and we are delighted to have Simon and Gary on our team. All over the world we are committed to providing our customers with more and better insight on their marketing data and effectiveness, which will enable them to do true multichannel marketing. Information Arts will help us do that."

Simon Lawrence, CEO of Information Arts, said of the acquisition: "Harte-Hanks is an impressive multinational business with a prolific client list that spans a diverse range of industries and locations, so becoming a part of Harte-Hanks is a natural step forward.  Information Arts will continue to work from the position of providing the best quality independent marketing data and insight, and we expect to continue to see the business grow organically by attracting top name clients."

Gary Selby, managing director at Information Arts added: "Since founding Information Arts, we have been dedicated to providing the very best service for our clients. The increasingly international way we work means that working with the other businesses of Harte Hanks will be of huge benefit to new and existing clients and we are looking forward to a successful partnership in the future."