Marketo Acquires Crowd Factory

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Marketo, the developer of a marketing automation software platform, has acquired Crowd Factory. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

"Social marketing campaigns and marketing automation have been like the proverbial two ships passing in the night, with most social marketing tools sitting in silos disconnected from mainstream marketing processes. Today we have changed that game," said Marketo CEO Phil Fernandez in a prepared statement.

The Crowd Factory platform is designed to help marketers expand their social and word-of-mouth programs. According to the company, the platform allows marketers to add social applications and messages quickly to every channel - Facebook Pages, Twitter, and LinkedIn feeds, landing pages, websites, banner ads, and emails.

Customers of Crowd Factory, which is based in San Francisco, include Molson Coors, Sony Music, Jive Software, Quickoffice, and British Telecom. 

Marketo's employs about 280; Crowd Factory, 20.

The deal represents San Mateo, CA-based Marketo's first acquisition.

Crowd Factory CEO Sanjay Dholakia's title - and role - at the merged company is to be determined, a company spokewoman said.