Oracle buys Vitrue in a deal that could be worth $300M

Marketing hardware and software corporation Oracle today announced an agreement to acquire social media management company Vitrue. According to TechCrunch sources, Oracle will pay $300 million for the platform and its team, including CEO Reggie Bradford. The acquisition could lead other large enterprise companies, like Salesforce and SAP, to begin pursuing social CRM companies more aggressively. Overall, the world of social marketing solutions is consolidating as many companies look to provide all-in-one solutions. Last year Adobe bought Efficient Frontier for $400 million not long after Efficient Frontier had bought Context Optional. Platforms like Buddy Media, Involver or Syncapse could be future targets for acquisition by companies looking to add more social media capabilities to their enterprise packages. Vitrue’s software platform has four main components: publishing, app development, social commerce and analytics. Vitrue does not offer its own Facebook ad management tools, though earlier this month the company announced a partnership program that includes ad services and software providers Involved Media, Marin Software, Nanigans, Optimal, SocialCode, Spruce Media and Unified. Vitrue also has a partnership with e-commerce software company ShopIgniter, which gives marketers the option to create a Facebook store, shareable coupons, referral and loyalty incentives, private and time-based sales, and group promotions, among other features. Since launching in 2006, Vitrue has raised $33 million in funding and worked with brands such as McDonald’s, American Express, Frito-Lay and Procter & Gamble. TechCrunch says the company is "nearly profitable" with revenues projected to be about $100 million, though we've heard others in the industry skeptical of this number. Bradford told us in 2010 that the company was profitable that year. Vitrue recently launched a new branding campaign earlier this month designed to emphasize that brands should be using social media to build relationships with customers and not simply collecting Facebook Likes. This package, sent as part of a press campaign to Inside Network's offices, displays the “Like Can Never Replace Love” initiative by including products from brands that Vitrue believes are loved:

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Oracle buys Vitrue in a deal that could be worth $300M

Brittany Darwell

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