The U.S. lead generation (“lead gen”) agency industry has been experiencing significant merger and acquisition activity driven by a high degree of fragmentation, specialization, strong cash flows, and a growing underlying lead gen market. In a recent survey, 70% of marketers say their lead gen budgets will increase and 34% say their spending will grow by more than 20%. Direct mail, contrary to expectations in the new economy, is performing the best since 2003. Digital advertising now represents almost half of the $208 billion spent on advertising.