Issue 36

QuinStreet Acquires HomeBuddy for $190M; Bolsters Capabilities of Modernize
On December 3, QuinStreet announced its agreement to acquire HomeBuddy, a digital marketplace platform. The move will bolster QuinStreet’s Modernize home services platform to scale its market reach, diversify acquisition channels, and deliver superior ROI analytics to its contractor partners. “HomeBuddy’s demand-generation capabilities align closely with our performance-focused marketing platform, strengthening the combined platform’s overall capacity and potential for at-scale growth,” said Tim Stevens, COO of QuinStreet. “Home services professionals benefit from increased reach and a broader range of data and tools to run their businesses more effectively.” The deal is anticipated to clear in early 2026, pending regulatory approval.

Survey: CMOs Under Pressure to Deliver Savings Through Headcount Reduction
The three-year conversation about AI’s potential is officially shifting to a demand for realized savings, according to a recent surveyof marketing leaders by executive search firm Spencer Stuart. The Wall Street Journal reports that this pressure is translating directly into staffing expectations, with thirty-six percent of CMOs anticipating headcount reduction over the next 12 to 24 months, citing AI utilization and redundancy elimination as the primary drivers. In related news, advisory firm Teneo notes that sixty-eight percent of CEOs plan to spend more on AI initiatives despite less than half of those initiatives generating a return on the investment.

The LeadsCon Roundup’s Biggest Stories of 2025
2025 generated a number of huge headlines for the industry. Here is a snapshot of some of lead gen’s biggest stories in 2025. In January the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit vacated the much anticipated one-to-one consent rule. In July Senator Ruben Gallego (AZ) proposed a new bill that would require companies to report to the Department of Labor if they move call center operations outside of the United States. In October the industry lost a legend, when Doug Lebda, CEO and founder of LendingTree passed away in Mill Spring, North Carolina. In November Adobe announced its intent to acquire Semrush for $1.9 billion, a move that significantly strengthens its suite of customer experience tools.

PX Lands Former DaBella CMO to Fortify Home Services Capabilities
Earlier this month, Bastian Cowsert joined PX as general manager of home services. Formerly the CMO of home improvement company DaBella, Cowsert posts, “After years sitting on the client side of the table as a CMO, poring over reports and questioning every lead source, I finally get to see how the magic happens on the platform side that operates between brands and the lead ecosystem itself.” He added, “True confession: I've been a PX fanboy since meeting Bas Offers and Frans van Hulle at my first LeadsCon in 2019. Five years of admiring from the sidelines, and now I'm honored to be suited up with a team committed to driving real positive change.” On that note…

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