Increased below-the-line spending and the growing tendency to outsource sales and promotion services are driving dramatic growth at the Mosaic Group, a Toronto-based sales and marketing services company.

Since the beginning of this year, Mosaic has thrust onto the top 10 list of sales-services agencies in the United States with the purchase of four u.s. companies – the most recent being California-based Super Marketing Inc., in late July – to complement its existing u.s. business.

Michael Preston, chairman, ceo and co-founder of the company – established in 1977 as Marketing & Promotion Group – says the increasing demand for ‘field marketing’ is a key impetus for Mosaic’s expansion.

Field marketing encompasses a broad range of activities, including sampling, sales promotions, event marketing, merchandising, even sales, for which the field marketing agency will hire and train a dedicated staff of representatives. Applications can include business-to-business or direct-to-consumer activities.

Preston says having access to these services on an outsourced basis is very important to companies at a time when they are looking to concentrate on their core competencies.

Jay Gordon, ceo of Mosaic’s Sales & Merchandising Group, says another reason for Mosaic’s expansion is that clients are looking for global field marketing solutions.

‘Not that we would necessarily manage the business everywhere around the world, but we now have Microsoft as a client in Canada with S&MG, in the u.s. with tmg, and in the u.k. with a company called ems.

Gordon says when s&mg began, it was working primarily with packaged goods clients such as Pepsi-Cola, but in recent years it has developed expertise in the travel and high-tech sectors. For clients Microsoft, Compaq and Epson, for example, s&mg has put together dedicated teams of representatives to train retail staff and handle merchandising. For Cantel, the company mobilized a team of 700 to generate cellular and pcs sales at the retail level.

Mosaic companies include Mosaic Direct; McGill Multimedia in Canada; s&mg in Canada and the u.s.; Field Source, The Merchandising Group, Channel Solutions Group and Super Marketing in the u.s.; and NR Consulting and Europa Merchant Services (ems) in the u.k.