Team ITG has acquired data-driven customer experience agency, Emerald Thinking Group to boost its data strategy capabilities for retail customers, for an undisclosed sum.
Emerald already works alongside ITG on major brands such as Wickes.
The deal will see Emerald’s lead consultants, which include data scientists, data planners, and cultural analysts join ITG’s existing global workforce of 1,200 employees, boosting the company’s data credentials.
As part of the agreement, Emerald director Claire Aldous has been appointed to a newly created role of Head of Data & Analytics at ITG.
Previous collaborations between the two firms have seen the creation of the ‘Missions and Motivations Engine’ – a machine-learning model designed to tap into the behaviour-change side of the brain, which added £7 million of value to Wickes’ bottom line in its first wave of programmes alone and enabled the brand to win a major industry award.
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“The Emerald team are the perfect addition to the ITG family, bringing expertise in human insights, data science and transformational strategies as we further bolster our capabilities for clients,” ITG CEO Sue Mountford.
“Our joint work with Wickes delivered award-winning programmes and this acquisition will allow both teams to continue working together under one brand.
“We are excited to welcome Claire and the team to join us on the next stage of our journey, which will enable us to continue to deliver high impact, data-led transformation programmes and experiences for our clients around the globe.”
Wickes chief marketing and digital officer Gary Kibble added: “The work ITG and Emerald delivered for Wickes was a complete game changer for our brand.
“Many creative agencies come up with the big ideas, but few can deliver it with such excellence. We wholeheartedly congratulate the two companies on this new collaboration and look forward to continuing our relationship in the future.”
