The Cello Group is pooling three of its marketing agencies – Tangible, Blonde Digital and Instinctiv – and rebranding them under its new Signal brand in a move which sees Tangible executive creative director Jonathan Spooner taking on a consultancy role within the business.
It is claimed that a more unified management and financial structure will also enable closer collaboration between Signal and its sister agencies Brightsource and Opticomm Media.
The new management team includes three managing partners, Opticomm managing director Spencer Stratford (pictured, far left), Brightsource managing partner Emily Gore (second from left) and Olly Guest (far right), who joined the business from Proximity earlier this year.
Cello has owned Blonde Digital for a decade, having bought a controlling stake in the agency in 2006.
Meanwhile, Tangible was formed in 2008 by a major rebranding exercise which saw the demise of Target Direct, Navigator Responsive Advertising and CCHM:Ping. Navigator and Farm Communications were united as Tangible Response, CCHM:Ping switched to Tangible Financial, and Talking Numbers rebranded Tangible Data.
They were all grouped under the trimmed down Tangible brand three years ago, while Instinctiv was also formed in 2013, when it was spun out of Brightsource.
The new agency will employ over 200 people across Edinburgh, London and Cheltenham. Clients include Lloyds Banking Group, npower, the British Heart Foundation, Nando’s, National Galleries of Scotland, Scottish Friendly, and The Royal British Legion. It is not known how many job cuts have been made.
Spooner (pictured, second from right) has worked for Cello since the April 2003, having joined the group when it bought CCHM: Ping, where he was creative director. Following the rebrand to Tangible, he worked at Tangible Financial but was handed the role of group ECD in 2013. Prior to that he had spells at IMC, Smith Bundy, Wunderman, Y&R and WWAV (now Rapp).
Cello Signal chief executive John Rowley said: “We’re creating Signal because the marketing disciplines we provide are increasingly influencing each other, and our clients need us to be able to offer wider and more connected solutions to their problems.”
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