Joint venture offers brands 'local at scale' marketing

Brands aiming to tap into consumers’ new love of shopping local have been given a boost with the launch of a new joint venture, which claims it can provide “local at scale” for national companies.

The venture is a partnership between hyper-local data and media specialist Pintarget, set up by Charlie Booth Lockett Makin co-founder Charlie Makkin in 2016, and independent media and marketing services agency The Specialist Works.

The Specialist Works Group (TSW Group) will be the majority stakeholder of the new entity, dubbed Pintarget by The Specialist Works, which aims to meet the increasing demand for hyper-local marketing strategies.

Pintarget is a hybrid geo-data and media business, with an additional specialism in shopper media. It operates across all forms of geo-targetable media and uses data and insight to understand and locate a brand’s key audiences and inform media execution; allowing marketers to focus resource on driving sales and brand fame in the locations that really count.

Makin, who will be managing director of Pintarget by The Specialist Works, welcomed the deal as a perfectly timed springboard for growth.

He said: “The Specialist Works is the perfect partner in that they have a superb culture, are experts in a lot of channels that we need and have fantastic clients that are interested in hyper-local media opportunities.

“We believe there will be significant demand from brands who want a specialist partner to do local marketing more effectively post Covid-19.

“Pintarget’s local planning expertise combined with The Specialist Works’ online video, letterbox marketing and DR expertise, will unlock additional value to retail clients and brands who want bespoke local messages to enhance their national marketing.”

Makin added: “We challenge the preconception in media planning and buying that hyper-local is a bit difficult, and brands should focus on the ‘big stuff’. We can demonstrate significantly improved rates of return on marketing investment and guarantee to reach 20% of a brand’s users who account for 80% of sales with precise messages that motivate them, simply by reducing waste and improving relevance.”

The Specialist Works chief executive Martin Woolley said: “Hyper-local media opportunities are emerging every day, as channels continue to evolve digitally. Pintarget is a brilliant addition to TSW Group as we see ever-increasing demand from brands for locally executed campaigns.

“That has only increased because of lockdown as the world has ‘gone local’.

“Retailers, FMCG brand owners and any business with a geographical footprint face the challenge of how to market effectively without massive wastage. On top of that, Covid-19 means there is any number of new challenges as models adapt, regional lockdowns grow and shrink (and maybe grow again), and consumer habits morph.

“It’s the perfect time to be creating compelling and accessible solutions to do ‘local at scale.’

“This isn’t the type of thing a typical media agency does, but it’s invaluable to many businesses, whether established or starting up. At a time when clients’ needs are evolving at speed, this is a perfect combination for us.”

Woolley and Makin see shopper media as a key opportunity for the new venture, be it in-store, near-store or ecommerce. Their plan is to bring shopper marketing into the mainstream.

Pintarget by The Specialist Works, which remains part-owned by shopper media specialists RMI, will be able to work alongside Connections by The Specialist Works, TSW Group’s ecommerce inserts and sampling marketplace, in a combined offering.

The creation of Pintarget by The Specialist Works is part of TSW Group’s growth strategy of bringing together like-minded businesses that can add value to its client base by either providing expertise in specific capabilities or in combination to provide bespoke end-to-end marketing solutions.

TSW Group is looking at further investments and plans to add more digital execution expertise to its existing online media and data capabilities.

Advisors were Rebecca Glazebrook, PDT Solicitors (for TSW Group) and David Martin, Partner at Simons Muirhead & Burton LLP and Michael Cahill, Partner at Albert Goodman LLP, both for Pintarget.