MSQ bolsters CX offering with major German acquisition

Data-driven creative, tech and media company MSQ is continuing to raid its acquisition war chest by swooping for German customer experience digital agency UDG (United Digital Group) in a move designed to to create a pan-European digital CX and tech powerhouse.

Founded in 2011, UDG is a €40m revenue CX agency, bringing together customer-centric design and creativity with expertise in engineering and technical delivery for long standing global brands including Porsche, Fendt, Bosch and Vaillant.

It has been part PIA Group, owned by private equity firm Equistone, since 2019 and as part of MSQ its 350-strong team across Germany and Spain will continue to be led by co-managing partners Mathias Reinhardt and Florian Frey.

MSQ’s vision of creating an international digital CX and tech powerhouse will be delivered through collaboration between UDG and MSQ’s 1,500 colleagues across Europe, North America and Asia. UDG’s capabilities will complement MSQ teams delivering digital experiences, products and transformation for clients in the UK and US.

The acquisition of UDG forms part of MSQ’s organic and acquisition growth strategy, backed by investment from leading private equity groups One Equity Partners and LDC, to create multi-disciplinary hubs of scale in Europe, the US and Asia.

The strategy is designed to allow entrepreneurial agencies can thrive, collaborate and provide joined-up thinking to their clients, fusing together data, technology and creativity to create brand momentum.

It is claimed UDG’s own growth goals were aligned with MSQ’s depth and breadth of capabilities – bringing additional skills across data, research and insights, brand strategy, B2B marketing and performance media – together with its international footprint and its collaborative culture.

The move will allow UDG to grow its presence into more markets where its clients operate while presenting opportunities for MSQ’s agencies to expand into Europe.

MSQ global CEO Peter Reid said: “The acquisition of UDG is a bold and significant move for us as we build our customer experience and tech capabilities across digital experience, digital product, digital transformation and digital commerce to deliver for international and global organisations.

“The creation of an international digital customer experience and tech powerhouse, initially in Europe and then rolled out into North America, creates rich opportunities for cross-pollination across our agencies, building momentum, strength and depth in what we can deliver for clients.”

Reinhardt and Frey added: “MSQ’s capabilities, investment and entrepreneurial ethos make it the ideal platform for UDG to truly scale the work we do for our German-based clients on an international scale.

“We admire MSQ’s operating model and its people and look forward to making UDG the best it can be, working collaboratively with our new MSQ colleagues to bring new opportunities, experiences and skills to the benefit of our agency, our team and our clients.”

MSQ executive director Ben Rudman will work closely with Reinhardt, Frey and the broader UDG and MSQ teams.

In addition to the automotive and manufacturing sectors, UDG works across financial services and banking, public sector, pharma and healthcare, with key clients including State of Rhineland-Palatinate and Deutsche Telekom.

Its relationship with Porsche spans over 20 years, delivering leading transformational digital customer experience services tailored across global markets, harnessing technology platforms such as Contentful, Sitecore, Crownpeak, Google, Microsoft and Storyblok.

Earlier this month MSQ acquired New York-based creative agency SPCSHP, providing an extra springboard for growth as it more than doubles MSQ’s presence in the States and takes annual revenues there to $100m.