Data-driven creative, tech and media company MSQ is continuing to strengthen its offering through acquisition by swooping for insights-driven strategy and innovation consultancy The Forge.
Founded in 2013 and led by managing director Steven Melford, the agency has annual revenues of around £4m. It operates a director-only model and works across healthcare and consumer products, retail, fashion, entertainment and finance; key clients include Unilever, Haleon, and Perfetti.
MSQ sees The Forge as a complementary addition to the fold, with the strategic insight skills of the agency and the digital-first approach to insight and strategy of MSQ agency Freemavens creating a client offering harnessing strategy and social science.
It is claimed that access to MSQ’s data-driven technology and tools will supercharge The Forge’s client strategies and MSQ’s broader creative, design, digital and media expertise will enable client conversations to go beyond strategy and into activation.
With 90% of The Forge’s scope being multi-market, MSQ’s ambition to build multi-disciplinary hubs of scale in Europe, the US and Asia, brings expansion opportunities for The Forge, particularly in Amsterdam (where it currently has director presence) and the US, where existing clients are based.
MSQ group chief executive Peter Reid (pictured) said: “The Forge is a brilliant addition to MSQ – the team brings greater depth and breadth to our strategic thinking, unlocks innovation growth opportunities for our clients and provides an opportunity for us to extend the scope of The Forge’s work beyond strategy and into activation harnessing our broader skills particularly in creative, design and digital.”
Steven Melford added: “We’ve had a number of approaches over the years. Any growth partner had to ultimately fit our key criteria of being good people, with a strong cultural fit, a stimulating vision and a platform that would provide growth opportunities for our business, our clients and our team.
“MSQ ticks all the boxes and importantly has a strong track record of allowing entrepreneurial agencies to thrive under its ownership. The increased scope of MSQ’s services, our ability to bring something different to that offering and the global footprint it brings to us is hugely exciting as we collaborate with our new colleagues to see what opportunities we can unlock.
“It’s business as usual at The Forge but supercharged with a bright future ahead.”
MSQ acquired Germany’s leading digital experience agency, UDG, in November last year and leading New York creative agency SPCSHP last October.
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