WPP buys Mash to bolster Kantar Consulting operation

Just days after pooling its four divisions into one, WPP’s data division Kantar Consulting, has acquired London-based brand strategy and growth consultancy Mash.
Co-founded in 2010 by former Kantar chief Conrad Persons, Mash offers four key services – insight, growth strategy, innovation and brand transformation – and works for major brands including Johnson & Johnson, Samsung, Unilever, PepsiCo, Vodafone and Warner Music Group. It recently opened a New York office.
The agency will join Kantar Consulting’s newly formed brand and marketing practice, whose head Bart Michels said: “We see great potential in adding Mash’s creative storytelling and data integration skills to our existing capabilities.
“Our investment in Mash will bring real value to our respective and shared clients. Building on the launch of Kantar Consulting earlier this week, this investment illustrates our determination to rewrite the rules of demand and help switch on growth for our clients.”
Persons added: “Kantar Consulting’s investment provides us with more opportunity to scale our impact, both geographically and in offer development terms to help take our core proposition to the next level.
“We have always been a company who work with the broadest ecosystem of partners, and today’s news is a natural extension of that strategy. We see big growth opportunities in working closely with all Kantar businesses.”