Kantar acquires Blackwood Seven to grows AI capabilities

Kantar has clinched its sixth acquisition in three years, with the purchase of AI marketing advisory Blackwood Seven. Kantar will use the addition to boost its reputation as a leading brand in ROI measurement.

In an increasingly digitalised market, large consulting projects are increasingly framed around enhancing the customer experience. As a result, consultancies have spent the last decade accruing strategy execution capabilities, and firms which can help quantify their impact, alongside their traditional advisory models.

The latest acquisition from Kantar feeds into this trend, with the professional services firm having purchased Blackwood Seven, a Copenhagen headquartered marketing measurement and optimisation company. The deal, which is anticipated to conclude by the end of April, strengthens Kantar’s marketing ROI measurement – something which not only aids its ability to monitor its own impact, but gives heightened access to a market forecast to be valued at $3 billion by 2024.

Blackwood Seven will join Kantar’s Analytics Practice, led by Chris Petranto. The news marks a further investment and growth of Kantar’s AI capabilities, and accelerates the firm’s plans to bring a Unified Marketing Measurement solution to its global client base.

Commenting on the acquisition, Ted Prince, Chief Product Officer at Kantar, stated, “Kantar’s well-established credentials in ROI analysis are bolstered significantly by the addition of Blackwood Seven’s technology solution. The move will give Kantar’s global roster of clients access to the more granular analytics it provides, alongside the strategic guidance we are known for.”

Founded in 2013 by Henrik Hasselbalch Busch, Thomas Bertelsen and former CEO Carl Erik Kjærsgaard, Blackwood Seven is a leading provider of marketing effectiveness and planning solutions. The company offers scalable, AI-powered, cookie-less unified marketing measurement globally – with advanced analytics producing marketing ROI insights at a granular level. The firm’s clients include Honda, Suncorp and Telenor – who already use the solution for budget setting, competitor analysis, reducing customer acquisition cost, measuring brand equity and minimising customer exits.

Hasselbalch Busch, CEO of Blackwood Seven, added, “Blackwood Seven’s solution gives marketers a way to bring granularity and depth to measuring the effects of their marketing investments, answering the need for a solution to guide both strategic and tactical decisions. Kantar is uniquely placed to scale the offer and enable more businesses around the world to benefit from its many applications.” 

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal represents Kantar’s sixth acquisition since Bain Capital took a majority shareholding in December 2019.