KPMG has made it first agency move in Australia, acquiring customer experience agency UDKU.
UDKU was established in 2013 by former M&C Saatchi heads Mark Timmins and Colin Jowell, and Kon Marinis, who previously worked at IdeaWorks.
Based in Sydney, the trio join KPMG’s rapidly expanding customer, brand and marketing advisory business (CBMA) along with their team of 10 staff.
KPMG, along with other consultancy players like PwC, Accenture and Deloitte, has been bolstering its creative credentials launching a CMO Advisory board last year and luring top marketers to the business.
Jowell says KPMG's investment now allows UDKU to "scale up" its customer experience innovation at a time where change and disruption is constant.
With a focus on behavioural economics and neuroscience, Timmins says UDKU specialises in transforming start-ups into households names, referencing the agency's bold work for Airtasker.
“Our solutions address specific business issues through the lenses of customer and staff experience. We provide holistic customer experience problem-solving, with the security of fact-based evidence and the ability to practically go to market,” he says.
KPMG partner in charge of CBMA Paul Howes says UDKU is a birthday present for the venture as it approaches a year since its launch.
"It’s been a massive success. CBMA is producing some stellar results for clients, and enjoying strong double digit growth.”
The acquisition follows the 2017 purchase of research and insights business Acuity. It's one of the first agency moves made by KPMG in this market and follows the recent trend of consultancy acquisitions in the marketing and advertising space.
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