Dentsu Aegis Network acquires Forbes Consulting Group

Dentsu Aegis Network today announces the acquisition of Forbes Consulting Group, a leading full-service consumer insight firm headquartered in the US that provides deep insight into the emotional motivations that drive consumer behaviour. The acquisition of Forbes Consulting Group will bring Forbes’ patented suite of applied neuroscience methods, MindSight® emotional assessment technologies, into the network’s portfolio of industry-leading consumer insights tools.

Headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts and founded in 1985 by David Forbes, PhD, the firm specialises in providing deep psychological insights into a brand’s current customers and its overall marketplace through both quantitative and qualitative research and analysis. Its patented MindSight® tool was first introduced in scholarly journals in 2011 and is now used by many major brands. It uses groundbreaking non-cognitive techniques to identify the underlying and often unconscious motivations that govern consumer behaviour and to measure the extent to which a brand’s communications and customer experience are activating these motivations.

Forbes Consulting Group will become part of Copernicus, Dentsu Aegis Network’s data-driven marketing strategy consultancy, with Forbes Consulting Group’s founder David Forbes taking the position of Chief Innovation Officer of Copernicus.

“Data and consumer insights continue to transform core business processes and decision-making for our clients,” said Rob Horler, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network US.“The addition of Forbes Consulting Group to both Copernicus and Dentsu Aegis Network strengthens our ability to innovate and transform complex consumer data into strong business solutions, and allows us to move with speed and precision to help our clients grow.”

"This acquisition represents an important component of our strategy to provide to clients a thorough, and actionable, understanding of what and why consumers will buy, and how companies can dramatically improve their marketing and innovation strategies,” said Peter Krieg, President and CEO of Copernicus. “Forbes Consulting Group’s expertise in deep consumer insights will advance our capabilities significantly, and the synergies between our companies present a strong value proposition for our clients.”

“We are thrilled to be joining Copernicus and Dentsu Aegis Network. Our shared vision for the data-driven future of marketing, as well as our complementary sets of tools, capabilities, and values, makes this is a perfect match, and will increase our collective ability to guide better business and marketing decisions by our clients,” said David Forbes, Founder, Forbes Consulting Group.

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For further information contact:

Belle LenzRegional Communications Director, AmericasT: +1 646 742 5029E:belle.lenz@dentsuaegis.com

Kirsten DoddyGlobal Head of Corporate CommunicationsT: +44 207 070 7751E:Kirsten.doddy@dentsuaegis.com

Notes to Editors:

About Dentsu Aegis Network

Part of Dentsu Inc., Dentsu Aegis Network is made up of eight global network brands - Carat, Dentsu, Dentsu media, iProspect, Isobar, mcgarrybowen, Posterscope and Vizeum and supported by its specialist/multi-market brands including Amnet, Amplifi, Data2Decisions, Mitchell Communications (PR), psLIVE and 360i. Dentsu Aegis Network is Innovating the Way Brands Are Built for its clients through its best-in-class expertise and capabilities in media, digital and creative communications services. Offering a distinctive and innovative range of products and services, Dentsu Aegis Network is headquartered in London and operates in 110 countries worldwide with over 23,000 dedicated specialists. 

About Forbes Consulting Group

The Forbes Consulting Group is a strategic and innovative market research company providing global clients with deeper levels of insight about emotions and motivations - and helping them gain strategic market advantage on the strength of these insights. Throughout its history, Forbes Consulting Group has become a valued resource for Fortune 500 companies worldwide, with a focus on financial services, CPG, retail, advertising and pharmaceuticals. The FCG service portfolio combines qualitative and quantitative research, consultation and ideation. For more information, including the opportunity to receive a demo of their flagship products, MindSight® Motivational Profiling, Mindsight® Mobile or MindSight® Experiential Discovery, or to learn more about Dr. Forbes’ new book, “The Science of Why,” which will be released in June, 2015, please contact sales@forbesconsulting.com and follow the company on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.