Services: Green Square

The move will allow iris to extend its global management consultancy capabilities into pricing strategy, and deliver more bottom-line value and profitability impact for clients, and gives iris an HQ in Toronto with franchise agreements in Europe and APAC and a portfolio of 50 clients. Since acquiring management consultancy iris Concise in 2008, iris has worked hard to challenge the traditional agency / client dynamic, from funding product innovation through its incubator The iris Nursery, acquiring Datalytics to generate more robust methods of evaluation and targeting, and building global content hubs years before content became a buzzword. With constant evolution in its DNA, iris today blends the best in creativity and consultancy and is built from a diverse mix of specialisms that can flex around specific business opportunities. And while most agencies will touch on anything from product, promotion, and placement to audiences and routes to market – very few are able to influence price, despite it having the biggest potential impact on profitability. Clients are waking up to the realization that 1% extra on price could increase profitability by 12% and in both B2B & B2C industries price differentiation is critical to purchasing decisions. Pricing Solutions’ bespoke approach coupled with thought leadership and proprietary methodology satisfies a client need, which often goes unaddressed. The addition of Pricing Solutions brings includes over 20 years of experience with Fortune 500 companies and expertise in the pricing industry – which could be a game-changing mix for brands. Ian Millner, CEO, iris: “There is absolute chaos in the market at the moment. Every week a new story comes out about agencies feeling the pressure, and the client trust crisis. Agencies need to think much harder about what skills they need in order to be more relevant, valuable and distinctive. Pricing is one of the most important elements of a client’s business and one of the things that make the biggest impact on a client’s profitability…” “We are excited to be working with Pricing Solutions’ team of world renowned experts, and we are confident that we will be able to extend their skills across our entire network. We are also really looking forward to extending the iris brand into the Canadian market.” Founded in 1993 by Paul Hunt, and with a head office in Toronto and franchise agreements in Europe and Asia-Pacific, Pricing Solutions is one of the leading pricing consultancy’s, dramatically improving client’s profitability and market share through improved pricing. Paul Hunt, who will stay on as President of the company, authored ‘World Class Pricing: The Journey’ published in 2013 and has been rated the top speaker at PPS Pricing Conference on regular occasions. Paul Hunt, President, Pricing Solutions: “It’s not a rarity for a client to come forward with a brief around pricing – ‘we want to be worth the premium consumers are paying – how can we justify that price’. Collaborating with the experts at iris Concise – we will have a clear and valuable role in advising clients how best to price. As far as I’m aware – there is no other agency network in the world that will be able to deliver what we can for clients – and generate as much impact on profitability. It is a very exciting partnership.” iris will be rolling out the Pricing Solutions proposition globally, with pricing hubs set up in iris Concise teams across 14 iris offices. The Pricing Solutions name and brand will not be changed – and the business will continue to operate through its current outlets. The company has shown over 10% annual growth average in last three years.

Founded in 2008 by Mark Webster and Richard Armstrong, Kameleon is one of a new breed of agencies using content, analytics and technology to change the way that brands connect with consumers. The agency provides market leading content marketing services to brands such as Danone, Quorn, RockCorps, Celebrity Cruises, Lee Cooper, National Citizens Service, City Index and Sony and was named Content Marketing Agency of the Year by the Drum Network in 2015. Kameleon brings a highly experienced and talented team into the Group with cutting-edge creative and marketing skills, adding award-winning content strategy, story-telling, production and marketing capabilities across video, social and mobile platforms. It has developed a scalable proprietary suite of analytics and project management tools to help clients create bespoke content marketing roadmaps and help plan, manage and optimise campaigns, in line with Be Heard’s results-driven philosophy. Creating opportunities to expand the range of services that Be Heard can offer clients as part of the enlarged Group, Kameleon is already partnering successfully with Be Heard’s existing businesses digital media planning and buying agency agenda21 and UX, design and build specialist MMT Digital, highlighting the opportunities and synergies between the three Group agencies. Richard Armstrong, Co founder of Kameleon comments  “Green Square have been pivotal in helping Kameleon through the acquisition process from beginning to end. We cannot speakly highly enough of Barry and Andrew, with whom we have worked very closely. Their enthusiasm and energy is infectious, and their expert guidance has been invaluable. Both Barry and Andrew have been brilliant sounding boards, enabling us to make good decisions at the right times. Ultimately, Green Square have helped us find the right home for Kameleon, and the right partner to help us take the business to the next level. And we could not have done that without them. On top of that, they are a great team and have been an absolute pleasure to work with!” Peter Scott, Executive Chairman at Be Heard “Digital content is a natural next step for Be Heard as we develop our range of services across the digital ecosystem and Kameleon is precisely the sort of agency we want – fast-growing, at the heart of digital transformation and ready to work with us to take their business to the next level.” Barry Dudley, Partner Green Square “We are very proud to have worked with Mark and Richard on this deal. Their drive, passion and belief in their business and it’s people is inspiring and alongside their kindred spirits at Be Heard we are looking forward to seeing disruptive and market defining work – with a genuine and deep understanding of the role for content, Kameleon will be at the forefront of the convergence of marketing, tech and e-commerce.” Read More

Over the past 12 months, thorough post-acquisition integration planning between the two parties, led by corporate finance advisors Green Square, has played a huge role in the success and optimisation of the deal. Integration of the management team and structure going forward was key to the success of the acquisition for both people-focused organisations. The importance of the development and cohesion of the team, as well as client service, are core values that both companies share. Matt Phelan Co-founder 4Ps comments: “I would like to personally thank the Green Square team for helping us find the perfect partner for this transaction. Our first meeting with Green Square was back in 2011 when we put together a 5 year growth plan based around our mission of striving for personal (each person at 4Ps), client & agency growth. Having managed to deliver that growth plan early thanks to the amazing team at 4Ps Marketing, it became very apparent that our staff and clients wanted to continue our growth internationally. It was Green Square’s knowledge and ability to work cross-border that helped push the deal through during a rather uncertain economic climate.” “We wanted to find a partner with a global footprint that fitted our culture but still had an independent ethos that means so much to our clients and staff. Having met the NetBooster senior team, we immediately felt we had found a group of entrepreneurs with a vision to disrupt the agency space. I am now very excited to meet all our new colleagues and clients for the next step on our journey.” Chris Hyland, Co-Founder, 4Ps adds: “I would like to thank the fantastic team at Green Square for the excellent work and support in getting to this stage. It goes without saying that the knowledge and nous of working with Andrew, Tony and the rest of the team is a given, but their experience in these types of transactions and how it can work in the long term for everyone’s benefit is clearly also crucial.” Andrew Moss, Partner Green Square said: “It was an absolute pleasure to work with Chris, Matt, Paul and the team at 4Ps. It is rare to come across such a well-developed business that has maintained its strong entrepreneurial culture. It was the latter that very much attracted NetBooster, itself led by entrepreneurs. A meeting of minds and strategy completed the match that will make a real difference to their client’s businesses. We look forward to seeing the continued success of both parties during the next stage of their journey.” Read more