The unstoppable force that is Accenture Song has added yet another company to its ever-growing list – this time Sydney-headquartered market research consultancy Fiftyfive5.
Australian market research and consulting company Fiftyfive5 has been acquired by global professional services giant Accenture after being put up for sale in August.
The deal – undisclosed but reported to be worth around $170 million – will add a team of more than 200 customer insight specialists to digital agency Accenture Song (formerly Accenture Interactive), spread across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore
“Accenture Song is one of the most interesting businesses that’s emerged in our space,” said Fiftyfive5 managing partner Mark Sundquist. “We have a shared belief in the importance of customer insight and intelligence to underpin strategy, creativity and execution to fuel growth for our clients. Joining Accenture Song creates an exciting new opportunity for our team and the chance to deliver greater commercial impact for clients.”
Established in Sydney by Sundquist in 2010 together with fellow partners Karen Phillips and Darren Kemp, Fiftyfive5 has since grown to include outlets in Canberra, Melbourne, Auckland and Singapore, and in 2018 merged with rival research agency GalKal after drawing an investment from Mercury Capital.
Earlier this year the firm picked up The Leading Edge, the company from which Fiftyfive5’s trio of founders originally departed.
According to Fiftyfive5, the firm has conducted research in more than 45 markets for both local and international clients, working extensively with those from the health, consumer goods, financial services, communications, media, travel, and technology sectors. Among other areas, Fiftyfive5 specialises in opportunity identification, brand strategy and positioning, category strategy, innovation, pricing, customer experience, and brand communications tracking.
Mark Green, head of Accenture Song’s A/NZ practice, said; “Clients are struggling to keep up with the pace of change today. They are looking for creative solutions and strategic insights for growth. Fiftyfive5’s addition is timely. The team boasts powerful insights and deep customer understanding, which will significantly enhance Accenture Song’s customer intelligence capability. Importantly, Fiftyfive5 also brings top talent.”
Fiftyfive5 has been growing at a rapid clip in recent times, doubling in size over the past two years on the back of rising demand for its services in the wake of Covid-19 as clients seek to better understand the changes in consumer and community behaviour. According to the Australian Financial Review, Fiftyfive5 pulled in revenues to the tune of $45 million over the past financial year, up from $38 million the year prior and just $3.8 million in 2019/20.
Sourced from Consultancy.au