• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, January 10, 2017

The Kyu collective, part of Japanese ad/marketing holding company Hakuhodo DY Holdings, has acquired consultancy BEworks, based in Toronto.

Terms weren’t disclosed.

Founded in 2010, BEworks CEO Kelly Peters and Chief Behavioral Scientist Dan Ariely (both co-founders) will remain full partners.

BEworks specializes in applying behavioral science to marketing, product, pricing, and operational challenges. Its work is designed to diagnose the “consumer mindset,” according to the agency.

The firm's clients include global Fortune 1000 companies and government agencies across the globe.

"As leaders in the field of behavioral economics, our passion is in applying the power of scientific thinking towards helping organizations develop better strategies, customer experiences, and optimized operations," stated BEworks’  Peters.

Kyu CEO Michael Birkin added that the consultancy will “play an essential role in providing more well-rounded creative offerings for kyu's clients and stakeholders," and help “kyu companies be even more evidence-based, more rigorous and more scalable across larger numbers of people."

The BEworks deal is the latest in a string of acquisitions that kyu has made over the past few years.

Its portfolio agencies and marketing firms also include commerce platform company C2 International, digital content and design firm Digital Kitchen, design company IDEO, ad agency Sid Lee and branding shop Red Peak.