• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, January 8, 2018

WPP has frequently commented that that big consulting companies like Accenture and IBM aren’t encroaching on its turf in any meaningful way.  But that’s not stopping it from trying to do a little encroaching of its own.

Today WPP announced the formation of Kantar Consulting, billed as a sales and marketing consultancy “designed to ‘switch on growth’ for brand owners and retailers.’”

The new entity has been formed by the consolidation of four existing units including Kantar Added Value (cultural understanding and brand purpose), Kantar Vermeer (brand and organizational expertise; marketing ROI), Kantar Futures (consumer trends)  and Kantar Retail (shopper and ecommerce expertise).

At launch, the firm has over 1,000 staffers and a number of known market assets like PowerRanking and Retail IQ. It will also has a number of household-name clients at launch including Pepsi, Bayer, Amazon, Walmart, Unilever and Alibaba.

Phil Smiley, CEO Kantar Retail, takes on the added role of CEO of the new Kantar Consulting entity. “We will rewrite the rules of demand and the conventions of marketing and sales,” stated Smiley. “Our Whole Demand philosophy will help clients go beyond strategy to generate and convert demand and create long-lasting, sustainable growth.”

Eric Salama, CEO, Kantar added: “We are creating Kantar Consulting to fulfil our ambition of bringing a deeper, more rounded consulting offer to our clients.  Alone and in combination with other capabilities, Kantar Consulting will be a core part of Kantar and WPP’s success in the future.”