Environics Analytics has acquired Boire Filler Group, a Toronto-based marketing firm that specializes in predictive analytics, data management, business intelligence and customer-centric services.
Environics Analytics president Jan Kestle says the acquisition will put the company in a better position to respond to a growing demand from marketers for better organization and integration of their sales, loyalty and social media data with Environics Analytics’ own data, while meeting rules around privacy and use of customer data.
“There’s just a growing demand for data cleansing, data hygiene, data integration and data management,” all of which Boire Filler is doing, says Kestle.
All 10 Boire Filler employees, including data analysts and client managers and partners Richard Boire and Larry Filler, will join Environics Analytics and move into its offices in four to six weeks.
The deal means advertisers will not have to deal with different suppliers to do different parts of their analytics work, Kestle says. “It fits strategically with where the industry’s going, which is a more holistic view of the customers.”
Only a small percentage of customer data companies have at their disposal is currently being used because that data is in different silos across companies, she says.
“Most of the analytics people that we deal with say that more than half their time is spent on gathering and assembling data and they want to be able to spend that time on analysis and making recommendations that help brands improve profit and intimacy with customers. That’s what we want to help them [with].”
Founded in 1999, Boire Filler Group has provided clients like Hudson’s Bay Company, Nestle, CAA and Whirlpool with predictive modelling and data management support for marketing and communications strategies.
“We see this acquisition as part of the evolution of the market,” said Larry Filler, in a release. “Today’s clients want to leverage data and analytics to create the best customer experiences. This union will allow marketers to get closer to their customers.”
The acquisition is Environics Analytics’ fourth in the last year. Two months ago, the company acquired select assets of ACNielsen Canada related to the provision of Spectra products and services in Canada. The company has also acquired SMR and Pivotal Contact.
Among other things, Environics Analytics specializes in providing comprehensive databases at the postal code level that cover areas such as demographics, lifestyle, segmentation and behaviour.
