LONDON – DraftWorldwide last month completed negotiation for purchase of its first market research agency in the UK, adding HPI to its British portfolio of agencies located here and in the Oxford corporate headquarters.
Negotiations for HPI’s acquisition were essentially completed in November but “where in the hands of the lawyers” and could not be made public when it completed purchase of Symphony Direct Communications (see DM News International, Dec. 13, p.8)
Symphony, a database marketing consultancy, has been integrated into Draft’s Oxford operations while HPI will remain as an independent unit in London. A company statement said that the purchase reflects “recognition of the importance of research in the marketing mix.”
HPI, the statement claimed, was a “top 20 global research consultancy incorporating qualitative and quantitative research, as well as specialist expertise in advertising assessment and expertise.”
Draft’s Chicago headquarters commented on the acquisition three weeks after it was announced in London, calling HPI “one of the fastest growing and most innovative research firms in the UK.”
