Omnicom buys Promise to integrate with Communispace UK

UK — Co-creation specialist Promise Corporation has been acquired by Diversified Agency Services (DAS), owners of online community builder Communispace. The Omnicom division now plans to integrate the two research firms to bolster its insight offerings.

In a statement, DAS says that the acquisition will allow Communispace “to marry its unique research approach with the strategic consulting tools and processes that Promise has successfully pioneered over the past decade”.

The move comes a year after DAS acquired Communispace for an undisclosed amount. There is no plan to eliminate the Promise name at this time, due to the company’s valuable brand equity in the co-creation arena.

The Omnicom-owned firm says the integration will be Communispace’s “most significant step to date in expanding its global capabilities… [because] having the ability to tap into consumers 24/7 has never been a more important engine for growth, as insights and marketing teams become increasingly strategic and need more meaningful and actionable interaction and engagement with today’s fast-changing consumer.”

Through the partnership between Communispace and Promise, DAS says the integrated office will have a combined customer book that includes nearly 200 major brands that have worked with the firms over the last decade. New roles and responsibilities are anticipated as a result of the integration, which will take place over the next three months.

Diane Hessan, president and CEO of Communispace, said: “We have been watching Promise for years, as they have mastered co-creation and helped executives act intelligently based on what they learned from consumer. Everything about our business is focused on doing great work that matters, and the experience and dynamism of the Promise team is going to help us make our work matter even more for our clients.”

Charles Trevail, CEO of Promise Corporation (pictured), added: “Just as Communispace invented the idea of using online communities to listen to consumers, we are excited about our combined vision to reinvent the ways organisations gain insights and turn them into innovation and growth. Communispace gives us scale and an infrastructure which brings tremendous new opportunities to our clients and our people.”

Alongside Communispace, DAS also owns predictive modelling and advanced analytics firm The Modellers. Other research companies in the Omnicom group include Flamingo, Hall & Partners and MARC Research.

We hope you enjoyed this article.
Research Live is published by MRS.

The Market Research Society (MRS) exists to promote and protect the research sector, showcasing how research delivers impact for businesses and government.

Members of MRS enjoy many benefits including tailoured policy guidance, discounts on training and conferences, and access to member-only content.

For example, there's an archive of winning case studies from over a decade of MRS Awards.

Find out more about the benefits of joining MRS here.

1 Comment

Display name

Email

Join the discussion

Jack Martin Leith

Congratulations to Charles Trevail, Nick Coates & colleagues.

Like Report

Display name

Email

Join the discussion

Newsletter
Stay connected with the latest insights and trends...
Sign Up
Latest From MRS

Our latest training courses

Our new 2025 training programme is now launched as part of the development offered within the MRS Global Insight Academy

See all training

Specialist conferences

Our one-day conferences cover topics including CX and UX, Semiotics, B2B, Finance, AI and Leaders' Forums.

See all conferences

MRS reports on AI

MRS has published a three-part series on how generative AI is impacting the research sector, including synthetic respondents and challenges to adoption.

See the reports

Progress faster...
with MRS 
membership

Mentoring

CPD/recognition

Webinars

Codeline

Discounts