Kepler Group Acquires Napkyn Analytics to Help Clients Fully Leverage Google Marketing Platform

Analytics and measurement pioneer Napkyn Analytics announced that it is joining Kepler Group, the global digital services provider that’s part of the kyu Collective alongside companies such as IDEO, Sid Lee and SYPartners. The deal unites two of the most data-driven firms in marketing to help clients more effectively derive consumer insights, activate digital intelligence, and accelerate business results.

The move comes as advertisers are increasingly leveraging first-party data to stay connected with consumers in relevant, meaningful ways, and are consolidating that activity on core platforms like Google, Adobe and Salesforce. Napkyn has experience with all of those platforms, with a disproportionate level of expertise regarding Google Marketing Platform, for which it is a Premier Solutions Partner.

Kepler launched its own specialized subsidiary called ADVZ earlier this year. Going forward, ADVZ and Napkyn will be jointly led by current Napkyn leadership and will work together to enable clients to access licenses and premium services across Google Cloud and Google Marketing Platform, including Analytics 360, Tag Manager 360, Data Studio, Optimize 360, Display & Video 360, and Campaign Manager 360.

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Napkyn and Kepler share a focus on serving corporate advertisers and together count dozens of North America’s largest brands as clients, including AT&T, American Express, Dunkin’ Donuts, HanesBrands, Infiniti, J.Crew, Nissan, Pepsico, and Sanofi.

“This deal connects Kepler’s breadth of experience, across nearly every media platform and industry vertical, with Napkyn’s depth of knowledge across Google-powered solutions,” said Kepler CEO Rick Greenberg. “The Media Investment Evolved research report we released this month showed that 83% of brands are planning to bring more media technology in house. With Napkyn, we can help them do just that; and with Kepler, we can help them activate it for maximum effect.”

To help accelerate the Napkyn-ADVZ integration and its impact on clients, Napkyn’s founder Jim Cain will become Chief Innovation Officer for the combined group, and current Napkyn COO Nish Patel will be named Chief Executive Officer.

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“Today, there are vast opportunities for marketers to harness data in sophisticated ways,” said Jim Cain, Napkyn’s founding CEO. “We felt the best way for us to help brands act on them would be to combine forces with a digital marketing powerhouse like Kepler, and I felt the best way I could personally help would be to focus all of my time on developing new services and products, and on implementing them alongside our most forward-thinking clients.”

“We couldn’t have picked a better partner than Kepler. And we couldn’t have picked a better CEO to lead Napkyn through its next phase of growth than Nish Patel.”

Napkyn’s headquarters will remain in Ottawa Ontario, but it will quickly start to establish its own presence within or near Kepler’s U.S. offices to enable tighter collaboration with American clients.