Millward Brown and Effective Brands join to form Vermeer

Millward Brown has announced the acquisition of global marketing strategy firm Effective Brands to combine with its strategy consulting unit, Millward Brown Optimor.

The merging of the two will create Millward Brown Vermeer, which will work with global CMOs and brands to “align the ‘why, what and how’ of marketing strategy to drive brand-led business growth.”

Effective Brands was founded in 2001 by Marc de Swaan Arons and Frank van den Driest and currently has 65 employees. The company’s Marketing200 study has been considered one of the most global and comprehensive CMO research programmes to date.

Commenting on the acquisition, Travyn Rhall, CEO of Millward Brown, said: “As customers, employees and investors demand increased transparency and value from companies, business leaders face unprecedented complexity and disruption.

“With the formation of Millward Brown Vermeer, we are strengthening and expanding our offer to help organisations answer the key questions that unleash brand-led business growth and ensure that the resulting strategies are implemented effectively around the world.”

Millward Brown Vermeer will be led by an executive board, including Mario Simon, president and global chair of Millward Brown Optimor, as CEO; Van den Driest as chief commercial officer; and de Swaan Arons as CMO.