January 10, 2018
Kantar, the data investment management division of WPP, and one of the world's largest insight, information and consultancy groups, announced today it has formed a joint venture with Second City Works, the corporate services division of The Second City, the world's largest school of improvisation and foremost comedy theater company. The unique collaboration, marketed as Brandstage™, will work with marketing organizations to drive new product innovation, originate captivating marketing and communications ideas, explore customer experience opportunities and remove the guesswork and over-reliance on dated, silo-based groupthink from critical marketing initiatives.
"Our partnership with Second City Works cements one of our most innovative, impactful offers within Kantar," said Tim Wragg, CEO of Kantar, Insights, North America. "Many clients have already benefited from the power of Brandstage to explore brand growth initiatives and we look forward to expanding our offer to help our clients and WPP partners get the most out of our collaboration."
Second City Works uses award-winning improvisational methods and audience-centered collaboration with consumer audiences. Its creative tools have proven highly successful for clients since the offering's beginnings in 2014, and the initial alliance in 2015 between Second City Works and Kantar Millward Brown's qualitative practice, Firefly, to launch Consumer Theatre, now renamed Brandstage.
