Symphony Technology Group (STG) kicked off 2022 with the exciting news of a merger between Kantar Reputation Intelligence, PRGloo and Onclusive, which will now operate as Onclusive. 

I enjoyed spending a few minutes with Petra Masinova, the Chief Commercial Officer of the new Onclusive, to discuss the merger and what this might mean to the industry.  

 

AMEC: Symphony Technology Group (STG) is tackling a merger of three companies all at once – can you speak to the process (research) of the VC to deliver this new Onclusive into the marketplace?

PETRA: STG immersed themselves in the legacy Kantar Reputation Intelligence business and our market, placing client need at the centre of our future strategy. It quickly became clear that we had a unique opportunity to fast-track innovation to deliver greater value to clients by merging with other like-minded, tech-orientated businesses from day one. Alongside leaders from the legacy PRgloo and Onclusive businesses, all four parties worked in collaboration to develop a single vision and strategy for the new Onclusive – which is what you see today.

 

AMEC: Where will the new Onclusive be headquartered?

PETRA: We have strong operational headquarters close to our main client base, with large offices in Paris and London.

 

AMEC: What is the corporate structure under the new Onclusive?

PETRA: Operating under a functional business model will allow us to innovate and scale at pace to deliver enhanced value to PR and Communications teams. In parallel we are investing in our local teams and expertise so they can further build valued partnerships with clients to help them deliver business success. 

 

AMEC: What is the main objective in year one for this new Onclusive?

PETRA: To start working together as successfully as we can – with each other and with our clients. We will also expand our services portfolio across our core markets to meet clients’ evolving needs.

 

AMEC: What is the new Onclusive elevator pitch?

 PETRA: We’re a partner for PR and Communications teams.

Working with thousands of organisations globally, we understand the pressures you face. Like building a strong brand and reputation. Being your organisation’s eyes, ears and conscience. Supporting the C-suite, the wider business and its success.

Together, our technology, insights and expertise make sense of the fractured, fast-moving media world you work in. So we can help you improve the bottom line by ensuring you can make the right decisions, at the right time.

So that’s us. A partner for success. One that helps you elevate your performance and prove and improve your value. Day in, day out.

 

AMEC: How will measurement and evaluation be prioritized in the new business?

 PETRA: We aim to put measurement and evaluation at the heart of our business. The way the media world is changing means many of the old certainties aren’t so certain anymore, so we will analyse the new reality and continue to uncover the insights needed to support our clients’ thinking.

 

Ultimately, we want to be a partner our clients can rely on to help them build winning communications strategies. At every step in that journey we will use the best technology to capture the data we need, combined with the experience and analytical skills of our insight team to explain our conclusions as clearly as possible. We don’t see a fork in the road between technology-led SaaS and consultancy – we believe both approaches can combine to deliver even more effective M&E solutions.

 

Finally, be assured that Onclusive will play a full role as a member of AMEC. Our insights team has a long and proud history of working with AMEC, plus we have an excellent track record at the AMEC Awards. Long may it continue.

 

AMEC: Can you clarify the distinction between Kantar Reputation Intelligence and Kantar?

 PETRA: Reputation Intelligence was the specialist earned-media division within Kantar. Our focus was on global monitoring, media insights and forward planning. We worked with STG and the Kantar leadership to build a new plan to allow the RI business to achieve its potential, as announced in August 2021. As a stand-alone company, we knew we would have the scale and ambition to innovate faster and to compete more aggressively. Now we are Onclusive, and we start as one of the top three M&E players in the world and #1 in Europe.

 

AMEC: How big a role will AI play in the new service of Onclusive?

 PETRA: We’re very fortunate to have Dan Beltramo and his team with us as part of our new company. The first Onclusive business was a pioneer of AI and machine learning. Dan’s team bring with them a very advanced toolkit and a wealth of development expertise. Onclusive has built the most sensitive sentiment engine available that analyses content in 100+ languages and the first and only PR Attribution system that measures business impact at the article level. The opportunity for us is to scale-up this technology globally. Our access to data will grow exponentially and it will take us less time to put it in the hands of our clients.

 

AMEC: With their eyes to the future, what other partnerships might be interesting for STG?

PETRA: The start of the new Onclusive business is an exciting time – both for us and for our clients. We will work directly with our clients to ensure that our combined portfolio meets their needs and requirements. Any additional partnerships will be firmly centered on delivering value to clients with one and only focus – PR and Communication.

 

Industry reporting by PR Week indicates the new CEO will be London-based and start in February. I expect the January announcement is the first of what will be many in 2022 for the new Onclusive. Congratulations to all of the teams with a special shout-out to longtime friends and supporters of AMEC Petra Masinova, Dan Beltramo, Phil Lynch, Liam Kelly and Christophe Dickes on your new venture.

 

Wishing all of our members a successful and exciting 2022!