Havas Buys Shopper Behaviour Specialist BD Australia

Ad group Havas has acquired shopper behavioural marketing specialist BD Australia for an undisclosed sum.

Surrey Hills, NSW-based BD (Behavioural Dynamics) uses analytics to study consumer and shopper behaviour, and help brands and retailers generate product ideas, understand and sell more to their customers. Its team includes people from technology, content, design, data, social, retail, shopper and PR backgrounds.

Led by MD Simon Porter (pictured) and Executive Creative Director Tom Hoskins, BD Australia has previously worked with Havas to help win a number of creative accounts. Commenting on the deal, Havas said the acquisition will bolster its offering to clients, through a combination of data, economics and creative.

Havas' executive management team Anthony Gregorio, James Wright and Mike Wilson said in a statement: 'Bringing BD Australia on board provides us with another fantastic asset in the Havas Village. We can now tap directly into their shopper data set and smartly apply those insights to our campaigns. Simon and the team are intelligent, strategic and nimble, always working at speed to find great solutions for their clients'.

Web sites: www.havas.com and www.thisisbd.com.au .