InSites Buys 'Customer-Centric' Specialist Gongos

Online communities specialist InSites Consulting has acquired US-based 'customer-centric' specialist Gongos, for an undisclosed sum.

Founded in 1991 by John Gongos, Gongos, Inc. enables teams in the automotive, retail, CPG, financial services and healthcare sectors gain and apply consumer insights, convert decisions into action, and manage organizational change. The firm includes a Strategy & Implementation practice which helps BtoC and BtoB clients develop and embed customer-centric strategies; and its patent-pending Value Exchange (Vex) Model identifies pathways for customer-centric growth by linking customer goals with business outcomes driven by customer performance indicators (CPIs).

InSites says the deal 'significantly reinforces' its position in the US, while supporting its ambition to become 'the leading consumer-centricity agency'. Through the transaction, Gongos will offer its clients access to InSites Consulting's Square (insight community technology), its creative crowdsourcing capability eÿeka, and its Cultural Insight, Trends and Brand Transformation practice, which was recently bolstered by the acquisition of culture-led brand consultancy Space Doctors.

Camille Nicita (pictured), President & CEO of Gongos, becomes the group's MD North America and as a shareholder of InSites Consulting will join its global Partner Board. Following the takeover, InSites Consulting now has more than 800 people across twenty locations, generating over EUR100m in revenues. Co-founder and CEO Kristof De Wulf comments: 'We could not have wished for a better cultural and strategic fit, with Gongos sharing a similar set of values, embracing insight communities as one of their leading methods, and setting the customer-centricity agenda for large brands and organizations'.

Web sites: www.insites-consulting.com and www.gongos.com .