Acquisition Unites UK-Based Reputation Specialists

London-based agency Echo Research Limited, which specialises in reputation insight, benchmarking and intelligence, has acquired Reputation Dividend, which helps global companies to value their intangible reputational assets.

Echo was established in 1990 and now serves more than 700 clients worldwide with insight and intelligence for reputation measurement, content analysis, stakeholder studies and benchmarking. It also runs the UK's longest-running corporate reputation survey, Britain's Most Admired Companies, and is a registered Expert Witness in reputation in courts of law. Echo founder Sandra Macleod sold the firm to Ebiquity in 2011, left it in 2013 and joined Reputation Dividend as a Partner and Director, but in 2018 she bought Echo back via a new company, Mindful Reputation.

Reputation Dividend was founded in 2009 by mathematician and economist Simon Cole. The firm focuses on quantifying the economic contribution of major companies' brands and reputations, separately from operational and financial metrics, helping clients to enhance reputations, and drive sustainable business growth and stakeholder trust. On average, the company says the intangible value of a firm's repuation contributes 30% to its market capitalisation.

Echo says the buy - which includes Reputation Dividend's name, IP, proprietary methodology and fifteen years of reputational data for more than 800 top companies - strengthens its ability to deliver comprehensive, board-ready reputational intelligence solutions to its broad range of clients around the world.

Macleod (pictured) says the move 'aligns perfectly with [her firm's] mission to equip organisations with actionable insights to fortify their reputation and drive business success'. She adds: 'By integrating Reputation Dividend's expertise, we offer clients deeper insights and strategic guidance to manage and safeguard their reputation effectively'.

Web sites: www.echoresearch.com and www.reputationdividend.com .