Dive Brief:
- Kantar Media is changing its name to Fifty5Blue following the division’s sale to private-equity firm H.I.G. Capital for roughly $1 billion last August, according to a press release.
- A new visual identity is meant to communicate clarity, focus and confidence and move past historic ties with Kantar Group. In addition, Fifty5Blue is ramping up investments in artificial intelligence that can help clients interpret its data sets.
- Fifty5Blue is preserving its established product lineup and assets like Ibope, TGI and TechEdge to offer continuity to clients. The deal with H.I.G. Capital aligns with rising private-equity interest in the agency and ad-tech worlds.
Dive Insight:
Kantar Media rebranding is a natural next step following the sale of the business to alternative investment firm H.I.G. Capital last year. Beyond aesthetic changes, inclusive of a new blue-and-white logo and visual identity, the shift to Fifty5Blue entails a step up in work around AI tools that can assist clients with interrogating the firm’s real-time, proprietary data sets.
“AI fundamentally reinforces the importance of our single-source datasets, which are based on direct observation of what real people watch,” said Fifty5Blue Global CEO Patrick Béhar in a statement.
Béhar elaborated that Fifty5Blue is moving faster and sharpening its focus under a new ownership structure. Clients should expect access to the same audience measurement products and subsidiaries, including Ibope, TGI and TechEdge, but expect more innovation, the executive added.
“In a world full of noise, with no shortage of data, we believe clarity is the real differentiator,” said Béhar. “Our role is to remove unnecessary complexity, provide the right data with the most rigorous methods and help our clients gain the clarity to make better decisions.”
Fifty5Blue, which operates in over 80 countries, has been investing in people, technology and partnerships as it enters a more independent era outside the Kantar umbrella, per the press release. The company recently named Toni Petra, a longtime Nielsen veteran, as chief operations and technology officer, effective April 1.
Changes are also underway at Fifty5Blue’s former parent as it tries to keep pace with AI-driven disruption. Kantar last week unveiled a new North American leadership structure under Americas CEO Jeff Greenspoon. Chris Petranto was promoted to chief client officer and Brian James to chief solutions officer as part of the changes. Additionally, media and creative have been merged into one division overseen by Executive Vice President Rachelle Minnis.
