NEW YORK & LONDON — July 7, 2022 — Goodway Group has announced the acquisition of UK-based Canton Marketing Solutions. The business will be merged with its marketing transformation consultancy Control v Exposed (CvE), which is run by ex-Havas Media Group CEO, Paul Frampton-Calero.
The expanded 40-person strong operation will accelerate CvE’s growth, and strengthen its expertise in martech consulting, data engineering and in preparing global consumer brands for third-party cookie depreciation.
Founded in 2019, CvE has become recognized for its expertise in helping global brands define and deliver the future state of their marketing organization. It does this by operating at the strategic transformation level through agnostic advisory services and hands-on expertise in platforms, analytics and marketing technology.
The business has since expanded its service offering from a focus on operating models (developing effective in-housed or hybrid agency/ staff marketing teams and helping brands gain media-buying independence) – into technical models; namely martech consultancy (evaluating and selecting the right technology to power marketing operations) and data engineering (ensuring data connectivity and liquidity between platforms).
Canton’s co-founders Rob Webster and Nick King join the CvE leadership team as Global VPs of Strategy and Commercial, respectively, reporting to Paul Frampton-Calero.
“Few businesses can be impartial when it comes to consulting. Whether it’s opting to in-house media buying or technology transformation, a consulting arm’s vested interest is usually to recommend the product its parent sells. That doesn’t always lead to the best growth outcomes for clients. Only through independence, where the business model isn’t built on selling someone else’s product or one of your own sister companies, can you be impartial. Ambitious global consumer brands value marketing transformation consultancy when it’s truly independent,” commented CvE president, Paul Frampton-Calero.
“Canton has incredible capability in helping companies choose and onboard the best martech, and are experts in data engineering, a perfect complement to our operational team-and-culture strategic approach. They’re well-known for helping Vodafone successfully in-house its media, and we have already collaborated successfully on transformation projects for CvE clients, Boots Media Group, HMD (Nokia), Staples, TravelSupermarket, Ziglu/ RobinHood Crypto and others.”
“All businesses are on different stages of digital marketing maturity, but very few could be described as fully optimized. As such, they’re losing money through ineffective digital marketing,” added Rob Webster, Global VP of Strategy at CvE. “CvE stands out in this growing category because they take a strategic, trusted advisory role in-between agencies and management consultancies. We could not be more excited to join the team and help drive growth both in the UK, the US and APAC.”
“Canton disrupted the market when we launched four years ago, giving businesses a new way to get advice and support to upgrade their digital marketing. This acquisition represents the second phase of our evolution and will be a continuation of the work of the last three and a half years,” said CvE Global VP of Commercial, Nick King.
With respective growth rates of 277% and 183% for CvE and Canton in 2021 – and considering the complementary nature of existing and target client profiles – Goodway Group believes that combining the two businesses will give the company greater scope for growth.
The company also plans to use the merger to broaden its service offering for a new and expanded client roster which now includes Flutter Group (Paddy Power, Betfair, Pokerstars), Vodafone, Reckitt Benckiser, BBC, Ice Travel Group/ TravelSupermarket, KFC, Boots Media Group and HMD/Nokia.
Contact:
Viviana Toro; Marketing Manager @ CvE
CvE team @ PPR Consulting
T: 020 8064 0361
Kite Hill PR for Goodway Group
Patrice Gamble
goodway@kitehillpr.com
About CvE
CvE is a partner for brands who are tired of dealing with “Business as Usual”, and aren’t afraid to admit they need some help so they can focus on the bigger picture issues that matter most to their brand.
We are a nimble and efficient team that will sit alongside you while we diagnose the issues, then we will take them off your plate and solve them one at a time. When we are done, you will feel confident that your marketing is working as effectively as possible.
Any consultant can find a problem within an organisation, but it’s how they approach the solution that matters. We will sit with you, literally – we have been known to hire support to physically sit in the office to take the day to day work off your plate – so we can work together to solve your biggest challenges.
Our size and independence make us approachable, flexible and efficient with your investment. We also have the resources to do the actual work, we don’t just leave you with a plan.
Our agile and flexible service model includes:
1. Evaluating current marketing function
2. Define optimal future marketing function
3. Upskilling & team capability building
4. Hands on expertise, both on and off-site
About Goodway Group
Goodway Group is a leading data-driven and technology-enabled digital media and marketing services firm with offices in the U.S. and the UK. Our diverse team of digital strategists, media practitioners, technologists, and data scientists have won the most prestigious awards for innovative marketing technology, impactful work, and inclusive remote-first places to work including being honored as a multi-year Ad Age Best Places to Work, Ad Exchanger’s Best Use of Technology by an Agency Award, and two MarTech Breakthrough Awards. The firm deploys deep expertise across both consumer and B2B marketing, including brand-performance advertising, retail media and commerce, and advanced analytics using proprietary digital programmatic technologies, data, analytics methodologies, and consultation. Goodway Group is a 100-year-old independent and remote first media and marketing services firm. Find Goodway Group online at goodwaygroup.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.
Goodway Group. Honestly Smart Digital.
About Canton | Upgrade Your Marketing
Canton is a digital consultancy with specialist technology expertise that helps advertisers and marketers increase their digital marketing sophistication and overcome challenges to get the most out of their marketing. Founded by Rob Webster and Nick King, we work alongside our clients as trusted members of their team to help them upgrade their marketing. Our team are digital practitioners who have a sophisticated understanding of every job within digital marketing and guide companies on how to generate incremental revenue from their marketing. Our capabilities cover everything from technology integrations, creative production, project planning, strategy development and implementation, and talent resourcing and management.
