Kagiso Media has bought a majority share in brand analytics and market research consultancy, KLA. The JSE-listed media company said it had plans to develop a powerful marketing services division.
“KLA is a perfect fit for our company, as we proceed to build a formidable information and marketing services division, in which Juta, Knowledge Factory and Gloo currently sit. Though KLA will continue to operate as a standalone business, it will however be positioned to work with other Kagiso Media divisions to leverage the natural synergies which exist,” says Murphy Morobe, CEO of Kagiso Media.
KLA was founded in 1991 by husband and wife team, Joel Kaufman and Robyn Levin. Kaufman had advertising background, and Levin market research. The combination of their skills positioned KLA as a strategically driven market research company. While the founders emigrated to Australia, KLA partner Steph Matterson has been managing the company. Kagiso Media has acquired the shares in the company held by Kaufman and Levin, who decided to sell their interest in the business to focus on their activities in Sydney.
Matterson, a shareholder in KLA, says that Kagiso Media has a strong vision and a creative approach to business that makes it the perfect partner for KLA as it moves into the future. “Our cultures, values and vision fit together very well,” she adds. “We also believe that there are some good synergies between our business and some of the media, technology and marketing operations in the Kagiso Media fold.”
KLA – which has a client list that includes SAB, Colgate Palmolive, Nedbank, Liberty, the Edcon group and Coca-Cola – expects to accelerate its growth in the belief that the transaction will provide it with the financial resources and strategic support it needs to take its business to the next level.
Using quantitative and qualitative techniques ranging from focus groups, face to face interviews, online surveys, computer-aided telephone interviews and other research tools – tailored to the need of each project – KLA focuses on helping organisations gain an understanding of their customers’ relationships with their brands, informs strategic plans and ultimately contributes to clients’ building a strategic advantage over competitors.
