We’re thrilled to finally share the news: we’re taking a major leap forward in our growth ambitions. We are proud to announce the acquisition of online insight community innovator Join the Dots.

As the five-time winner of the AURA Insight Communication Award and named High Growth Business of the Year for 2018 by the British Chamber of Commerce, Join the Dots is not just a reference in the UK market. They are also a key research innovator globally. With over 20 years of experience in online research and insight communities, the agency deploys an award-winning suite of tools. These tools help their clients understand and engage with their consumers around the world.

“Join the Dots has long been admired for their progressive work in the qualitative space. Global markets are shifting towards the reality of having more open and ongoing connections with consumers. Therefore we are eager to leverage the wealth of expertise Join the Dots brings to the table. By joining forces, we are taking a giant leap forward in becoming the market leader in online insight communities. It will also help us shape the future of ongoing consumer dialogues.” says Kristof De Wulf, co-founder and CEO of InSites Consulting.

Onboarding

Following our partnership with private equity firm Mentha Capital since October 2018, the acquisition of Join the Dots marks our fourth acquisition in just 18 months. We already onboarded Australia-based Direction First, South-Africa-based Columinate, and creative crowdsourcing agency eÿeka, headquartered in Paris. With Join the Dots operating from Manchester, New York and Singapore, we extend our geographical presence to 10 client service offices across five continents. We will enter the Singapore, UK and USA markets under the name Join the Dots | InSites Consulting, while the InSites Consulting brand name will be used across other markets.

“We are very enthusiastic to benefit from a more global dimension, not only gaining access to the InSites Consulting Global Community Moderator Network, but also being able to service our existing clients better, and from various different markets,” says Quentin Ashby, CEO of Join the Dots. “This larger-scale workforce will allow us to accelerate the development of our unique technology suite. Furthermore it will certainly aid us in enhancing our insight ecosystem. We are looking forward to an exciting journey together, combining our complementary strengths to shape the future of the industry together.”

Join the Dots

Housing a team of 170+ people, Join the Dots brings a sizeable talent pool to our growing group. Join the Dots’ focus lies on online insight communities and qualitative excellence. Furthermore, they also inject specific expertise on social media listening. Another one of their qualities is foresighting through their ‘Culture & Trends’ unit and Illume Network, a global network of trend spotters. Now €50M+ in revenues and 450+ people strong, we have the ambition to become the ultimate next-generation insight agency. We will offer the scale, footprint and expertise global clients are looking for. But at the same time we will stay true to our flexible, innovative, people- and technology-driven way of working.

“We share a highly similar vision on the future of our industry, and the responses we need to formulate. That also holds for our organizational culture. Innovation runs deep in our joint DNA and so does our love and caring for our people. Our technology gives us an edge to delivering quality solutions. However, it means nothing without the brilliant and creative people engaging with our technologies and communities.” adds Kristof De Wulf. “We plan on building on each other’s strengths and on the incredible expertise Join the Dots brings to the table. That is how we will offer our ever-growing list of clients even more benefits and value.”

Much more can be said about this exciting future ahead. So reach out to us if want to have a more elaborate talk on what this news can mean for your research needs.