Cello Signal consolidates three agencies

The consumer and businessto-business marketing division of Aim-listed Cello Group is consolidating three of its marketing agencies behind its new Signal brand.

Cello Signal, which owns Edinburgh media agencies The Leith Agency and Stripe, said it is merging Blonde Digital, Tangible and Instinctiv, saying this will help improve its role as “a powerful growth and profit engine for the group”.

Chief executive John Rowley told The Scotsman: “I’m really excited about this. It feels good to build something that has got a national footprint and potentially an international one but has a very strong Scottish flavour.”

He added that while the new entity feels like a start-up, in agency terms it will be sizeable, employing more than 200 people across Edinburgh, London and Cheltenham. Of these staff, about 85 are based at its office in Commercial Quay, Leith.

Additionally, clients include Lloyds Banking Group, National Galleries of Scotland and Scottish Friendly, as well as npower, the British Heart Foundation, Nando’s and the Royal British Legion.

Rowley said: “We’re creating Signal because the marketing disciplines we provide are increasingly influencing each other, and our clients need us to be able to offer wider and more connected solutions to their problems. “In particular, we’ll be able to better connect web and mobile marketing with customer relationship management, content and marketing automation — and strengthen the data and media strategies that underpin these activities.” 0 John Rowley, chief executive of Cello Signal