YouGov acquires social analytics firm with offices in London and LA

Data group YouGov has acquired a social analytics business focussed on the film and television industry.

Founded in the UK, Portent.IO employs a team of 11 based across London, Holland, Poland, Israel and LA.

YouGov has been a long-term investor in the company, but a new deal announced today (December 18) means the Islington-headquartered market research firm now wholly owns the business.

Portent.IO dissects, maps and processes digital, survey, marketing and social data, offering clients predictive analytics models and tracking the efficacy of their campaigns. Its customer base include a number of big brands in film and TV, including Paramount, Sony, Lionsgate and the BBC.

YouGov said the acquisition will expand its offering with some of the most advanced social monitoring and data science analytics tools currently available.

Portent.IO’s tech is focussed on the entertainment industry, but YouGov intends to extend its application to an array of sectors.

Stephan Shakespeare, co-founder and CEO of YouGov, said: “We are pleased to bring Portent.IO fully into the YouGov family.

“We were an early investor in it as we saw that it brought something unique to the market – combining survey data with other digital touchpoints to provide a fully rounded view of what consumers think about films and TV programmes.”

He added: “In the future we see a much greater application of this technology across a wider array of clients and sectors.”

Portent.IO’s co-founder and chief exec, Hamish Brocklebank, commented: “When we founded Portent.IO in 2015 our vision was to build a product simply to forecast box office revenue. However we soon realised that the potential was far greater than we anticipated.

“With YouGov’s early backing, we pivoted to provide digital and social data for movies and TV shows across 20-plus markets, focusing on helping them understand demand around their content, efficacy of marketing and optimisation of creative.”

He added: “We’ve grown fast in just three years and I’m incredibly proud that the business is now being fully acquired by such a well respected global brand as YouGov.”