London-based marketing consultancy Rival has acquired Boston creative shop HeyLet’sGo!
The integrated offering provides end-to-end marketing consulting services that - in addition to Rival’s strategy, media, and data expertise - now includes world-class creative and production offerings.
The move reunites HeyLet’sGo Founder/CCO Tim Cawley and Rival Co-Founder Eric Fulwiler who worked together at the Boston office of Mullen Lowe over a decade ago.
Says Fulwiler, “Tim was one of the few creative directors I worked with in my big agency career who was just as passionate about challenging and changing the traditional creative agency model as I was. And as he knows now, but didn’t for the last 10 years, he was always someone I had on my list to try to work with again in some capacity.”
“When Eric reached out about the possibility of joining forces – before talking about logistics or synergies – he talked about wanting to be great. All the practical stuff came later, of course. But the ambition expressed in that first conversation stuck with me. You look at this boutique consultancy working with huge brands all over the world – these folks are swinging for the fences. We wanted to be a part of that.” says Tim Cawley, Rival’s new Chief Creative Officer/Managing Partner.
“Our vision for Rival from day one has been the same: to build a modern marketing consultancy for challenger brands.” Fulwiler continues. “But any strategic business initiative is only as good as the execution that follows. The team at HeyLet’sGo solves that part of the equation. The quality of their work can go toe-to-toe with anyone in the industry, as proven by their portfolio and the case full of awards in their office. But more important to me is the passion and drive they bring to not just each project, but also to challenging the traditional model for what a creative agency should be, do, and deliver.”
Rival’s newly combined forces have already added two new pieces of business, soon to be announced, in addition to HLG’s existing creative pipeline and Rival’s stable of global accounts including Unilever, Reebok, JP Morgan, Old Mutual Insurance, and Jumeirah Hotels.
