Behavioural Science Consultancy Cowry Acquired by VCCP

In the UK, behavioural science specialist Cowry Consulting has been acquired by comms agency VCCP Group for an undisclosed sum.

Cowry taps into scientific insights about how people think and behave, rather than what they say, to develop creative products and services. The firm uses System 1 techniques that investigate the subconscious to provide insights which Cowry says, 'traditional qualitative research methods cannot reach'. Methods include implicit association testing; biometric solutions galvanic skin response, eye tracking, and facial expression testing; and neurometric methodologies, such as electroencephalogram and fMRI scanning.

According to VCCP, the acquisition forms part of its growth strategy, which aims to put behavioural insight and data 'at the heart' of its business model. The original Cowry team of Jez Groom, Will Saunders, Ziba Goddard and Raphy March (pictured) set up the consultancy seven years ago, during which time, it has expanded to a team of 38 people which include behavioural scientists, psychologists, designers, researchers and data scientists.

Andrew Peake (pictured), CEO of VCCP London, comments: 'Behavioural science is at the beginning of its journey as a discipline but it's already proven invaluable in helping businesses transform consumer and colleague behaviour. Its value is in helping clients to tackle some of the biggest perennial challenges to achieve commercial outcomes and we couldn't be more delighted about Cowry bringing their unique capabilities into the VCCP family.'

Web sites: www.cowryconsulting.com and www.vccp.com .