“Matching mind-sets is the key to a successful acquisition”: Q&A with Rob Shaw of Jaywing

When we first started discussing Jaywing’s acquisition of Epiphany, we felt that it would be a 2+2=5 sort of situation. We felt that the combined whole would be more than the individual parts, so spent a fair amount of time up front thinking of how the various parts of the combined agency would work together.

Of course, over the past year or so, the various teams and skill sets that we have across the business (in Leeds, Swindon, London and in Sydney, Australia) have had the chance to actually work together on client projects and that has been a huge learning experience of all for us.

The idea of my new role is that I can bring different parts of the business together. I am less involved with the day-to-day running of the agency, so have more time to spend working alongside each of our teams in turn and really getting to know how different parts of the business are working.

It also gives me new insight into the range of skills that exist within the business, including any skills that may not be fully utilised. For example, a member of our team may have skills and knowledge that aren’t relevant to their current role but could potentially be crucial to a new offering we’re thinking of introducing.

By observing things close up and absorbing that level of detail, I can then take a step back and work out where to make new connections – new ‘nerve paths’, if you like – within the business. We’ve gone through a period of rapid growth as an agency, so I think a key element of my new role is to do whatever I can to ease any growing pains we experience along the way.

Have you made the psychological shift from being an ‘Epiphany man’ to a ‘Jaywing man’ yet?

Epiphany is known for it’s orange branding and, yes, I still love orange, but teaming up with Jaywing was always less about the brand and more about the mind-set. When we first met with Jaywing it became apparent pretty quickly that we were the same kind of people with very similar values, such as a desire to invest in innovation.

The cultural alignment was more important to me, which has made a very easy transition, to be honest. There wasn’t too much psychological distance to travel between the mind-set of the two brands.

What are the key opportunities for Jaywing moving forward?

The market for the services we offer is growing. People are investing in intelligent marketing services and solutions more than ever before. We’re in a great position to benefit from that but, for me, the real opportunity lies in the breadth of services we can offer our clients and the advantages we can offer our clients by bringing different parts of our business together as and when required. The range and flexibility it offers is what really differentiates us from the more traditional agencies.

In terms of the international side of the business, the Australian market for digital marketing services is booming right now. The fact that we went out there, did the groundwork and established ourselves in Sydney a couple of years ago now means that we can pass on our experiences with clients who are considering breaking into new international territories. It can be a daunting, so our clients really appreciate practical advice, based on our own recent experience.