Signal merges with sister agency Brightsource

Two sister marketing agencies with offices in Edinburgh are joining forces under the same brand to streamline their client offerings.

Signal's managing director Barney Hosey and managing partner Emily Gore. Picture: Contributed

Digital and customer-relationship management (CRM) specialist Signal will merge with communications management firm Brightsource in a move regarded as a “logical next step” by both teams.

The agencies will now both operate under the Signal brand, bringing the company’s total staff numbers to 250 people across offices in Edinburgh, Cheltenham and London.

Signal’s clients include companies from the health, not for profit and financial services sectors, such as Lloyds Banking Group, RBS and Unicef.

Barney Hosey, Signal’s managing director, who headed up both agencies prior to the merger, said: “Signal and Brightsource clients no longer see ‘digital, ‘CRM’ or ‘production’ as separate considerations. But they do need strategic and operational support to help them navigate the increasingly complex marketing landscape.

“With this in mind, merging our two specialist agencies makes total sense. It consolidates our strategic, creative, data and technology expertise and enables us to work as one unified team to help our clients do more for themselves.”

Group chief executive John Rowley added: “For some time now, breaking down boundaries within their own businesses has been a key priority for our clients and we have increasingly focused on helping them build their own marketing capabilities. This merger simplifies access to our specialist services and means we can help them rapidly generate even greater efficiencies.”

The announcement comes two years on from the launch of Signal in 2016, which united agencies Tangible, Instinctiv and Blonde Digital into one brand.