Toronto independent agency The Hive has enhanced its data services offering by acquiring analytics firm Allied Effect.

Allied Effect’s capabilities will be integrated into The Hive’s broader operations. The firm’s partner as founder Jeremy Molnar (pictured, right) will also join the agency as its first chief data officer.

The addition of Allied Effect’s capabilities – and Molnar’s expertise – will allow The Hive to offer enhanced data and analytics services to its current and future clients.

“As we continue to transform our business, real-time data and analytics have never been more important,” explains Jared Stein, president of the agency. “This will not only help keep us accountable to clients, it will give us a new range of dynamic options for measuring performance levels of the work we do every day, and its impact on our clients’ business.”

Allied Effect was founded by Molnar three years ago, and has worked with New Brunswick-based internet service provider Xplore, OpenCircle Benefits and Weight Watchers/WW, among other key brands. Prior to the founding of Allied Effect, Molnar worked as VP of analytics and CRM at investment management firm Aimia, and has held various data-oriented roles with Rogers Communications in the past, as well.

In recent months, he had already been working with several of The Hive’s clients to develop growth service models and ecosystems. His hiring – and the integration of his business into the larger agency – is the natural next step “for colleagues and clients alike,” says Stein, signaling its effort to make data and analytics a core competency for the agency as it continues to evolve.

“We have already been excelling as ‘The Valuable Encounters Company,'” Stein says. “Now, we’ll have a fresh playbook and process to measure what that value truly looks like.”