Marketing & Advertising Acquisitions in Washington

Gloo, a Boulder-based technology platform serving the faith ecosystem, has acquired Masterworks, a faith-based marketing and fundraising agency. Masterworks will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Gloo with leadership changes (Steve Woodworth to executive chairman; Bryan Brown named CEO) and will combine Masterworks' ministry expertise with Gloo's digital infrastructure, AI and data capabilities to better serve churches and faith organizations.

DoorDash has acquired ad tech company Symbiosys for $175 million to expand offsite advertising capabilities and integrate Symbiosys’ retail-media technology into DoorDash Ads. The move adds AI-powered, closed-loop measurement and expanded reach across search, social and display to DoorDash’s advertising products as it scales its global ads business.

Harvest Group, a commerce agency, has acquired Next Step Club Solutions, a boutique Costco-focused sales and solutions agency founded by Steve Freeman. The acquisition expands Harvest Group's Costco capabilities and national coverage, adding specialized club-retail expertise, product development and program management services.

D2E Labs Ltd., through its operating platform Market Defense LLC, has acquired Lunge Marketing LLC, a Seattle-based full-service marketplace agency specializing in Amazon and other marketplace services. The acquisition strengthens D2E Labs' marketplace service offering—adding marketplace expertise in durables and lifestyle categories—and provides Lunge Marketing clients access to Market Defense/D2E Labs technology, brand protection and logistics capabilities.

Palm Beach, Florida-based Smart Source, LLC has acquired certain assets of Bellevue, Washington-based Kaye-Smith Enterprises, expanding Smart Source's print management and promotional-products capabilities in the Pacific Northwest. The deal increases Smart Source's annual sales to roughly $250 million and will keep the Kaye-Smith name in use as a 'Smart Source Company.'

Blue Wheel, backed by Longshore Capital Partners, has acquired Day One Digital, an Amazon Vendor Central agency headquartered in Seattle. The deal expands Blue Wheel's Amazon 1P service capabilities and customer base by integrating Day One's team and offerings into Blue Wheel's omni-channel digital commerce platform.

CG Life, a Chicago-based integrated life-sciences agency, has acquired Toolhouse, a Bellingham, Washington digital agency that supports biopharma and life sciences with marketing technology, data-driven insights, and user-centric design. The acquisition (closed March 22) expands CG Life's omnichannel and technology-enabled capabilities; financial terms were not disclosed.

Kiterocket, a PR-forward full-service communications and marketing agency, has acquired Seattle-based Action Mary and will bring Action Mary’s clients and staff into Kiterocket. The deal adds senior leadership (Patrick McGuire and Melanie Wilhoite) to Kiterocket and broadens its capabilities in brand transformation, cause/social-impact marketing, and food & agriculture communications.

Performance marketing agency New Engen has acquired LT Partners, a Seattle-based affiliate and partner marketing agency, expanding New Engen's capabilities across earned and owned media as well as publisher partnerships. The deal broadens New Engen's full-funnel performance offering—adding affiliate, content, coupon, loyalty, influencer and other partner channels—to complement its paid media expertise.

SmartBug Media has acquired Chair 10 Marketing, a Seattle-based performance marketing agency and Google Premier Partner, to deepen its paid media, paid social and local SEO capabilities. The acquisition expands SmartBug's B2C and multi-location franchise expertise and integrates Chair 10's recurring paid-media services into SmartBug's broader inbound, e-commerce and revenue operations offerings.

Acceleration Partners has acquired Seattle-based Grovia, adding a partner recruitment and affiliate/influencer discovery platform to its global partnership marketing services. The deal strengthens Acceleration Partners' technology capabilities as it continues an acquisition-driven growth strategy while backed by Mountaingate Capital.

Avenue7Media has acquired Cascadia Seller Solutions, a Seattle-based Amazon and Walmart marketplace managed-services and consulting firm. The acquisition strengthens Avenue7Media’s service capabilities and talent pool, supporting its growth strategy and expansion into additional marketplaces.

Acosta, a Jacksonville-based integrated sales and marketing services provider, has acquired OeP, an eCommerce agency specializing in Amazon marketplace management and digital commerce services. The deal expands Acosta's digital commerce capabilities and provides clients with end-to-end services to bridge physical and digital retail channels.

DCG ONE, a Seattle-based marketing services provider, has acquired The Garrigan Lyman Group (GLG), a Seattle brand and digital agency. The deal expands DCG ONE’s agency capabilities — tripling its agency division — and brings GLG’s brand strategy and digital execution talent into DCG ONE; GLG principal Rebecca Lyman will join DCG ONE as Chief Marketing Officer.

Bellevue-based RedCloud Consulting has acquired Seattle-based Denny Mountain Media, a boutique digital staffing agency specializing in content, design and marketing. The acquisition brings additional marketing and digital design talent into RedCloud to expand its service capabilities and strengthen its Pacific Northwest presence.

Insignia Capital Group completed an equity investment in New Engen, a Seattle-based digital marketing agency, to accelerate growth and expand the agency's service capabilities. Insignia will join New Engen's board; existing investor August Capital and New Engen management will remain on the board as the agency continues to operate independently.

FINN Partners, a global independent marketing and communications firm, acquired Barokas Communications, a Seattle- and Denver-based tech-focused PR agency. The deal expands FINN's tech practice capabilities and provides the firm with established presences in the high-growth Seattle and Denver markets; Barokas leadership will join FINN's Global Tech Practice leadership team.

Tinuiti has acquired Ortega Group, a Seattle-based Amazon-specialist agency founded by former Amazonians. The deal strengthens Tinuiti's marketplace and Amazon capabilities by combining Tinuiti's full-funnel marketing services with Ortega's deep Amazon operational expertise to offer expanded retail operations, vendor negotiation, content optimization, and account management services.

The Channel Company has acquired Audienz, a B2B consulting and marketing services agency that helps cloud services providers differentiate and grow revenue. The acquisition expands The Channel Company’s portfolio of marketing, media, events and insights to provide end-to-end services that bridge strategy and creative execution for technology clients.

Accenture has acquired Yesler, a Seattle-based B2B marketing services agency with more than 400 employees and offices in Portland, Philadelphia, London, Toronto and Singapore. The undisclosed deal bolsters Accenture's B2B marketing capabilities, adding strengths in account-based marketing, customer advocacy, sales enablement and marketing automation.

Raffetto Herman Strategic Communications (RH Strategic) acquired MIX Public Relations, expanding RH’s national team to 30 full‑time PR professionals and adding cybersecurity, emerging tech and fintech clients. The deal brings senior PR leaders Matthew Mors and Hally Wax into RH’s strategic leadership and broadens the agency’s PR, public affairs and digital media capabilities across the U.S.

Dallas-based private equity firm Clavis Capital Partners acquired Seattle-based marketing services and specialty print provider DCG ONE, with the transaction closing on January 2, 2020. DCG ONE — founded in 1965 and led by Brad Clarke, Tammy Peniston and Terry Storms — operates four production facilities with over 300 employees and provides specialty print, packaging and outsourced marketing solutions to major brands.

LRW Group, a portfolio company of Tailwind Capital, acquired Killer Infographics, a Seattle-based visual communication agency, as an add-on to expand LRW's digital marketing and visual storytelling capabilities. Killer Infographics will continue to operate from its Seattle headquarters and will receive executive guidance from Kelton Global, another LRW portfolio company.