Sparro, the independent digital media agency co-founded by brothers Morris and Cameron Bryant, has been acquired by British digital marketing agency Brainlabs.
The acquisition includes Jack Nimble, its social-first content and creative agency, which has been part of Sparro since November 2021.
Morris Bryant told Mediaweek the acquisition would keep his and his brother Cameron’s role in the company the same.
“We’re not going anywhere. We love what we’re doing. We’re so energised by this. We look forward to working with them and some ancillary functions, such as HR, finance, and IT. It allows us to return to what we do best, which is doing great work for clients.
Under the acquisition, the agency will now be known as Sparro by Brainlabs immediately.
“In time, we’ll likely transition to Brainlabs. The Jack Nimble branding, however, won’t change.”
“We think it’s important that that brand is consistent. It’s been quite a unique space, and we’ve been making incredible progress in integrating our clients and products. So we’re not doing anything to disrupt that.”
The brothers will lead the Australian business and report to the APAC CEO, Mark Fagan.
Morris said the acquisition was not a question of “why now” but about finding the right partner. He believes global independent agencies will eventually enter the Australian market and have partnered with Brainlabs to grow “bigger, better and faster.”
“Nothing in this transaction stops us from chasing that wave and pursuing more growth. It only enhances us.”
The acquisition may be a surprise as the independent agency sector grows in reputation. Bryant said there had been a noticeable shift to indies as a growing option for major clients.
“I think that’ll only continue, and that’s great for the market here, for clients and media in general agencies.”
Brainlabs Global CEO Daniel Gilbert was pleased to welcome Sparro into the fold as part of the British agency. He applauded the Bryant brothers for building the successful business, which handles AUD$200m of annual media spend for clients including Estée Lauder Companies, Catch, Temple & Webster, Petbarn, Webjet and Destination NSW.
Gilbert said the acquisition of Sparro marks a new era for media agencies in the Australian market.
“Like us, Sparro is fiercely independent and laser-focused on High-Performance media solutions, consistently delivering top and bottom-line gains for their clients. Our combined power of the smartest minds and tech and data-driven methodology is truly unbeatable.”
Cameron Bryant noted that other independent agencies have been scaling to levels of staff, service, and capabilities where Sparro have been able to challenge the traditional holding groups.
Bryant said that brands are seeking proactive, smart, hands-on marketing partners and want them to be operating to business-level objectives and not just digital KPIs.
“This acquisition plays perfectly into that. It extends Brainlabs’ significant international presence to further strengthen its appeal to global advertisers, and it enables us to offer clients international coverage, not to mention the incredible career opportunities for our people.
“We already know we’re the market leader in performance, and together, we can provide greater depth, services and technology that sets us even further apart,” he added.
Like Brainlabs, Sparro offers tech and data-driven strategies around marketing automation, conversion optimisation, search engine optimisation and programmatic media. Both companies also offer the full remit of digital marketing services from Search and Social through to Programmatic and Creative.
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Top image left to right: Morris Bryant, Cameron Bryant, Daniel Gilbert, Stephen Allan