Global social-first marketing agency SAMY has announced its acquisition of Atlanta-based Get Engaged, an influential firm specializing in influencer marketing, creator partnerships, and entertainment. The transaction, reportedly valued at more than $100 million, marks a significant strategic move for SAMY, aimed at substantially expanding its U.S. operations and integrating established American expertise in the rapidly evolving creator economy.
According to insights from Fortune, Get Engaged co-founder Cam Fordham characterized the agreement as a "low nine-figure deal," encompassing a combination of cash and equity. While the precise financial terms remain undisclosed by both companies, the valuation underscores the increasing premium placed on agencies capable of navigating and leveraging the complex landscape of social media and creator-led marketing. Get Engaged will continue to operate under its existing brand and retain its founding leadership team, functioning as SAMY’s dedicated U.S. arm. This structure is designed to seamlessly integrate Get Engaged’s established client portfolio and extensive talent relationships into SAMY’s broader international network.
A Strategic Leap for SAMY in the American Market
The acquisition represents a pivotal moment in SAMY’s ambitious global expansion strategy, particularly its intensified focus on the United States. Headquartered in Madrid, SAMY boasts an impressive international footprint, with over 1,200 employees spread across 22 offices and operations spanning more than 55 markets. Its comprehensive suite of services includes social media strategy, influencer marketing, in-depth research, creative development, sophisticated content production, and cutting-edge social technology solutions.
The addition of Get Engaged provides SAMY with a more robust and localized operational base in the United States, a market consistently identified by the agency as its primary growth priority. This move allows SAMY to circumvent the challenges and time associated with building capabilities from scratch, instead leveraging Get Engaged’s existing infrastructure, local teams, established brand relationships, and deep understanding of the American creator and entertainment markets. Juan Andrés Elhazaz Walsh, CEO of SAMY, unequivocally articulated this strategic imperative in a recent announcement, stating, "Scaling our U.S. footprint remains SAMY’s primary growth objective, and Get Engaged is the ideal partner to lead that expansion."
This acquisition is not an isolated event but rather a continuation of SAMY’s concerted efforts to bolster its global presence. It closely follows the recent appointment of Anabela Bonuccelli as SAMY’s U.S. managing director, a move designed to strengthen leadership in the region. Furthermore, SAMY has secured significant global account wins with major brands such as Unilever Foods and Barilla. These concurrent developments collectively illustrate SAMY’s commitment to expanding its international client responsibilities while simultaneously investing in the local capabilities essential for effectively serving these diverse accounts.
Get Engaged: A Powerhouse in Creator and Entertainment Marketing
Founded in 2016 by Alex Dermer, Cam Fordham, and Ben Hiott, Get Engaged has rapidly ascended to become a prominent player in the social-first marketing arena. Over its relatively short history, the agency has grown substantially, now employing over 120 professionals across key American cities including Atlanta, New York, Nashville, and Los Angeles. Its core services are deeply rooted in influencer marketing, social media management, entertainment partnerships, and strategic talent collaborations.
For SAMY, Get Engaged’s most compelling asset is its profound relationships with creators, celebrities, and a wide array of entertainment businesses. The Atlanta-based agency has cultivated a diverse client roster, partnering with leading brands such as DoorDash, Perplexity, Raising Cane’s, Universal Music Group, EA, and Sazerac. Its extensive background in entertainment and talent partnerships has enabled Get Engaged to consistently develop highly impactful campaigns that leverage recognizable personalities and tap into trending social media conversations, often bypassing traditional advertising channels.
A notable example of Get Engaged’s innovative approach is DoorDash’s 2026 Super Bowl-week campaign, which prominently featured rapper 50 Cent. Eschewing a costly national in-game television spot, the campaign was meticulously designed for social distribution, harnessing the artist’s public persona and cultural relevance to generate widespread attention and engagement for the brand across digital platforms. Similarly, Get Engaged spearheaded a Carl’s Jr. campaign during the 2025 Super Bowl period, spotlighting creator Alix Earle. Both instances exemplify the agency’s proven expertise in crafting advertising concepts centered around talent and social content, a distinct departure from conventional television-first distribution models.
These specialized capabilities are highly complementary to SAMY’s existing service offerings, particularly its emphasis on integrating audience research, sophisticated marketing intelligence, creative development, and advanced technology. The strategic opportunity created by this acquisition lies in integrating Get Engaged’s invaluable U.S. creator and entertainment relationships into SAMY’s broader international operational framework. This synergy could empower a brand operating across multiple global markets to access localized talent expertise in tandem with SAMY’s international planning, production, and campaign coordination capabilities. This integrated approach is particularly pertinent in an era where social campaigns increasingly involve a multitude of creators, diverse markets, varied formats, and complex distribution channels. The success, however, will hinge on SAMY’s ability to effectively integrate its existing services with Get Engaged’s unique relationships and creative processes to deliver demonstrably stronger campaign results.
Leadership Continuity and Integration Model
A key aspect of SAMY’s acquisition strategy involves preserving Get Engaged’s existing leadership structure rather than immediately subsuming the acquired business into a singular agency brand. Alex Dermer, one of Get Engaged’s three co-founders, has been appointed CEO of Get Engaged, while Cam Fordham and Ben Hiott will also remain integral to the company’s leadership. Furthermore, Get Engaged will maintain its Atlanta headquarters and retain its established agency identity.
According to insights reported by Adweek, the founders will retain a meaningful ownership stake in the combined business, though the specific ownership percentages have not been publicly disclosed. This arrangement is strategically significant, as Get Engaged’s value is intrinsically linked to its established relationships with talent, entertainment entities, and brand clients. Retaining the key individuals responsible for cultivating and nurturing these connections is anticipated to ensure continuity and stability throughout the integration process.
Alex Dermer articulated his perspective on the acquisition as an unparalleled opportunity to significantly expand Get Engaged’s existing capabilities by leveraging SAMY’s expansive global resources. "Joining SAMY gives us the global reach, technology and talent to take that vision further," Dermer commented. The decision to retain Get Engaged’s leadership also signals SAMY’s intent to preserve a degree of local operating identity as it continues to build a larger, more diversified international agency group. The long-term efficacy of this structural approach will become evident as the combined entities collaborate on clients and campaigns.
The Bridgepoint-Backed Growth Strategy and Industry Context
SAMY’s acquisition of Get Engaged aligns perfectly with its multi-year growth strategy, which has been significantly fueled by investments in geographic expansion and targeted acquisitions. Private equity firm Bridgepoint first invested in SAMY in 2023. This initial investment was followed by a further, more substantial commitment in February 2025, which positioned Bridgepoint as the majority shareholder of the agency group.
At the time of its reinvestment, Bridgepoint explicitly outlined its strategic priorities for SAMY’s next phase of development: aggressive geographic expansion, substantial investment in marketing technology, and selective, value-adding acquisitions. This strategy was already manifesting in SAMY’s international operations; in 2025, the company acquired the German social-first agency Intermate, thereby solidifying its presence in Europe’s German-speaking markets. Get Engaged represents a further execution of this strategic blueprint, placing a heightened emphasis on establishing a dominant position in the crucial United States market. This acquisition coincides with SAMY reporting expanded global client responsibilities and increased activity in new territories, including France, Denmark, Romania, Canada, and Turkey.
For SAMY, acquisitions serve as a highly effective mechanism to rapidly integrate specialized capabilities and invaluable local market knowledge, complementing its existing technology, strategy, and creative services. This approach also allows the company to pursue complex multinational client work while retaining agile agency teams possessing specific regional expertise. Bridgepoint has publicly characterized Get Engaged as a "complementary business" that will significantly strengthen SAMY’s U.S. market position. The private equity firm’s ongoing financial backing provides crucial context for the acquisition, although the precise funding contribution and intricate transaction structure have not been disclosed.
The deal also reflects a broader industry trend: the escalating commercial importance of social-first advertising capabilities for agency groups striving for growth. Fortune cited WARC Media forecasts indicating that global advertising expenditure is projected to reach an staggering $1.3 trillion in 2026, with social platforms continuing to attract substantial investment. The influencer marketing sector alone is experiencing explosive growth, with market size estimates consistently rising. For instance, industry reports project the global influencer marketing market to exceed $20 billion in 2024 and continue its upward trajectory, underscoring the strategic foresight behind SAMY’s investment in this specialized area. The U.S. market, in particular, represents a significant portion of this global spend, making it an indispensable target for agencies seeking to scale.
Implications for Brands and the Future Landscape
For brands currently engaging with international agencies or those considering such partnerships, SAMY’s acquisition of Get Engaged creates the compelling prospect of accessing a more comprehensive and integrated combination of capabilities through a single agency group. SAMY already offers a robust suite of services, including sophisticated social strategy, in-depth research, advanced technology, innovative creative services, and seamless international campaign support. Get Engaged now layers on top of this foundation with its unparalleled U.S. creator and entertainment relationships, coupled with proven experience in developing highly effective campaigns centered around influential talent and optimized for social distribution.
For multinational marketers, this synergistic combination holds immense value, particularly when campaigns necessitate both meticulously coordinated international planning and the nuanced application of locally relevant creators or entertainment partnerships. Furthermore, the acquisition may enable SAMY to offer its existing U.S. clients access to a broader array of services and market coverage extending beyond Get Engaged’s previous operational scope.
While these possibilities represent clear strategic objectives, their full realization as established outcomes will require time and effective execution. Neither company has yet announced specific new client wins directly attributable to the transaction, and the longer-term effects on revenue generation, campaign delivery efficiency, and the overall success of agency integration remain subjects for future observation.
Nevertheless, the acquisition serves as a definitive indication of SAMY’s strategic priorities. Following its significant expansion across Europe and other international markets, the group is now dedicating substantial resources to building a stronger, more dominant American business, with a clear focus on social media, the creator economy, and entertainment partnerships. With Get Engaged’s experienced leadership and invaluable relationships firmly in place, SAMY now possesses an expanded and highly capable U.S. operating platform from which to vigorously pursue this strategy. The ultimate measure of this transformative deal will be how successfully SAMY integrates these critical local capabilities with its expansive wider international network to deliver enhanced value for brands globally.
