Campfire Acquires Conversation Piece

New York-based boutique agency Campfire has acquired conversational marketing consultancy The Advance Guard. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Obviously after fresh talent, Campfire is retaining The Advance Guard co-founders Steve Coulson and C.C. Chapman as creative directors.

"Steve and C.C. have proven themselves crucial to our ideation and execution process," Jeremiah Rosen, director of accounts at Campfire. "And we now have a new, accessible offering for our current and prospective clients."

Indeed, since its birth in 2007, The Guard has collaborated with Campfire on several campaigns including HBO's "True Blood" viral controversy; Verizon FIOS's original TV makeover series, "My Home 2.0"; Discovery's "Shark Week" marketing; and Snapple's latest digital "Real Facts" initiative.

"We create addictive and entertaining content, and they disseminate it strategically based on research and analytics," Mike Monello, co-founder and creative director at Campfire, said of his work with Coulson and Chapman.

The Guard's 2008 billings were about $1 million, according to the company. By comparison, Campfire pegs its annual billings at about $7 million.

During it brief history, other Guard clients have included American Eagle Outfitters, Coca-Cola, Warner Brothers, and St Martin's Press.

The merging of the two companies will bring Campfire to a total staff of 25.

Campfire itself only launched in 2006, but quickly established itself with pioneering work for Audio in the field of "advergaming," and GM's Pontiac in virtual world Second Life.

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