• by Larissa Faw , December 11, 2015

MDC Partners is buying Austin-based Unique Influence to fold under its Media Partners umbrella. Founded in 2011, Unique specializes in social, mobile, and search marketing. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

By joining MDC, the 30-staff agency headed by Ryan Pitylak and Chantal Pittman will be able to expand its services and tap into the holding company's abundant resources. Everything will continue to operate as before the deal.

MDC's model provides financial support to its shops through "strategic partnerships" yet allows them to operate independently. For its part, MDC will gain a leader in digital media buying as well as gaming and app development. 

"Unique Influence is a clear leader in the digital media buying space and we are thrilled to be able to partner with them to help fuel their growth," said Martin Cass, CEO of MDC Media Partners. 

 "At the same time,” added Cass, “by bringing the MDC Media Partners and Unique Influence capabilities closer together, we see significant incremental value to clients by driving proven business results in the fast-growing areas of social and mobile. A significant foothold in Austin also gives us meaningful access to one of the country's hottest pools of talent in one of the most desirable places to live." 

Unique will join MDC's other Media Partners agencies that include Assembly, EnPlay, LocalBizNow, The Media Kitchen, Trade X  and Varick Media Management.