Mcgarrybowen is acquiring digital agency Swirl to further
strengthen its digital capabilities. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The San Francisco-based company will now operate as Swirl Mcgarrybowen. The 20-year-old Swirl focuses on digital
advertising and design, social, e-commerce, CRM and technology, such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and app development.
The 175-person shop's client roster includes Microsoft Stores,
CA Technologies, Juniper Networks, eBay, and HTC.
Swirl co-chief executive officer John Berg will remain as co-CEO, president, reporting to Simon Pearce, CEO, U.S. mcgarrybown. Tom Sebastian
will maintain his role as Co-CEO, and will take on the added role of global head of content for mcgarrybowen, while Tasha McVeigh, will continue in her current role as chief culture officer. Swirl
founder, Martin Lauber, will focus on business development.
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Swirl will remain in its current location in the Presidio section of San Francisco and will work closely with mcgarrybowen’s
San Francisco office, which serves key clients, Intel and Clorox, among others.
“When we engaged in our initial discussions with Swirl, we were attracted to their human-based
insights and how they create meaningful interactions with today’s consumers,” says Pearce. Swirl's "strong data-driven approach and unique digital execution" combined with
mcgarrybowen’s brand platform will elevate the way we build brands, and "our clients will benefit with a higher return on their marketing investment.”
MediaLink was a strategic
partner to mcgarrybowen in the acquisition.