McMurry buys Spark in video agency tie-up
Arizona content marketing agency McMurry has acquired New York video marketing specialist Spark Productions, in a transaction advised by Mark Sapsford.
Branded video agency Spark was founded in 1996 in midtown Manhattan, and had grown to 50 staff working for clients including CBS and The Ritz-Carlton.
Back in 2009, Phoenix-based McMurry faced fastgrowing demand from clients to produce more video, and began hunting for a video specialist with its own world-class client list to acquire.
McMurry CEO Chris McMurry explains: “Spark fits nicely with everything we do at McMurry, and most are well aware that the demand for video is growing exponentially.
“Before completing the deal with Spark, we were already under contract with our current customer base to produce 200 videos over the next few years, so the broader market trend is one we have been experiencing as well.
“It made sense for us to begin handling a majority of that video work directly ourselves, and Spark makes that abundantly possible.”
Post-acquisition, Spark operated as a standalone division of McMurry, before McMurry itself was acquired by New York private equity investor Wicks Group, which merged the businesses with Washington DC-based TMG Custom Media to create the #1 US independent content marketing agency in 2013.
In 2015, Wicks acquired Chicago-based experience design agency Manifest Digital to bolt on to McMurry-TMG, broadening its offering as content marketing mushroomed everywhere.
Mark Sapsford advised the shareholders of Spark Productions on the sale to McMurry.
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