Experiential marketing firm Grandesign acquires Hadley Media

Grandesign Media, North America’s leading experiential marketing firm and one of USA’s top independent media buying agencies, has completed acquisition of Hadley Media, the premier creative agency for concepting and executing events and activations during Comic-Con and other national conventions.

Grandesign is an award winning and elite experiential marketing firm, favoured by high-profile contemporary brands and Hollywood’s top studios and franchises. It significantly expands its entertainment expertise and footprint by absorbing Hadley Media, which has multiple television network and entertainment clients, and is the “go to” agency for major convention activations including Comic Con, SXSW, VidCon and CES, among others.

“Over the years, we have been approached by numerous companies about acquisition, but Grandesign is the right fit,” says Hadley Media founder and former CEO Patrick Hadley, who becomes EVP of sales and strategy at Grandesign. “Both organisations have great people and culture, and their eight-year track record has proven they can help execute creative ideas better than anyone in the industry.”

Grandesign recently made headlines by imprinting massive footprints and wreaking destruction for five days across Los Angeles to promote Kong: Skull Island. Last year, its work won two top awards for experiential movie marketing at the Golden Trailer Awards, while previous executions have been repeatedly recognized in entertainment and business media. The firm’s creative prowess and executional adeptness have led to 43% compounded growth for eight straight years, says CEO Aaron Gaeir.

“With billings of $46 million in 2016, Grandesign is on track to reach $100 million by 2019,” Gaeir says. “This acquisition was made because of the companies’ complimentary clients and skill set. Experiential marketing is the top growth category in the ad biz, and adding Hadley Media to Grandesign significantly increases our leadership position in the category.”

Gaeir said he was eager to be part of this year’s Comic-Con event in San Diego, where the company will now execute major events for TBS, Adult Swim, Fox, Fandom, IMDB and other well-known entertainment brands.

Acquisition terms were defined by both parties as “mid-seven figures.” The entire Hadley media team will be absorbed into Grandesign with no layoffs. Both firms are based in San Diego. Grandesign has offices in twelve cities across the country.