Atlanta/Birmingham – April 2, 2024 – Luckie & Company announced today the acquisition of Marbury Creative Group, an Atlanta-based creative marketing agency recognized for its work in the pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and hospitality industries.
Pictured from left to right: Luckie Managing Director Ed Mizzell, Chairman Tom Luckie, and President and CEO John Gardner; Marbury Creative Group’s Rob Marbury and Shelly Hoffman.
The acquisition brings Luckie valuable expansion in critical areas, including content, search engine marketing, and media strategy and planning, plus a seasoned team focused on creative, strategy and media. With no client or staff redundancies to address from the acquisition, Marbury Creative Group’s team of 18 employees will seamlessly integrate into Luckie’s Atlanta office.
“We are adding talented resources and expanding our capabilities to not only serve our clients better but also align the agency to our aggressive growth plans,” said John Gardner, president and CEO of Luckie. “The pace of change in marketing is so accelerated, we need an experienced and cohesive team to enhance our ability to deliver smart solutions that have real impact. Among other benefits, this partnership gives us the immediate capacity to deliver more personalized brand content at a faster pace to meet market demand.”
Rob Marbury, president and founder of Marbury Creative Group (MCG), is an award-winning creative director who has owned and managed two Atlanta advertising agencies in his 30-year career. He started MCG in 2010, and the agency has earned a reputation for delivering memorable creative solutions in a strategic and agile way. The group’s clients include a mix of category leaders such as Spice World, Inc., Alimera Sciences and Owens & Minor, to name a few.
Marbury will be an executive creative director at Luckie. Marbury’s partner, Shelly Hoffman, will assume the role of senior vice president, Client Solutions and Development, spearheading Luckie’s business development and marketing efforts.
“As Luckie has grown, so have our ambitions,” said Stephanie Naman, Luckie’s senior vice president, executive creative director. “Marbury will help us build on that momentum by adding a like-minded team of passionate creatives to help us grow, move faster and do better work on a bigger scale. It’s a great fit.”
“I have admired Luckie throughout my career; we share the same sensibilities as independent, growth-oriented agencies,” said Rob Marbury. “I’m excited to join forces so we can offer existing MCG clients greater access to analytics and many specialized services, and, equally important, to provide our team with new career opportunities. We have partnered on projects with Luckie for a while, but as one agency we’re delivering a powerful fusion of strategy and creativity that clients and their stakeholders will truly appreciate.”
Luckie’s last acquisition was in 2011 when the company merged with digital agency Integrative Logic, shifting Luckie’s focus from traditional advertising services to more sophisticated data-led marketing solutions. Since that merger, Luckie has increased top-line revenue by more than 40% and diversified its client portfolio, most notably in healthcare and financial services. Both Luckie and MCG have worked extensively in healthcare, consumer packaged goods and hospitality.
“We’ve known the Marbury team for several years and are thrilled to welcome the agency into the Luckie family,” said Tom Luckie, chairman of Luckie & Company. “Their entrepreneurial spirit, their culture of independence, and their expertise all align perfectly with our team and our vision for growth.”
About Luckie: Luckie is a creative, data-driven agency that builds brands and brand experiences to solve real business problems and achieve results luck can’t explain. It is one of the top privately held marketing firms in the Southeast. Luckie works with companies in the healthcare, travel and tourism, consumer packaged goods, and financial services industries, including Regions Bank, RaceTrac, GlaxoSmithKline and Panama City Beach. The company has offices in Birmingham, Atlanta and Raleigh.
About Marbury Creative Group: Marbury Creative Group is a brand-building marketing agency that drives business growth through the fusion of strategy + creativity. Founded in 2010, service offerings include branding, strategy and insights, digital, social, experiential, video and photography. The agency’s mission to Tell It Better! (if necessary, use words)® inspires audiences to action with agile and award-winning creative campaigns.
