Toronto’s Match Marketing Group has acquired Magnet Engagement Group as part of its ongoing expansion plan to become the “most comprehensive shopper marketing agency in North America,” according to a release.

Magnet, also based in Toronto, was founded in 2013 and has since produced shopper marketing campaigns nationally for brands including Ford and Unilever Canada.

Its strengths lie in experiential marketing for customer acquisition and loyalty, says Brett Farren, Match’s CEO.

Last Christmas for example, Magnet ran an activation for RBC’s Avion credit card, using luxury features like valet parking, beverage service and gift wrapping in prestige malls, Farren says. “Often financial services are perceived as being an intangible, and they actually put the tangible brand features out into the marketplace for consumers to interact with,” he says.

This deal will allow it to take on about 10 management level staff from Magnet, including Magnet president Steve Medcalf, as well as the agency’s field staff. Magnet’s management all will be integrated into Match’s experiential team, Farren says.

Match has been on an aggressive expansion plan for the past few years. In 2012, Match acquired Colorado firm Action Marketing Group to bolster its experiential services, followed by the 2013 purchases of Marketing Drive and its subsidiary Weld Media, along with Montreal-based SVM. Other 2013 buys included U.S. agencies Circle One Marketing and Convergence Marketing.

Match currently has more than 600 employees in seven offices, including Toronto and Montreal, with annual revenues above $250 million. It has worked on merchandising strategies for P&G, as well as working on Koodo, Lincoln Motor Company and Hilton Worldwide.

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