The Plus Company’s U.S. growth strategy has come into full swing with the acquisition of San Francisco-based creative agency Mekanism and the addition of former Accenture Interactive CEO Brian Whipple (pictured, right) as chair of the company’s board.

When Plus Company was first formed in early 2021, Marchand told strategy that it had aims to “make a big push into the U.S.” through more acquisitions. “We set our sights on fortifying our U.S. scale and capability as our first priority, and today’s announcements are just the first steps in our ambitious plan to build on our momentum,” he said today.

Whipple joined Plus Company’s existing, six-member board at the start of June as an independent board member and its chair. The former CEO of Accenture Interactive is “an invaluable asset to the future of Plus Company,” says Marchand, “because he understands how to build and grow a successful and new kind of marketing services company, in the U.S. and globally.”

“With Plus Company, I can see the ambition, intelligence and creativity within one alliance, and these traits reflect my own commitment to authenticity in leadership and the human experience, for clients, their customers, and our global team members,” Whipple says.

The company’s acquisition of Mekanism also brings 200 new employees across offices in San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Seattle into the Plus Company fold. The team will continue to be led by co-founder and CEO Jason Harris (pictured, left), who says it has “found the perfect partner.”

Mekanism has worked with a wide array of multinational brands including Quaker, Amazon, Jose Cuervo, OKCupid and Peloton (for which it created an infamous holiday ad in 2019).

The agency has structured its business model around blending performance data with creative iteration – an approach it calls “Soul & Science.” According to Harris, “Plus Company wants to lift up our culture, creativity and clients. The vision of bringing creativity and technology together lines up with our Soul & Science focus.”

Mekanism joins an alliance that already includes integrated creative agencies Cossette, K72, Camp Jefferson and San Fransico-based Eleven; media agencies Cossette Media and Jungle; PR agencies Citizen Relations, Middle Child and The Narrative Group; performance marketing agencies All Inclusive Marketing and PathIQ; and specialist arms Gene Global (health), Impact Research, Magnet (tech and data) and Septième (production). Design and branding firm Fuseproject, social-led creative agency We Are Social and its sister creative agencies Socialize, Hello and Metta also fall under the Plus Company umbrella.