Clarity, a global integrated communications agency recently commended by PRWeek as a Best International Agency, announced the acquisition of Yellow Communications, an independent tech specialist agency based in The Netherlands.
The acquisition gives Clarity’s clients better access to continental Europe, while helping to maintain a key connection between London and the EU for a post-Brexit world.
As part of the acquisition, Yellow’s team will become part of Clarity Global. Yellow’s founder and MD, Karin van Geelen, will become Managing Director, Benelux. Meanwhile, Clarity’s UK MD, Rachel Gilley, steps up to become President, EMEA and responsible for the wider region.
This is the third acquisition Clarity has announced in the past 12 months. In October 2019 Clarity acquired LA-based agency Brew, and became part of freuds’ Brewery Group network of independent agencies. In December 2019 Clarity also acquired Dynamo PR to double its UK team. The announcement also comes on the heels of a major announcement in the US this month, with Jon Meakin, formerly of Grayling, joining Clarity as President, North America and Kara Silvermanjoining as Managing Director, NYC. Kara is an alumna of Acast, the largest global podcasting company, where she served as their first Head of Global Marketing, as well as Small Girls PR.
Yellow’s clients, including Citrix, ENGIE, Roche Diabetes Care and Boomi, will join Clarity’s roster of disruptive tech brands including Claris, Bambuser and Hired.
Sami McCabe, Founder and CEO of Clarity said: “The acquisition of Yellow is an important milestone in our growth story. We’ve been looking for the right opportunity to expand into continental Europe, and specifically The Netherlands, for some time. After an extensive search, we identified Yellow as the perfect target: Yellow is the best independent tech agency in the region and culturally the fit felt natural from our very first meeting. Amsterdam is the perfect place for Clarity to land in Europe, and will serve as a great launchpad for us to expand our presence across EMEA.”
Karin van Geelen, Managing Director of Yellow Communications said: “I’m very excited that my team is joining Clarity and will immediately have access to outstanding teams in London, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. I have considered an acquisition for some time, but have always looked for the right partner, which I have found in Clarity. We bring our network, our knowledge of this region and outstanding team to Clarity. We already partner on certain clients together, so we look forward to giving more Clarity clients access to our region. We’re happy to expand our team, join with new colleagues internationally, and be able to leverage Clarity’s global network, while adding our knowledge, experience and enthusiasm to theirs.”
Rachel Gilley, President of Clarity EMEA and Clarity UK MD said: “I look forward to working with Karin and the team in my new role. Karin has built one of the true go-to tech agencies in Europe and welcoming her team to ours will be my first priority. Bringing Yellow on board strengthens both teams and positions us for further growth and success in the EMEA region. Our Clarity UK team continues to inspire me with the quality of the consultancy and their dedication to providing true value to our clients and partners, and I’m thrilled to be overseeing this new EMEA team that has such a similar spirit and approach.”
