Akcelo acquires POPULA to boost mobile-first creativity

Akcelo has acquired POPULA as part of its expansion strategy, adding specialist expertise in mobile-first creativity and social storytelling. The integration strengthens Akcelo’s offering in mobile, social and digital while bringing senior leadership experience from inside Meta and Google.

POPULA was founded in 2023 by Jay Morgan and Mitchel O’Donohue to help brands create advertising tailored to a mobile-first environment. By joining Akcelo, the agency will combine its expertise with Akcelo’s scale across Sydney, Melbourne, Vancouver, London and Los Angeles. The POPULA team has now joined Akcelo’s Sydney office, with existing clients continuing to be serviced while gaining access to Akcelo’s broader capabilities in creativity, technology, customer experience, production, experiential and AI.

Aden Hepburn, CEO, Akcelo: "Akcelo creates work that moves at the speed of culture. Bringing POPULA into the business is not just about deepening our capability, but accelerating our creative model for the future. Jay and Mitch bring incredible pedigree and experience from leadership roles at Meta and Google that, combined with our scale and end-to-end capabilities, help to further forge our mission to create the most modern marketing agency in the world."

Jay Morgan, co-founder, POPULA: "We started POPULA to create ideas that connect with people where they are today. During our times at Google and Meta we consistently heard from Australia’s biggest brands that they felt they weren’t making the most of the opportunity to connect their brand with where culture happens today. Joining Akcelo means we can keep that focus while scaling it to new levels, which is a really exciting step for us and for the brands we work with."

The acquisition underlines Akcelo’s momentum as one of the fastest-growing independent agencies and reinforces its ambition to deliver modern brand experiences with cultural impact.

www.akcelo.com

www.popula.com

Follow Marketing Report on LinkedIn