Merchantwise Group, one of Australia’s fastest growing integrated marketing and media companies, has acquired award-winning data, creative and performance marketing agency, Jaywing, and digital product and UX specialist, Frank Digital. B&T Caught up with Tom Geekie and Alan Schauder to discuss the merger, how it benefits both parties and its plan to become a top five independent marketing and media agency.
Merchantwise Group started out life as a brand licensing business – think merch at an industry event – but has ambitions to become a major player in the indy media and marketing space. It has acquired one of Australia’s leading performance agencies, Jaywing, and its sister company Frank Digital, doubling in size and adding muscle in the media buying space.
The acquisition of Jaywing and Frank Digital is Merchantwise Group’s second major purchase in 2025, third in the past three years, and marks the largest and most transformative to date, doubling the size and scale of the business.
Backed by Sydney-based private equity firm Parc Capital, the group has delivered over 30 per cent revenue growth annually for five consecutive years, and is actively pursuing acquisitions to drive future expansion in Australia and internationally.
The addition of Jaywing and Frank Digital extends the group’s capabilities across AI-powered media, data strategy, performance marketing, UX/UI, and digital product development, managing over $110 million in client media spend and overseeing licensing and consumer products programs that generate over $500 million in retail sales annually.
Tom Geekie, CEO of Jaywing and Frank Digital, told B&T that he plans to continue leading the agencies in the future and the joining Merchantwise Group would provide the agencies with more financial muscle as well as complimentary skills in the social media and influencers space.
“The real attraction to joining Merchantwise is that we can stay on the smaller or more agile indie side, rather than being with an Accenture or a network, and retain what is true to us and what has made us good at what we do already,” he said.
“The social strategy, influencer management side of things is very pertinent to what we do in media. It’s becoming really important with what we’re doing in generative engine optimisation, which is the new AI side of search.”
Jaywing has about 75 staff and will double the size of Merchantwise Group, whose agency brands include the brand licensing business Merchantwise, brand management company Asembl, The Social Cliq, RQ Media and Three Scoops.
‘No bullshit factor’
Alan Schauder, group CEO of Merchantwise Group, told B&T that the addition of Jaywing and Frank Digital rounds out the group’s full service offering but they are still eyeing further additions in the experiential space.
“We’ve got great individual capabilities in social performance, media, in brand licensing and marketing and in creative but it doesn’t present an integrated offer. As the market evolves, clients are looking kind of a backbone partner that can really support them across the whole digital and creative journey,” he said.
“When we met these guys, we felt that there was an instant click. To be honest, there was a ‘no bullshit’ factor, no snake oil salesmanship, just really good, honest, hard working, super capable, super smart people who really know their data and deliver outstanding support and service for clients. The addition of Jaywing and Frank Digital provides an immediate backbone for the capabilities we have.
Schauder and Geekie described the acquisition as “almost like a reverse merger” because of Jaywing and Frank Digital’s scale and capabilities. The addition of these agencies also provides Merchantwise Group with a footprint in Sydney, in addition to its headquarters in Melbourne.
What is also interesting about Merchantwise Group is that it started out as a brand licensing company that works with some of the largest brands across gaming, entertainment, FMCG and lifestyle and gaming.
Its clients include Minecraft, SEGA, Activision Blizzard, Xbox, Hasbro, Sony Pictures, Rip Curl, Coca-Cola, Unilever and Diageo.
Jaywing is an integrated and performance agency of the year award winner, including Performance Agency of the Year at the B&T Awards 2023, and has experienced significant growth in recent years. It works with brands including New Balance, Crocs, Myer, Intuit QuickBooks, a2 Milk, OES and InvoCare.
Sister agency Frank Digital is a digital product and UX design studio that builds high-performing websites, apps and platforms across government, education, and consumer sectors. Its clients include Meriton, The City of Sydney, Merivale, Regional Australia Bank, Employment Hero and Sonder.
Schauder told B&T that Jaywing and Frank Digital’s additions are part of a strategy to make Merchantwise Group a big player in the indie marketing and media sector.
“We’re, unashamedly, striving to be a top three to five independent media agency in the market,” he said.
“We want to be famous for what we do here in Australia, New Zealand, and sort of as a hub for APAC business on the media, marketing and brand management side. We’d like to be a renowned boutique agency across the world, which I think we are making some headway on.”
It is unprecedented for a brand licensing and merch company to expand and become a dominant player in the media and advertising space, but let’s not forget that Sir Martin Sorrell’s acquired Wire and Plastic Products (WPP) – a manufacturer of wire shopping baskets – before turning it into the largest advertising holding company in the world.
