Kurio Joins SAMY Alliance

Front row, from left: Jari Lähdevuori, Patricia Ratia García-Oliveros, Sonsoles Piñeiro Kruik.

Back row, from left: Juan Andrés Elhazaz, Saara Silván-Appel, Elli Tuominen, Tommi Opas.

Kurio is acquired by SAMY Alliance, an integrated, social-first technology and data-enabled digital marketing company. Since being founded in 2013 SAMY Alliance has experienced sustained growth year-on-year, consolidating its position as a leading global player in its sector. The social-first creative agency Kurio will be spearheading SAMY Alliance’s Nordic expansion. As part of the acquisition, Kurio partners join SAMY Alliance shareholders.

“Our goals align perfectly with SAMY’s in both ambition and direction. We share a common desire to serve our clients both locally and globally as a leading ‘social-first’ agency, leveraging data and technology to enhance our offering. This partnership marks a significant milestone in our journey, and we are excited about the possibilities it opens up for us and our existing and new clients in the Nordics and globally.” states Tommi Opas, CEO at Kurio.

Kurio will keep operating with the existing name and under the same leadership. The will agency deploy a wide array of proprietary tools developed by SAMY Alliance. Some of these, like the state-of-the-art Capture social listening tools, have already been used to the benefit of Kurio’s clients. Kurio’s influencer marketing capabilities will also be enhanced by Shinebuzz, a leading tool for creator management. 

“From the outset, this merger delivers significant benefits to our current clients and our team alike,” remarks Tommi Opas. “The alignment in growth objectives, synergies, and cultural compatibility with SAMY Alliance became clear from our initial meeting. Over the years, numerous entities have shown interest in us, but our connection with SAMY Alliance stood out as a uniquely perfect match from the very beginning.”

Kurio, founded in 2012 by Jari Lähdevuori and Elli Tuominen, and since 2015 under the leadership of Tommi Opas as CEO, is a social-first creative agency that delivers results that move people with insight and creativity. Firm believers that social media has changed the way marketing works for good, Kurio has helped AAA brands such as Microsoft, Unilever, Accenture, Fazer, or Nokia build bridges between traditional and social media. This expertise will be of benefit to SAMY Alliance on a global scale, serving clients such L'Oréal, Netflix and Diageo.

Kurio is ranked the 8th most creative agency in the world in the Global Creative Index 2023 by PRovoke Media. Their client work has been recognized with the most acclaimed industry awards, including the D&AD, the WARC Awards for Effectiveness at Cannes Lions, the Clio Awards, the Effie Awards, and the New York Festivals Advertising Awards. Highly regarded thought leader in the industry, Kurio is known for their research collaborations with e.g. Cannes Lions, for their influential whitepapers, keynote speeches, and jury participations in prestigious awards like Dubai Lynx, Eurobest, The New York Festivals, SABRE Awards, and Effie Awards.

Listed by the Financial Times as one of the 1000 fastest growing companies in Europe for the fourth consecutive year, SAMY Alliance, headquartered in Madrid, operates in more than 50 markets with offices in 14 countries and more than 400 employees. The company develops complete digital strategies for brands: research and market intelligence, data and analytics, social media, digital content, creative, influencer marketing, communications, and public relations.

In the words of Patricia Ratia, co-founder at SAMY Alliance “the arrival of Kurio allows us to make a great statement in the Nordics, a market with huge potential that has the highest rate of social media adoption in the world reaching 81,7% of the total population. Furthermore, we are excited about the idea of having a HUB in Helsinki, a vibrant city with a strong edge in design and innovation. This HUB will undoubtedly function as an experimentation lab for the SAMY Alliance, enabling us to export innovation to other markets. We are also excited with the know-how and capabilities that the Kurio team brings to our Alliance in terms of Social, and are fully confident that it will translate in a stronger offering and a better service to our clients”

In a pivotal year for SAMY Alliance, following Bridgepoint's entry into the company's shareholding alongside Aurica Capital, the acquisition of Kurio represents a firm commitment to consolidate its position as a global strategic marketing and business partner for leading brands. The founders and the international management team will continue to lead this new growth phase, now hand in hand with Kurio, with the objective of attaining over €100 million in revenues in the coming months.