Get Engaged Acquired by SAMY for Over $100M

Social-first marketing agency Get Engaged, which was instrumental in creating viral campaigns for brands such as Perplexity and Universal Music, and notably the 50 Cent "Beef 101" campaign for DoorDash during the recent Super Bowl, has been acquired by global social-first marketing company SAMY. The deal, which closed on September 30, is valued at a "low nine-figure deal," meaning it is worth at least $100 million, comprising a combination of stock and cash, along with an injection of resources intended for further scaling. All three co-founders of Get Engaged—Cam Fordham, Alex Dermer, and Ben Hiott—will remain with the company. Alex Dermer will assume the role of CEO. Cam Fordham exclusively informed Fortune that the transaction is fundamentally an acquisition, but the founding team will continue their involvement.

Get Engaged originated in 2016 as a "side hustle" founded by Ben Hiott, who was monetizing celebrity Facebook pages while holding a full-time position and maintaining ties to the music industry. Fordham, a former LSU football player with extensive connections in the talent world, learned of Hiott's venture and proposed a business partnership. Alex Dermer, who was concluding a prior business endeavor and working in the same office building, joined as the third partner. Their initial clientele consisted of Atlanta-based hip-hop artists, including Waka Flocka Flame and T.I., for whom they organized meet-and-greets and managed merchandise sales. As clients sought additional services, the founders were prompted to develop an agency model that anticipated future marketing needs. Dermer articulated this vision by asking, "What does a marketing agency look like in 15 years, and how can we start to be that answer today?"

The agency's growth accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period when many businesses faced challenges. Fordham noted that brands began reallocating marketing budgets from traditional media like radio and billboards to digital platforms. This shift coincided with the significant emergence of TikTok as a dominant social media platform. Get Engaged proactively guided its clients to establish a presence on these burgeoning digital channels, capitalizing on the increasing migration of advertising spend towards social media. The agency's expertise in generating viral content and achieving substantial viewership, evidenced by landing over 50 billion views for its clients, positioned it as a key player in the evolving digital marketing landscape. This strategic focus on social-first campaigns allowed Get Engaged to build a strong reputation for delivering high-impact results in an increasingly fragmented media environment, attracting major brands seeking to connect with audiences on platforms where they spend their time.