The ad industry is still seeing a number of mergers and acquisitions with many of the bigger players gobbling up smaller firms.

Case in point: Santa Monica mobile advertising firm Mobile Majority announced last month that it has acquired Gimbal, a mobile engagement and location intelligence platform based in San Diego. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Rob Emrich, founder and chief executive of Mobile Majority, said the move will help strengthen his firm’s advertising capabilities.

“The acquisition of Gimbal is a massive step toward realizing the promise of relevant advertising,” Emrich said in a statement. “This acquisition likely puts our company as the largest nonpublic source location data owner in the space.”

Gimbal’s tech could bolster Mobile Majority’s audience targeting as well as provide clients and partners with better measurement of user engagement.

Chas Wurster, chief technology officer of Gimbal, said the deal also will provide a larger offering of location advertising and data intelligence that will ultimately lead to new revenue opportunities for its clients.

Gimbal joined an incubator run by San Diego telecommunications company Qualcomm Inc. in 2010 and became a private company in 2014.

Mobile Majority and Gimbal will retain their individual corporate names and offices, including satellite locations. The new entity will employ 103 people across seven offices worldwide.

Gimbal’s leadership team is expected to remain with the new entity with Emrich continuing his role as chief executive.

Mobile Majority, which had 2015 revenue of $5.5 million, ranked No. 2 on the Business Journal’s 2017 list of Fastest Growing Companies after logging two-year revenue growth of more than 4,500 percent.

Taking Off

Playa Vista marketing firm LaunchPad Agency has, well, launched a marketing program called Blast-Off.

The service, which debuted last month, aims to help companies prepare for a successful take-off by developing a prelaunch strategy that helps grow initial brand awareness and a community of early advocates. Blast-Off is open to all companies, not just existing clients, though LaunchPad declined to disclose how much the service costs.

James Little, the firm’s co-founder and chief executive, said the idea is to help reduce market risk while generating demand.

“Premarketing is a critical launch activity for companies that tests, prepares and preseeds their audience prior to market launch,” Little said in a statement. “This lowers market risk while creating demand for a new product, brand, and service.”  

Blast-Off is also designed to help companies answer the million-dollar question of how to gain thousands of users on launch day, he added.

The service was initially available to a select group of partners such as San Francisco co-working space Runway, downtown L.A. accelerator firm Wild Horse Labs, and San Francisco entrepreneur networking platform Startup Socials before its official launch last month.

Agencies & Accounts

Hollywood communications firm Rally last week named Shayna Englin a principal. Englin previously served as managing director of North America for Change.org. The firm also promoted Latia Curry from director to principal. … Mobile marketer StepsAway Inc. in North Hollywood last month announced new client Del Monte Shopping Center in Monterey. The marketer’s platform allows retailers to connect with in-store shoppers through their smartphone when it’s connected to the mall’s guest wireless network. … Santa Monica out-of-home media company TSN Advertising named Darius Myers senior vice president of national sales last month. Myers also launched the newly established New York office. He previously served as global head of sales for Glendale digital technology and entertainment company Off Radar Media Group Inc. The news comes on the heels of TSN naming Ben Kogus chief operating officer in November. Kogus previously served as director of renewable energy investments for Fontana roofing manufacturer GAF. … Playa Vista ad agency DeutschLA named Mike Frank senior vice president and creative director last month. Frank will be the creative lead for the office’s 35-person Volkswagen team. He previously served as vice president and group creative director at El Segundo agency Razorfish. … Public relations firm PMK-BNC moved into new headquarters in Century City last month, occupying four floors at the Plaza building. The firm was previously in Hollywood. … West L.A.’s Murphy O’ Brien Public Relations has announced the addition of clients Hotel Figueroa downtown; Napa Valley resort Solage Calistoga; and Alohilani Resort at Waikiki Beach, formerly known as Pacific Beach Hotel.

Staff reporter Subrina Hudson can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 251.