The Variable bets on Gen Z with acquisition of Carson+Doyle

The Variable, the independent US advertising and marketing agency, is acquiring Gen Z-focused creative shop Carson+Doyle as it looks to strengthen its ability to help brands connect with younger consumers.

The deal brings together The Variable’s broader capabilities across strategy, creative, media, social, behavioural insights and data with Carson+Doyle’s specialist expertise in Gen Z culture and platform-native content.

For The Variable, the move comes as marketers increasingly grapple with a generation whose relationship with brands is shaped by social platforms, creators, internet culture and rapidly changing digital behaviours.

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, The Variable describes itself as an independent, integrated agency built around helping “underdog brands” find the variables that drive growth. Its current offering spans behavioural insights, brand and marketing strategy, creative, media, social and PR, influencer marketing, data and analytics.

The agency's client roster includes brands such as Liquid Death, NAPA, Tesla, P&G, Merck, Electrolux, Hinge Health and Thorogood, according to its website. Its work covers everything from brand strategy and creative campaigns to social, influencer marketing, performance and AI-assisted production.

The Variable has also built a reputation around combining advertising with business and innovation thinking. In 2021, GP Bullhound advised the agency on an investment and recapitalisation by Svoboda Capital, describing The Variable as a full-service digital advertising agency and innovation consultancy.

Carson+Doyle, meanwhile, has built its proposition around understanding and creating for Gen Z and Gen Alpha. The agency's portfolio includes work for Spotify, Tinder, Red Bull, Snapchat, LifeStraw, Backcountry Access and Bonchon, with projects spanning TikTok, social content, creator culture and digital campaigns. Its own website describes its offering simply as “work that slaps.”

That specialist positioning could be particularly valuable to The Variable as brands move beyond simply targeting younger consumers through media buying and seek creative that feels native to the platforms and communities where those consumers spend time.

The acquisition also reflects a wider shift in the agency business: specialist independent agencies are increasingly becoming acquisition targets as larger shops look to add capabilities in areas such as social, creators, cultural intelligence, data and emerging platforms.