Top GOP Media Shop IMGE Acquires Direct Persuasion
Top GOP media shop IMGE has acquired Direct Persuasion, the Republican advertising and strategy firm founded in 2018 by longtime digital strategist and former Trump campaign Digital Director Gary Coby.
The move marks IMGE’s first full acquisition. The firm is part of GP3, an umbrella LLC created to tie together a handful of Republican public affairs, polling, mail and consulting shops – some with overlapping leadership.
“We founded Direct Persuasion with the belief that better technology leads to better marketing decisions,” Direct Persuasion’s CEO Daria Gastrara said in a statement. “When existing platforms could not answer the questions our clients needed answered, we built our own. Joining IMGE allows us to scale those tools across a broader client base while continuing to innovate alongside one of the industry’s leading digital agencies.”
IMGE explained the acquisition as a shift in its standard approach to growth. In the past, the company said in a press release, when IMGE needed a capability that didn’t exist, “we built it.”
“Now we’re growing by joining forces, and we can’t wait to see what that brings,” the company said.
Direct Persuasion’s tech has been integrated into IMGE’s stack as of Tuesday, the company said. The acquisition won’t affect the client side; the account teams aren’t changing and Direct Persuasion’s team is joining IMGE.
Gastrara, who bought Direct Persuasion from Coby along with other firm executives in 2023, will no longer hold the title of CEO and is now serving as an advisor to Direct Persuasion, according to LinkedIn.
