Lippincott to acquire brand and innovation studio Athletics

The acquisition will bolster Lippincott's ability to move clients from strategy to activation faster, combining its strategic depth and global scale with Athletics digital and creative technology capabilities.

NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Lippincott, a global brand, experience, and marketing consultancy, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Athletics, a New York-based brand and innovation studio known for its multidisciplinary approach to design, digital experiences and creative technology, including proprietary AI software, Sesame, used to build custom brand activation tools.

For more than 80 years, Lippincott has evolved its capabilities to stay ahead of clients' changing needs, bringing together strategic rigor and world-class creativity to solve complex business challenges. The addition of Athletics marks the next step in that evolution, combining Lippincott's global scale, strategic depth, and design and engineering practices with the collaboration and experimentation of an independent studio.

Athletics' approach is grounded in thinking through making: using prototyping and iteration to make abstract ideas tangible early and improve them along the way. The studio is particularly strong at translating ambitious brand ideas and systems into physical and digital experiences.

Together, these capabilities will enable the combined organization to move seamlessly from strategy to practical application for clients, bringing together strategic thinking and design with more integrated digital, motion, and creative technology expertise. Athletics' proprietary technology will further expand this offering, helping clients bring their brands to life through custom AI-powered tools and experiences.

"Brands today must do much more than stand for something. They have to show up coherently across an increasingly complex set of experiences and technologies, while leaders simultaneously navigate the opportunities created by AI," said Michael D'Esopo, CEO, Lippincott. "Athletics' focus on practicality strengthens our ability to translate ambitious ideas into tangible applications. Together, we can help our clients not only define what's next for their brands, but build, activate and scale it."

"Lippincott is a natural home for the next chapter of Athletics," said Jameson Proctor, CEO, Athletics. "We share a belief that the strongest creative work happens when strategy, design and technology come together from the beginning, with clients as part of the team and making as part of the thinking. Lippincott brings extraordinary depth in brand and business strategy and global scale. Combined with our studio approach, experimentation capabilities and proprietary technology, our entire leadership team believes we have an opportunity to take on bigger challenges and create greater impact for our clients."

The transaction is expected to close November 2, 2026, at which time Athletics' team of approximately 25 people will join Lippincott. Athletics will retain its current offices in Brooklyn, New York.

About Lippincott
Lippincott is a global brand, experience, and marketing consultancy. Since 1943, we've helped ambitious leaders unlock the beautiful possibilities hiding inside their toughest challenges, turning them into brands and ideas that live in the real world and create lasting business value. As part of Oliver Wyman, we bring high-caliber industry, risk, and operational insight into our work, pairing a management consultancy's strategic rigor with a proven legacy of creativity.

About Athletics
Athletics is a brand innovation studio specializing in identity, experience, and creative technology. Working at the intersection of culture, technology and business, the studio helps clients design their place in the world, pairing strategic clarity with design that is built to scale. From Salesforce's evolution into the agentic era to identity and digital systems for IBM, Google, Amazon, MoMA, and Major League Soccer, its work turns ambition into brands that get to work.

SOURCE Lippincott