Lippincott has entered into an agreement to acquire Athletics, a New York-based brand and innovation studio, expanding its capabilities across digital experiences, creative technology and AI-powered brand activation. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close on November 2, 2026.
At closing, Athletics’ approximately 25 employees will join Lippincott while continuing to operate from the studio’s existing Brooklyn office.
Athletics combines branding and design with digital experiences, prototyping and creative technology.
The company has also developed Sesame, proprietary AI software used to create customized brand activation tools.
Lippincott plans to combine those capabilities with its existing strategy, design and engineering practices.
Management sees an opportunity to help clients move more quickly from defining a brand strategy to applying it across digital and physical customer experiences.
Athletics’ approach emphasizes prototyping and iterative development as part of the creative process, allowing teams to make brand concepts tangible earlier and refine them through testing.
The acquisition is intended to further integrate those capabilities with Lippincott’s global scale and strategic consulting work.
Lippincott has operated for more than 80 years and advises organizations on brand, experience and marketing strategy.
The firm sees AI and increasingly fragmented customer touchpoints as creating greater demand for brand systems that can be consistently applied across technology and experiences.
KEY QUOTES:
“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. 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.”
Michael D’Esopo, CEO of Lippincott
“Lippincott is a natural home for the next chapter of 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.”
Jameson Proctor, CEO of Athletics
