Mindgruve, a San Diego marketing agency, has completed a merger with Levelwing, a marketing and data technology company based in Charleston, South Carolina.
The deal is seen by advertising industry insiders as further solidifying Mindgruve’s position as a global leader in media, commerce, and data technology, and positions Mindgruve as one of the world’s the fastest-growing independent agencies.
It is Mindgruve’s third merger in the past year. A year ago, in June 2024, Mindgruve announced a merger with Macarta, based in Denver, and the agency’s name changed from Mindgruve to MindgruveMacarta.
Then, in September 2024, MindgruveMacarta merged with Icon Commerce, based in Cincinnati, Ohio.
This latest merger with Levelwing marks the agency’s name returning to Mindgruve.
An agency spokesperson told Times of San Diego, “Given the recent mergers with Icon Commerce and Levelwing, MindgruveMacarta consolidated back to its original name, Mindgruve.”
Terms of the transaction with Levelwing were not disclosed. A purchase price was not disclosed, said the spokesperson.
Also, no layoffs are expected at either Mindgruve or Levelwing following the merger. With the addition of Levelwing’s more than 60 employees, Mindgruve’s staff now totals more than 400 people across U.S., Latin American and European offices, the spokesperson said.
The merger with Mindgruve was reportedly initiated by Levelwing. A statement said Madison Alley Global Ventures served as strategic advisor to Levelwing on the transaction.
The Mindgruve spokesperson’s email to Times of San Diego said, “Michael Seidler from Madison Alley Global Ventures ran a formal process that included some of the world’s largest holding company and private equity backed agencies.
“Mindgruve was chosen by the Levelwing executive team based on culture fit, vision for the combined agencies and capability synergies.”
The spokesperson also said Levelwing’s decision to merge was based on a belief “that the combined agencies and capabilities would future-proof their continued growth and competitiveness on a global scale.”
A Mindgruve statement said, “The merger (with Levelwing) strengthens Mindgruve’s performance marketing offering, expands its U.S. footprint and adds a robust portfolio of blue-chip clients across multiple industries.”
Mindgruve’s Chad Robley. (Courtesy MarketInk)“The merger marks an important milestone in our company’s journey,” said Chad Robley, chief executive officer of Mindgruve.
“Levelwing brings world-class talent and clients that add more buying power, create a deeper bench of performance marketers, and elevate our tech capabilities within predictive marketing analytics. Together, we’re poised to deliver an even greater impact for our clients and partners.”
Mindgruve was founded in 2001, and Levelwing was founded in 2002.
A statement said, “Levelwing has built an exceptional reputation for driving revenue growth for brands through fully integrated strategy, creative, media, and predictive marketing analytics solutions. The agency’s client roster spans automotive, restaurant, financial services, healthcare, and consumer products.”
In addition to its South Carolina headquarters, Levelwing operated offices in New York and Nashville.
“We are incredibly proud of what we’ve built at Levelwing and are excited to join forces with Mindgruve,” said Steve Parker, Jr., chief executive and co-founder of Levelwing, who will become chief client experience officer at Mindgruve.
“Both agencies share a commitment to transparency, measurable results, and delivering real business value. This partnership gives us a global platform and best-in-class talent to drive meaningful growth for our clients while staying true to the principles that have guided us for over two decades.”
According to Jeff Adelson-Yan, president and co-founder of Levelwing, “This is more than a merger, it’s an acceleration of our collective vision. By combining Levelwing’s deep performance marketing, data science, and creative expertise with Mindgruve’s advanced analytics and commerce capabilities, we’re transforming how brands harness data-driven insights to fuel innovation, optimize customer experiences and achieve measurable business growth.”
A statement said Adelson-Yan will become chief product officer at Mindgruve.
91X returns Marty Whitney for third time, names Hilary Doneux as brand manager
San Diego’s alternative rock radio station 91X XTRA-FM, one of three local radio stations operated by Local Media San Diego, has announced the return of personality Marty Whitney to host weekday mornings (6 a.m. to noon) and the appointment of Hilary Doneux as 91x brand manager.
Hilary Doneux, newly named 91X brand manager. (Courtesy MarketInk)For Doneux, the new title complements her current roles as assistant program director, music director and on-air afternoon host.
“For a Southern California kid who started on 91X back in 1997, I am humbled, honored and so stoked to get the opportunity to steer this legendary ship,” Doneux said. “Joining the list of incredible programmers who’ve helped shaped 91X for 40-plus years fills me with gratitude and butterflies.”
Prior to 91X, Doneux worked at 105.5 KNAC Los Angeles and 96.5 KNRX Denver.
For Whitney, this is his third tour of duty at 91X. He served as evening host from 2003 to 2006, and then returned for a second run in 2019. He was squeezed out in January of this year as part of a strategic realignment of LMSD’s assets following LMSD’s sale of KFBG 100.7-FM to Lotus Communications Corp., based in Los Angeles.
In late January, Whitney said on a social media post, “LMSD sold 100.7 BIG-FM, which landed me outside of their new staff mix.”
Earlier this month, Whitney told blog site Happens, “I couldn’t be happier or satisfied to hold on to another small piece of such an important part of San Diego and our beloved FM industry for a third time.”
Marty Whitney, now back at 91X (XTRA-FM) for the third time. (Courtesy MarketInk)LMSD said in a statement the roster moves followed the departure of Garett Michaels, 91X program director.
Michaels announced in early June that he was moving to the Pacific Northwest to become general manager of KSER 90.7, a non-commercial station based in Everett, Wash., which is simulcast on KXIR 89.9 in Freeland, Wash., on Whidbey Island.
“While we are sorry to see Garett go, we are excited that he will remain on the 91X Team as a consultant to the station,” LMSD general manager Gregg Wolfson said.
“Hilary has earned the promotion to brand manager and will do an amazing job moving 91X forward. Likewise, we will be bringing Marty back home to host 91X mornings where he belongs. I’m excited for 91X’s position as one of the leading and most influential alternative rock stations ever.”
LMSD, operated by Wolfson and Norm McKee, operates three Mexican-licensed FM radio stations in San Diego, including XTRA-FM 91X, XHRM-FM Magic 92.5, and XHTZ-FM Z-90.3.
Streaming TV viewers surpass broadcast and cable TV for first time
For the first time in the history of television, the share of Americans who watch TV via a digital streaming service now exceeds the combined total of viewers who watch traditional broadcast or cable TV.
For the past several years, broadcast and cable have been losing viewers to streaming, including such platforms as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Max, and Disney+. However, in May 2025, streaming reached a tipping point in share and surpassed the number of broadcast and cable TV viewers combined.
According to Nielsen, a company specializing in media audience measurement and analytics, streaming in May accounted for 44.8% of total daytime viewing, compared to 44.2% for broadcast and cable TV and 10.9% dedicated to other sources, including video on demand, audio streaming, gaming and DVD playback.
Cable had a 24.1% share, followed by broadcast at a 20.1% share.
As reported by O’Dwyer’s, a news service that covers the public relations and marketing communications industries, when it comes to what streaming platforms Americans are watching most, YouTube leads the pack at 12.5%, followed by Netflix (7.5%), Disney (includes ESPN+ and Hulu, 5.0%), Prime Video (3.5%), Roku Channel (2.5%), Paramount (2.2%), Tubi (2.2%), Warner Bros. Discovery and Max (1.5%) and NBC’s Peacock (1.4%).
YouTube has seen viewership gains of more than 120% since 2021, according to Nielsen. Netflix has also seen its viewership grow by 27% during that same time. Additional growth can be attributed to the rise of FAST channels, or Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV, where content is supported by advertising, such as Tubi, Pluto TV and Roku Channel.
The streaming migration has largely been driven by younger viewers. According to a 2024 Statista study, 50% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 don’t watch any traditional television any more at all.
Meanwhile, older Americans also are climbing on the streaming bandwagon. Nielsen found that YouTube traffic from users age 65 and over had nearly doubled in the last year.
Nielsen has been measuring streaming TV viewing the past four years, according to Media Post, a digital media and marketing publication. Streaming has risen 71% since May 2021, Nielsen said. During that same time period, broadcast TV has dropped 21% while cable TV usage has slumped by 39%, reported Barrett Media.
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( MarketInk: Third merger in past year for San Diego’s Mindgruve marketing agency )
Also on site :