Publicis Groupe acquires Fabric Social to deepen push into influencer marketing

Publicis Groupe has acquired Fabric Social, as it continues to build out its influencer marketing capabilities.

The UK-based agency will operate as a standalone business within Publicis Groupe’s PR, social and influencer division.

Founded in 2021 by Niall McGarry, Fabric Social has grown to more than 110 staff, positioning itself as a social-first agency focused on culture-led, creator-driven work. It was named Best Large Agency at the 2025 Global Social Media Awards and won a Cannes Lion last year.

Announcing the deal on LinkedIn, McGarry called it his “absolute proudest moment in business to date,” adding that Fabric would become the “go-to-market social agency” for the group.

The agency framed the acquisition as a move to “become more of what we already are – more scale, more firepower, more ways to push the work further than we could alone.”

Managing director Lauren Sarginson, who joined the agency when it had around ten staff, said the next phase would be “supercharged by the Publicis engine.”

McGarry will join the leadership board of the division, led by Rebecca Grant, UK chief executive of Publicis Groupe.

Grant said the acquisition would strengthen Publicis’ ability to scale ideas and deliver cultural impact. “Welcoming Fabric Social signals our continued investment to build best-in-class capabilities,” she said.

The deal continues a run of creator economy investments by Publicis, which acquired Influential and Captiv8 in 2024 and 2025 respectively, and launched Influential Sports earlier this year. It also this month acquired 160over90 as part of a broader push into sports and culture-led marketing.