Boston, MA – August 19, 2025 — Independent agency Connelly Partners (CP) is deepening its commitment to a performance-plus-creative model for brands, grounded in measurable business outcomes. CP has acquired McCarthy Mambro Bertino (MMB), the award-winning creative agency behind campaigns for Subway, Sam Adams, and Toyota. The agency has also won a series of global client wins and added key talent across its Boston, Dublin, and Vancouver hubs.
This growth reflects a larger industry shift as brands look for agencies that can unite creative storytelling, media expertise, and data-driven decision-making under one roof.
“We have always been committed to relentless creativity and measurable accountability in our work.” said Steve Connelly, President and Copywriter at Connelly Partners. “The moves we are making and the talent we are bringing aboard are reflections of that commitment.”
Welcoming MMB to the CP Network
With a 20+ year legacy and deep roots in Boston’s creative scene, MMB joins CP’s global independent micro-network. The agency’s work has earned recognition from the Clio Awards, Emmys, Effies, The One Show, and more.
MMB’s category experience includes Automotive, QSR, Retail, Sports and Healthcare, working with brands like Toyota, Subway, Sam Adams, Yale New Haven Health System, Newell Rubbermaid (Elmer’s and Brute), Foster Grant, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and more.
MMB will retain its brand within CP, while tapping into the network’s full suite of services to expand its offerings for larger clients. The MMB team will also build towards integrating across the CP network – as ZOO Digital and VRX Studios have done.
Fred Bertino, MMB Co-Founder and President, will continue to lead the MMB brand within CP, reporting to Steve Connelly. A former President and CCO at Hill Holliday, Bertino helped scale that agency to over $1.2 billion in revenue before co-founding MMB.
“MMB and Connelly Partners have been successful rivals for two decades. Coming up as creatives, both Steve and I share a fervent love and belief in the power of insight-based creativity to propel brand and business growth,” said Bertino. “Now we’ll amplify that with deeper strategic and performance chops and global reach. By partnering with CP, we’re bringing clients full-service capabilities with the creative they’ve come to know us by.”
David Register, longtime creative lead at MMB, joins CP as Executive Creative Director. He brings a wealth of storytelling, writing, and directing experience to the agency, with a portfolio that includes iconic campaigns like Fidelity’s “Keep Doing What You Love,” featuring Paul McCartney and Progressive’s “Flo,” as well as work for Aetna, New Balance, and CenturyLink. He reports to Chief Creative Officer, Alyssa Toro.
Momentum in Client Growth Globally
CP’s offering is resonating as more brands look to consolidate agency partners under one roof, seeking a balance between bold creative work and measurable business outcomes. The agency is now working with:
Pollock Clinics: A world-leading men’s sexual health brand. With corporate clinics in Vancouver and some 25+ franchised clinics spanning North America, Ireland, and Australia, the brand is now expanding into the UK and Middle East. CP was awarded the performance marketing business for the corporate brand (Digital Media, Web, SEO, Analytics) as Pollock consolidates agency partners under one integrated agency to support future growth ambitions and continued brand evolution. CP will also support brand strategy, creative, social and influencer marketing on project-by-project as the business scales. CP’s Vancouver office led the win following a year-long strategy engagement, with support now extending across all three of the agency’s global hubs.
Yale New Haven Health: Connecticut’s largest healthcare system, and the teaching hospital affiliate of Yale School of Medicine, has awarded its media & analytics business, including integrated media strategy, planning, execution and measurement, to Connelly Partners. The health system has been a client of MMB since early 2020 and the move now consolidates all MarCom efforts under the network umbrella — including brand strategy, creative, and integrated media planning and execution.
Another health win: Continuing CP’s momentum in the health space, the agency has been named a performance marketing partner for a leading supplier to the global Life Science industry.
As a result, CP’s Health business has increased 65% YoY, fueled by both new business and organic growth.
“In today’s world of fragmented consumer attention, clients need more than isolated media buying or creative concepts; they need holistic, evidence-based strategies,” said Michelle Capasso, Chief Media Officer. “Our strength lies in precisely that: unifying insights, storytelling, and execution to deliver tangible business outcomes.”
Strategic Talent Investments
To support this growth and evolving client needs, CP has made several leadership hires.
Jen Hansen joined as Director of Analytics. Jen brings a wealth of experience from her previous roles, including VP, Marketing Optimization and Analytics at Constant Contact and Global Head of Business Analytics at Vistaprint. In her new role, Jen spearheads CP’s efforts to elevate measurement, empowering clients worldwide to unlock critical insights and make more confident, data-driven decisions. This strategic appointment lays the groundwork for advanced capabilities, including forecasting, predictive analytics, and machine learning, to further enhance our offerings. Jen reports to Michelle Capasso, Chief Media Officer.
Jimmy Murphy becomes Deputy Managing Director, Dublin. One of Ireland’s most respected advertising leaders, Jimmy joins from ACNE Dublin, part of Deloitte Digital where he served as Chief Commercial Officer. He’s also held roles across Publicis Dublin, The Hive, alcohol brand marketing compliance organization CopyClear, the Marketing Society, and IAPI. He reports to Dublin Managing Director Vaunnie McDermott.
Sam Moorhouse and Mikey Fleming, join as Co-Creative Directors. They’ve been a creative team since 2011, partnering at TBWA/Ireland, Boys + Girls, and later founding Verve’s in-house agency, Showrunner. Their work for brands like Three Mobile, Aldi, SKODA, Lyons Tea, Tayto, VHI, and LEGO have earned multiple awards. They join David Register, legendary ECD Mike Garner, digital specialist and CD Chris Preston, and CCO Alyssa Toro, under a unified global creative offering.
