Upward purchases Dayton-area graphics firm

Upward Brand Interactions, a marketing company with Springfield roots, acquired a Miamisburg graphics firm that will allow the combined company to provide additional services.

Upward purchased Graphica, a brand design firm based in Miamisburg. The combined companies will have about 70 employees, said John Fimiani, a partner at Upward. He declined to discuss the financial details of the transaction. About 45 employees will be based in the Dayton and Springfield area and the rest will be split between Upward’s other offices.

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Bill Sterzenbach is also a partner at Upward.

“There are a lot of complementary skill sets between the two organizations,” Fimiani said. “Graphica has a very strong design-based culture and a tremendous amount of brand experience on a national and global basis with well-known brands like Target, Airstream and Toys R- Us. We worked mutually on Dayton Children’s Hospital together so we have a great working relationship already.”

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Upward Brand Interactions was created when Springfield-based Oxiem merged with Dayton-based Hafenbrack Marketing and Public Relations in 2014. Upward is now headquartered in Columbus, but has offices in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dayton and Springfield, as well as an international office in Romania.

Graphica will retain its market identity, and maintain its core team, Fimiani said. The combined teams will collaborate on future client projects, he said.

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“On our side, we have tremendous creative capabilities, but we bring a great portfolio of digital capabilities to complement what they do and it’s a win-win for the clients, the company and making sure that comprehensive resource is available to clients both in the region and on the national level,” Fimiani said.

He described Upward as a marketing agency that helps build brands and has promoted local organizations like the Chamber of Greater Springfield.

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Other clients include Dayton Children’s Hospital, Hobart Corporation in Troy, PolyOne Copr. based in Cleveland and several health care clients.

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“The vast majority of all marketing today is heavily influenced by digital,” Fimiani said. “We combine both the traditional capabilities a company might need such as branding, design and advertising and couple those with the capabilities that fall into the digital realm such as search marketing, content marketing, social media and website app development.”

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