News

September 17, 2020

Overit Acquires Healthcare Marketing Agency Smith & Jones

Overit recently announced the acquisition of Troy-based Smith & Jones, accelerating the firm’s growth and presence in the healthcare vertical. Smith & Jones is a nationally-recognized healthcare marketing agency that specializes in branding and targeted service line marketing for hospitals, health systems, and other care providers.

Under the deal, Overit’s healthcare team will do business under the Smith & Jones name. The teams will collaborate virtually for the time being but ultimately plan to work together from Overit’s office in Albany, New York.

“The COVID-19 shutdown hit hospitals especially hard. Revenue dropped significantly as a result of the pause in elective procedures, while administrators were simultaneously forced to embrace changes in patient engagement, most notably PPE policy and telemedicine. Not in my lifetime has the need for a firm with our combined expertise been in such demand,” said Paul Fahey, Vice President of Smith & Jones. “Our new team offers a depth of talent and technology, creative services and PR to help organizations preserve their brand equities, compete in a crowded space, and restart revenue from service lines.”

Founded in 1985, Smith & Jones was most recently led by Sharon Lawless who will remain with the business and join the team as an Account Supervisor. Two other members of the Smith & Jones team will also be retained for their operations and project management expertise. The firm is actively recruiting for marketing strategists in the southeastern United States.

“I’m delighted to merge the healthcare marketing expertise of Smith & Jones with the creative, PR and production capabilities of Overit,” said Sharon Lawless. “This is a much more robust service offering and agility at a time when healthcare marketers need it most.”

Overit already had an established healthcare vertical working with organizations such as Ellis Medicine, The New York State Department of Health, NYS Office of Mental Health, OASAS, and CDPHP. Smith & Jones will add Arnot Health and Heywood Healthcare, among many others. Together, these teams have worked with more than 100 hospitals and health systems globally. The combined revenue of both organizations is projected to top $8 million in 2021.

“Under the leadership of Dan Dinsmore, Overit has grown to be one of the most respected creative marketing agencies in the marketing communications sector,” said Fahey. “We’ve been on the forefront of web, digital and automation. Together with Smith & Jones, we created one of the most robust healthcare marketing practices in the country.  This will enhance our ability to provide much-needed support to our clients and fuel our growth nationwide.”