Klick Health has announced plans to branch out organically beyond North America. 

The indie agency said it will open hubs in the Asia-Pacific region; Europe and the Middle East; Africa; and Latin America. Those hubs will be based in Singapore, London and Sao Paulo, with additional offices in Basel, Buenos Aires, Munich and Tokyo. 

All seven locations are due to be fully up and running by year’s end, the agency said. These locations add to the firm’s existing offices in Toronto, New York and Philadelphia.

Klick has serviced global clients based in the U.S. centrally, and has also partnered with agencies abroad. This expansion will allow the agency to conduct some of that execution, as its own people walk the proverbial halls overseas and replicate its client experience there.  

“What clients are always telling us is that it’s not just what we do but how we bring it to life; it’s our culture that they appreciate,” said Klick’s co-founder and chairman, Leerom Segal. “We spoke to a lot of customers, and what they consistently tell us is that it’s not just about having the boots on the ground, if you will.”

That client feedback has grown louder over the course of the pandemic, he added. 

“They want Klick to grow its global footprint, but do it in a way that preserves the soul of the organization,” Segal said.

This made organic growth, rather than growth through mergers and acquisitions, the agency’s preferred route. The firm will staff up the offices by hiring some managing directors, but many Klick employees are also being relocated to the different locations, Segal said. 

Overseas expansion has been a long time coming, with executives saying it’s been in the works since March 2020.

“When COVID hit, obviously, it was not the right time to be announcing a global expansion or having people move into other countries,” recalled Klick CEO Lori Grant. 

With COVID shifting from a pandemic phase to an endemic phase, and with the agency celebrating its 25th anniversary this week, the timing for the announcement seemed optimal, she explained. Additionally, management reported an increasing global demand for their agency’s unique talent, approach and capabilities. 

The chance to mark the post-COVID return to “normal,” as well as 25 years in business, on a global scale is something its people are excited about, Segal added. “The enthusiasm and energy of the full Klick team returning is palpable in our hallways,” he noted.

Asked whether the ability to compete with the network-owned agencies, some of which have been globally-diverse for years, factored into the expansion, Grant said Klick has been competitive in these different markets long before the opening of physical offices.

“We already have a tremendous amount of global business in many of these cities,” she reported. “In reality, we’ve already been competing for a long time. If our competitive set is worried that we’re coming to town, we’ve already been there.”

Klick led all other North American healthcare agencies in MM+M’s Agency 100 last year with an estimated $480 million in revenue, up 14% from 2020’s estimated take of $421 million.