Tombras Acquires Opinionated, Portland Agency to Become Tombras West in 2027

Knoxville-based indie agency Tombras has acquired Opinionated, the independent creative shop based in Portland, Oregon.

Throughout 2026, Opinionated’s 40-person team, led by founder and ECD, Mark Fitzloff, and partner and president, Trish Adams, will continue to operate as 'Opinionated, a Tombras Company'. The Portland indie, which is known for its creative pedigree, working with blue-chip brands including adidas, Panda Express, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Hinge and Drumstick, will then transition to Tombras West in 2027, 10 years after its founding.

“We actually never intended to sell, thinking holding companies and private equity were the only options,” says Mark, speaking with LBB. “The opportunity to stay part of an independent was what made us open to the possibilities. We always had big ambitions, but we also wanted to build an agency that would last long beyond the founders. This gave us an opportunity to ensure longevity, yet remain independent and creative-driven. It was too good an opportunity to pass up.”

Tombras already serves clients nationally through its six existing offices across Knoxville, New York, Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington, D.C and Buenos Aires, and this strategic move extends its footprint to the US’ West Coast for the first time.

In a press announcement, Tombras – family-owned since its start in 1946 – took pride in being “the only agency that’s scaling without outside investment”. Speaking to LBB, the agency’s president, Dooley Tombras, adds, “This is a historic day not just for Tombras, but for independent agencies in general. The prevailing wisdom has long been that independence has to be sacrificed in order to sell to either a holding company or PE. We’re showing that there is another path, and we’re achieving true independence with scale.

“We've taken zero outside funding, so we can keep our focus on the work, our clients, and our people – while fully controlling our own destiny.”

“For years, this business has treated independence like a ceiling, and that couldn’t be further from the truth,” adds Mark. “Independence has nothing to do with size, only accountability.

“When your only masters are your clients and your own values, scale isn't something you sacrifice, it's something you earn by doing the best work you can. Our merge into Tombras gives us the opportunity to further build and push the boundaries of creativity, in service of business. And I think this will be the beginning of more interesting moves by other independents.”

Both agencies agree that Opinionated’s creative excellence is a perfect complement to Tombras’ uncompromising belief in connecting data and creativity for business results. And that this business move is not just an acquisition of world-renowned talent, but proof that it's possible to scale globally without sacrificing creativity or independence.

“Opinionated's big brand platforms, creative and big global brand experience paired with Tombras' media, tech, social and data capabilities will allow us to offer clients a broader range of capabilities that would've been difficult for us to build on our own,” says Mark.

“We literally have a shared philosophy of creativity in service of business. Opinionated will absolutely continue to do what we've done so well over the last eight years - build creative, effective and culturally relevant brand platforms - but now we'll be able to do so with the added strength of data-led, full-service creative and media capabilities.”