KNB Communications acquires Roketto, rebrands combined agency as Sōvyn

KNB Communications has acquired Roketto and folded the Canada-based digital agency into a new brand, Sōvyn, in a move that says as much about agency strategy as it does about scale. The combined shop is being positioned around integrated communications and digital execution, with Chintan Shah now serving as president and CEO.

The rebrand was announced on June 10, 2026, alongside a pitch that Sōvyn will sharpen the firm’s capabilities in generative engine optimization, web design and development, digital advertising, inbound marketing strategy, branding, PR, marketing, SEO, automation, analytics and broader digital strategy. Shah called the name change “intentional rather than cosmetic,” and tied the repositioning to a market where traditional PR and marketing alone no longer carry the load. The new name is derived from sophos, meaning wisdom and expertise, paired with a Latin-inspired reference to innovation and intelligence.

The deal was funded by KNB Communications along with investors Sundeep Bhan and Shirin Bhan. KNB said existing clients of both firms will continue working with their current teams during the transition, a sign that the acquisition is being framed less as a handoff than as a reconfiguration of how the business goes to market.

The histories behind the merger help explain the fit. KNB Communications was founded by Shirin Bhan in 1998, and Shah took the helm in 2016. The firm says it has more than 250 clients globally and more than 200 active media relationships. Roketto, founded in 2009 by Ulf Lonegren and Chris Onyett, is headquartered in Kelowna, British Columbia, and has been known for serving SaaS, ecommerce and B2B companies with a mix of growth marketing and web design.

The larger signal is bigger than one agency logo. Independent firms are under pressure to consolidate capabilities, geography and client fit faster than they can build them one by one, especially as AI search changes how brands are discovered. A 2025 arXiv paper found that AI search systems heavily favor earned media and authoritative third-party sources over brand-owned and social content, which helps explain why agencies are leaning harder into GEO, citations and content designed to travel across more surfaces than a standard organic listing.

That same logic is visible in the broader market. Axios reported in February 2026 that Omnicom consolidated Porter Novelli with FleishmanHillard and Ketchum with Golin after its merger with IPG. Sōvyn fits the same pattern: a cleaner package, a wider toolkit and a sharper story for clients that want one team covering discovery, content, advertising and conversion. The new brand is aimed squarely at healthcare, life sciences and technology, and it reflects a market where integrated visibility has become the product.