Surface adds Palma Group as it expands unit-level marketing push

By AI, Created 12:26 PM UTC, May 28, 2026, /AGP/ – Atlanta agency Surface has added The Palma Group as a strategic partner and hired new senior leaders as it scales its BreakThrough media system for multi-unit brands. The moves come after new business wins, including Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, and signal a deeper push into localized creative and media execution.

Why it matters: - Surface is betting that smaller, unit-level media buys paired with disruptive creative can outperform broader national campaigns. - The strategy targets multi-unit operators facing fragmented media, tighter budgets and pressure to deliver measurable traffic. - The partnership and new hires suggest Surface wants to turn that model into a larger growth engine.

What happened: - Atlanta-based Surface announced a strategic partnership with The Palma Group on May 28, 2026. - Surface also unveiled a series of senior hires to support expansion of its proprietary BreakThrough™ marketing model. - The agency said the moves mark an aggressive expansion of its unit-level approach. - Surface has built a roster that includes Skiptown, Fifth Group Restaurants and CobbEMC. - In June 2025, Surface became agency of record for creative and media for Red Robin Gourmet Burgers.

The details: - Surface says its BreakThrough™ system replaces traditional top-down spending with hyper-localized media at the individual trade-area level. - The agency says the model synchronizes creative and media so marketing dollars perform more efficiently in specific local markets. - Richard Leslie, president of Surface, said the old top-down media model is no longer viable without enormous budgets. - Leslie said the company has proven that localized creative and media can drive measurable traffic results. - Michael Dunn joins as group creative director. - Dunn is described by Surface as an award-winning creative leader with experience in brand turnarounds. - Dunn will focus on scaling the agency’s ability to pair brand identity work with high-converting social content. - Brandon Wolff joins Surface as art director. - Paul Carpenter joins as account and agency development lead. - Carpenter is president of the American Marketing Association’s Atlanta Chapter. - The Palma Group is an advertising recruitment and consulting firm. - Michael Palma, CEO of The Palma Group, said Surface has assembled a best-in-class leadership team. - Palma said the BreakThrough™ system creates bottom-line results for multi-unit operators.

Between the lines: - Surface is positioning itself as a challenger agency built for brands that cannot win by outspending larger competitors. - The new hires point to an effort to add both creative firepower and business development capacity. - Partnering with a recruiting and consulting firm can help Surface scale faster while competing for specialized talent.

What’s next: - Surface will likely use the new leadership team to broaden adoption of BreakThrough™ across more multi-unit retail and restaurant accounts. - The Palma Group partnership should help support hiring and business development as the agency grows. - The agency’s next test is whether its localized model can keep delivering measurable results as it takes on more brands.

The bottom line: - Surface is trying to turn a niche local-media play into a scalable growth story for multi-unit brands.