Orange County’s largest advertising agencies posted an estimated 9% gain in revenue last year, enough to push the group over the $1 billion benchmark.
This week’s Business Journal list features 48 local ad agencies and ranks them by revenue. Close to half of the entries—20—posted increases for 2014, five were down, and three had no changes. Revenue figures for the remaining 20 are Business Journal estimates.
The firms combined for a total of $1 billion in revenue, up from $926 million in 2013.
Newcomer
• IN Marketing Services, a newcomer to the list, posted a 19% increase in 2014 revenue to $363 million, accounting for more than a third of the revenue reported by all ad shops for the year. IN Marketing is owned by Irvine-based Advantage Sales & Marketing LLC and specializes in in-store promotions and “experiential” advertising, such as giving samples at stores. IN Marketing also bolstered its staffing levels by 30% to 520. The gains were likely spurred by two acquisitions—The Sunflower Group in Lenexa, Kan., joined the firm on Aug. 31, and Seattle-based 206inc came on board in June.
• Pacific Communications, another in-house ad shop, upped its revenue 14% to $66 million, good for the No. 2 spot on the list. Its employee count fell 8% to 240. Among the departures was President Ryan Abbate who retired at the end of the year.
Craig Sullivan, the agency’s management director, took over as the agency’s head. Abbate started with Irvine-based Allergan Inc. in 1990 and launched Pacific Communications in Costa Mesa in 1993. Speculations have surfaced regarding the agency’s spinoff following Allergan’s $72.5 billion acquisition by Actavis PLC in November.
• Innocean USA had an estimated $51.4 million in revenue and 280 employees last year, good for the No. 4 spot on the list. The Huntington Beach-based ad shop was created in 2009 to handle the Hyundai Motor America Inc. account. It further diversified its client portfolio in September with the addition of NRG Energy Inc., a Houston-based company with a market value of about $10.7 billion and a marketing budget of $195 million.
• Agency Ingram Micro in Santa Ana was No. 5, with an estimated $42 million in revenue and 70 employees. The division of technology distribution giant Ingram Micro Inc. last year collaborated with Stamford, Conn.-based BrandTaxi LLC on its parent company’s global rebranding effort that included a new blue logo, website, and the slogan, “Ingram Micro helps businesses realize the promise of technology.”
• Grupo Gallegos, an independent agency based in Huntington Beach, had a good year, notching a 30% increase in revenue to $26 million and retaining 110 employees. It made Advertising Age’s “Agencies to Watch” list, with a roster of clients that includes Cypress-based Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc., the California Milk Processor Board in San Clemente, Comcast Corp. and Foster Farms.
The agency, which placed No. 10, embarked on a hiring spree recently to replace Montse Barrena and Juan Pablo Oubiña, both of whom joined DLAtino, a unit of Deutsch LA. It hired Rachel Gilmour as the new group account director, Marty Orzio as chief creative officer, and Jennifer Mull as its new chief marketing officer.
• Irvine-based HeilBrice Inc. ranked No. 14. It reported $20 million in revenue and 30 employees, the same figures that were estimated by the Business Journal in 2013. HeilBrice’s Los Angeles Clippers account went to Santa Monica-based RPA in September after a review that followed Donald Sterling’s racist comments and eventual ouster as the team’s owner. The independent agency closed the year with campaigns for the Smart & Final store chain and for the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board.
• Estey-Hoover Advertising and PR debuted at No. 19 with $10.6 million in revenue, a 4.4% increase over 2013. The agency retained its employee count at 16.
• InterCommunications Inc. in Newport Beach landed at No. 23 with a 27% increase in revenue to $7.6 million and 27 employees. The agency specializes in the real estate and hospitality industries.
• Irvine-based BrandingBusiness, No. 32, reported an 89% jump in revenue to $5.2 million and had the same 20-member staff as it did a year earlier. The agency, formerly known as RiechesBaird, recently completed a brand overhaul for Hitachi Consulting Corp., a subsidiary of Japan-based Hitachi Ltd., and for Schreiber Foods Inc. in Green Bay, Wis., an employee-owned dairy company with an estimated $4.8 billion in 2014 revenue.
• Maricich Healthcare Communications reported a 40% increase in revenue to $3.5 million, good for No. 37. The agency increased its headcount by 8.7% to 25. It recently launched a campaign for Chicago-based Edward-Elmhurst Healthcare that featured race car driver Danica Patrick.
