What Stone Ward does

Stone Ward is a full-service, fiercely independent advertising agency founded in 1984 by Larry Stone (CEO) and Millie Ward (President) in Little Rock, Arkansas. The agency operates from three U.S. offices — Little Rock (headquarters), Chicago, and Northwest Arkansas — and employs 101-250 people. It delivers an integrated suite of marketing services including brand strategy, creative services, media strategy and planning, public relations, digital marketing, and data and analytics, supported by an in-house production facility called 360 Filmworks and a global alliance with AMIN Worldwide. The agency's core technology stack consists of standard marketing-agency tools — digital marketing platforms, data analytics for campaign and media performance, and creative production software — with no proprietary AI/ML systems or public APIs.

Stone Ward's revenue model is professional services based: agency retainers, project fees, and media planning and buying billed to clients on customized, quote-based engagements, often structured as multi-year contracts. Its go-to-market is primarily enterprise field sales through direct client relationships across its three office locations, complemented by AMIN Worldwide for international reach and a co-development partnership with Boyette Strategic Advisors for economic development clients. The agency's customer base is concentrated in franchise brands (Sport Clips, Snap-on, Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken, Crunch Fitness), retail (America's Car-Mart, Sissy's Log Cabin), healthcare and wellness (Baptist Health, Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield), sports (NWSL, U.S. Soccer Federation), and select government and nonprofit clients. Several relationships extend 13-30 years, evidencing high client retention. The firm is privately held with an ESOP component and remains under the active leadership of its co-founders.

Name

Stone Ward

Legal name

Stone Ward

Website

https://stoneward.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Stone Ward is a full-service, privately-held independent advertising agency founded in 1984 with offices in Little Rock, Chicago, and Northwest Arkansas. It serves franchise, retail, healthcare, sports, and government clients with brand strategy, creative, media, PR, digital, and analytics services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Little Rock

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Agency Retainer and Project Fees: Full-service agency providing marketing services including brand strategy, creative services, media planning, public relations, digital marketing, and analytics on retainer or project basis for franchise, retail, healthcare, sports, and other clients
2. Media Planning and Buying: Integrated media campaigns, targeted digital advertising, and media strategy services with performance analytics and optimization
3. Creative Services and Production: Campaign ideation and execution, graphic design, full video production through 360 Filmworks, and story-driven content creation

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Stone Ward is a full-service, fiercely independent advertising agency offering brand strategy, creative services, media planning and buying, public relations, digital marketing, and data analytics. It delivers campaigns through in-house production at 360 Filmworks, serving franchise, retail, healthcare, sports, and other verticals with measurable ROI-driven marketing programs.

Product overview

Stone Ward is a full-service, fiercely independent advertising agency offering a comprehensive suite of marketing services. The agency's core offerings include Brand Strategy, Creative Services, Media Strategy & Planning, Public Relations, Digital Marketing, and Data & Analytics. These services are delivered through their offices in Little Rock, Chicago, and Northwest Arkansas. The agency also operates 360 Filmworks, an in-house production facility, as a subsidiary capability. Their service portfolio is organized across key industry verticals: Franchise (serving brands like Sport Clips, Snap-on, Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken), Retail (including America's Car-Mart, Sissy's Log Cabin), Health & Wellness (Baptist Health, Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield), Outdoors (Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, Natural Gear), Sports (NWSL, US Soccer, USA Curling), Economic Development (Be Pro Be Proud, Cherokee County), and Philanthropy (No Barriers, RefuSHE). The agency also offers a Market Research & Education Package for brands seeking research-led growth strategies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brand Strategy

Quantifiable outcome

• Grew from $2M to $50M+ revenue over 40 years
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• AMIN WorldwidecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA worldwide alliance of independent marketing agencies giving Stone Ward access to experts in any category imaginable, a global view of local marketing, and resources they could never obtain alone.
• 360 FilmworkscoreTechnology or IntegrationIn-house production facility with skilled partners under the same roof enabling collaboration from concept to completion. Having a production facility in-house means more collaboration and better finished products.
• Boyette Strategic AdvisorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational powerhouse in economic development. Stone Ward works side by side with Boyette Strategic Advisors to bring clients even better solutions together. Also office mates in Little Rock.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Tombras Group: Knoxville, Tennessee-based independent full-service agency of comparable size, founded in 1946, similarly offering brand strategy, creative, media, digital, and analytics to a multi-vertical client base. Highly comparable mid-sized independent with regional headquarters and national reach.
• GSD&M: Austin-based independent full-service agency (founded 1971) with comparable service breadth (brand strategy, creative, media, digital, PR) and a legacy founder-led culture. One of the largest remaining US independent agencies and a structural comparable on scale and operating model.
• Lewis Communications: Birmingham, Alabama-based independent agency founded in 1951, with similar multi-vertical focus (healthcare, tourism, B2B, franchise) and comparable employee scale. Strong comparable as a Southern-based mid-sized independent.
• Mekanism: Independent creative agency with integrated brand storytelling, content production, and media capabilities serving enterprise clients. Comparable on the integrated-creative-services model Stone Ward delivers through 360 Filmworks.
• RPA: Santa Monica-based independent full-service agency offering brand, creative, media, and digital services to enterprise clients across verticals. Comparable mid-large independent with multi-decade client relationships and similar service mix.
• Anomaly: Independent creative-led agency known for integrated brand strategy, communications, and content production for major consumer and enterprise brands. Comparable on independent structure and creative-led integrated offering.
• Duncan Channon: San Francisco-based independent, integrated creative agency serving enterprise clients across verticals including healthcare, financial services, and consumer brands. Comparable mid-sized independent with full-service capabilities.
• The Buntin Group: Nashville-based independent full-service agency serving regional and national brands with advertising, PR, digital, and media services. Comparable in size, scope, and independent operating model.

Broad incumbents

• Publicis Groupe: Global advertising holding company whose network agencies (Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi, Publicis, Digitas) compete for the same enterprise RFPs as Stone Ward while offering integrated global capabilities, technology platforms, and procurement scale.

Others

• AMIN Worldwide: Worldwide alliance of independent marketing agencies in which Stone Ward is a member; not a direct competitor but a structural peer network whose member agencies (including Stone Ward's direct competitors) collectively compete with holding companies for global clients.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/stonewardagency
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stone-ward
• Instagraminstagram.com/stonewardagency
• Xx.com/stoneward

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stone Ward