OutCold
OutCold is a privately-held, Chicago-based marketing agency founded in 2010, employing 11-50 people. The firm offers advertising, social media, event production, and promotional services under founder-led leadership (co-founder Holly Heffinger and founder & CEO Fritz Heffinger).
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1994
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What OutCold does
OutCold is a privately-held, for-profit marketing agency headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 2010, the firm operates with a headcount of 11-50 employees and offers four core service lines: advertising, social media services, event production, and promotional services. The company is led by co-founder Holly Heffinger and founder & CEO Fritz Heffinger, indicating a founder-led operating model typical of independent boutique agencies. The service portfolio spans both digital (social media, advertising) and physical/event-based (event production, promotional services) channels, positioning the firm as a full-service integrated marketing provider rather than a single-channel specialist.
The business model follows standard professional services mechanics for a small U.S. marketing agency: project- and retainer-based engagements with clients, scope-based pricing, and delivery through a compact in-house team augmented as needed by freelance or contract creative and production resources. The firm's Chicago footprint provides access to a large Midwestern client base across consumer brands, B2B, and regional enterprises. Like most independent agencies of its size, OutCold competes against other boutique shops, in-house brand teams, and the regional offices of larger holding-company networks.
Detailed operational, financial, and customer data for OutCold is not available in the provided source material beyond the firmographic profile. The analysis below reflects this data scarcity: classifications are grounded in the limited firmographic and leadership inputs, and explicit data gaps are noted where the input does not support a definitive assessment.
OutCold firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- OutCold
- Legal name
- EventLink LLC
- Website
- https://outcold.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1994
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- OutCold is a privately-held, Chicago-based marketing agency founded in 2010, employing 11-50 people. The firm offers advertising, social media, event production, and promotional services under founder-led leadership (co-founder Holly Heffinger and founder & CEO Fritz Heffinger).
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
OutCold industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Marketing Services
- NAICS
- Public Relations Agencies (541820), Professional Organizations (81392)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Management Services (8741)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Customer Retention, Loyalty & Win-Back Centers (BPAAAAAC)
Keywords
Where OutCold is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices6 records
Markets served
OutCold business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Event Marketing Services: Professional event marketing and experiential marketing services delivered to enterprise clients on long-term contractual basis. Revenue derived from service fees for automotive driving programs, government engagement tours, retail activations, and sports/entertainment events.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
OutCold product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OutCold is a Chicago-based marketing agency that delivers advertising, social media, event production, and promotional services to business clients. The firm supports brand marketing initiatives across digital and experiential channels for its client base.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Advertising Services
Quantifiable outcome
- Demonstrated positive ROI on lead generation through tracking client traffic to dealer websites from EventLink-created landing pages
Companies that use OutCold
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
OutCold technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
OutCold partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- BMWcore30+ year partnership providing automotive performance driving tours and fixed facility operations. Expanded relationship to include electric vehicle space services.
Scale indicators7 records
OutCold competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Jack Morton Worldwide: Global experiential marketing agency owned by Interpublic Group, producing brand experiences and events for major enterprise clients. Directly comparable to EventLink in offering immersive brand activations and event production for Fortune 500 brands.
- MKG: Independent experiential marketing agency producing brand experiences and events for major consumer and enterprise brands. Comparable in offering end-to-end experiential programs but smaller in scale than EventLink.
- Sparks: Experiential marketing agency owned by Omnicom Group, focused on brand experiences, events, and consumer engagement programs for major brands. Directly comparable to EventLink's experiential event production model for enterprise clients.
- GMR Marketing: Experiential marketing agency producing brand activations and event programs for global brands, with strong sports and automotive credentials. Directly comparable in event production and staffing model.
- George P. Johnson Experience Marketing (GPJ): Large global experiential marketing agency producing events, activations, and brand experiences for enterprise clients, particularly in technology and automotive. Directly comparable operating model and client base overlap with EventLink.
- Mosaic North America: Experiential marketing agency within the IPG portfolio focused on consumer-facing brand experiences, retail activations, and event staffing. Directly comparable in execution model and event staffing intensity.
- Octagon: Global sports and experiential marketing agency owned by Interpublic Group. Comparable in sports/entertainment activation capability and large-scale event staffing model.
Others
- Project Worldwide: Network of experiential marketing agencies including George P. Johnson and Sparks. Broader holding network relevant for benchmarking scale and acquisition comps in the experiential marketing space.
Broad incumbents
- Freeman: Large global brand experience company providing event production, audiovisual, and expo services to enterprise clients. Adjacent/overlapping in live event production infrastructure and scale, though broader in trade show and convention services.
- Wasserman: Large sports, music, and entertainment marketing agency with experiential capabilities. Broader portfolio spanning talent representation and consulting, but overlapping in sports/entertainment activations where EventLink also operates.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
OutCold social profiles
Digital presenceOutCold financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
OutCold leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
OutCold funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
OutCold M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about OutCold
What does OutCold do?
OutCold is a Chicago-based marketing agency that delivers advertising, social media, event production, and promotional services to business clients. The firm supports brand marketing initiatives across digital and experiential channels for its client base.
Is OutCold a public or private company?
OutCold is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was OutCold founded?
OutCold was founded in 1994. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is OutCold based?
OutCold is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does OutCold make money?
One revenue line is on record: event Marketing Services.
Who are OutCold's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Jack Morton Worldwide, MKG, Sparks, GMR Marketing, George P. Johnson Experience Marketing (GPJ), Mosaic North America and Octagon. Project Worldwide is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Freeman and Wasserman.
Does OutCold have an API?
No public API is recorded for OutCold.
What industry is OutCold in?
OutCold's product category is Marketing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAAAAAC, Customer Retention, Loyalty & Win-Back Centers. Its NAICS code is 541820 and its SIC code is 7311.