The Marketing Store

What The Marketing Store does

The Marketing Store (tms) is a privately held, Chicago-headquartered customer engagement agency founded in 1986 that unites marketing, technology, and sourcing capabilities to deliver integrated brand solutions for the world's largest consumer brands. The firm operates a multi-decade enterprise model, partnering with McDonald's (51-year relationship), Adidas (12 years), T-Mobile (10 years), Virgin Media O2 (6 years), Samsung, Coca-Cola, and Starbucks across loyalty programs, gamification (e.g., McDonald's Monopoly), promotional merchandise, packaging, drinkware, and experiential activations.

tms combines professional services, managed services, and transaction fees across three revenue streams: marketing services (experiential, brand activations, loyalty, gamification), product sourcing and manufacturing ($4B spend management, 300+ suppliers), and packaging solutions (150B units globally). Its operational footprint spans 13 offices across 26 countries (Chicago, London, Paris, Munich, Duisburg, Dubai, Beirut, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Singapore, Tokyo, Seattle), serving 100+ countries with 1,400 employees. Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales with long contract cycles and custom-priced engagements; no public pricing exists. Production scale is industrial — 1.5 billion toys annually, $500M in drinkware volume, 110 million customers reached per day.

The business model relies on deep client integration and procurement leverage rather than technology or AI differentiation. Awards recognition (D&AD, Effie, Marketing Society, ANA B2, w3) and cross-industry workplace awards (Sunday Times, Ad Age, HR Asia) support brand and talent positioning. The firm shows no public funding history, no parent company, no M&A activity, and no disclosed revenue, operating as a mature, founder/private-controlled services business with stable anchor clients but high single-customer dependency.

Name

The Marketing Store

Website

https://tms.agency

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The Marketing Store (tms) is a privately held, Chicago-headquartered customer engagement agency founded in 1986 that unites technology, marketing, and sourcing to deliver integrated brand solutions — including loyalty programs, gamification, packaging, promotional merchandise, and experiential activations — for global enterprise clients such as McDonald's, Adidas, T-Mobile, Samsung, Coca-Cola, and Starbucks across 26 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Brand Engagement & Marketing Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (54181), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Trade Promotion Management (TPM) & Optimization Services (CRAOAOAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Trade Promotion Management & Optimization (TPM/TPO) (MPAAAJAH)

Keywords

• Brand engagement services
• Experiential marketing
• Promotional products sourcing
• Loyalty program management
• Packaging solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Marketing Services: Full-service marketing including experiential marketing, brand activations, loyalty programs, and gamification campaigns for enterprise clients
2. Product Sourcing and Manufacturing: Global sourcing of promotional products, packaging, drinkware, toys, and merchandise with $4 billion in spend management and 300+ suppliers managed
3. Packaging Solutions: Production and management of packaging at scale, with 150 billion units of packaging globally

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Marketing Store (tms) is a global customer engagement agency that unites technology, marketing, and sourcing capabilities to deliver integrated brand solutions for the world's leading enterprises. Its core offerings include retail experience and experiential activations, gamification programs (such as McDonald's Monopoly), loyalty and brand partnership management, packaging design and production at massive scale, promotional merchandise and toy manufacturing, branded drinkware and merchandise, and end-to-end spend/procurement management across a global supplier network.

Product overview

The Marketing Store (tms) operates as a global services company uniting technology, marketing, and sourcing to deliver transformational solutions for leading brands. The company offers a unified portfolio of services that includes Retail Experience Services, Gamification Solutions, Loyalty Programs & Brand Partnerships, Packaging Solutions, Promotional Products, Spend Management, and Drinkware & Merchandise. These services work together to deliver engagement at global scale—producing 1.5 billion toys annually, managing 150 billion units of packaging, serving 110 million customers per day, and supporting 400+ brand partnerships across 100+ countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Retail Experience Services Design and delivery of immersive retail environments and experiential activations for enterprise brand clients.
• Gamification Solutions Game-based engagement programs including branded games, interactive promotions, and digital experiences such as McDonald's Monopoly.
• Loyalty Programs & Brand Partnerships Development and management of customer loyalty programs and strategic brand partnership activations for enterprise clients.
• Packaging Solutions Design and sourcing of product packaging, including sustainable packaging innovations, produced at a global scale of 150 billion units.
• Promotional Products Creation and distribution of promotional merchandise and collectible items such as Happy Meal toys at a scale of 1.5 billion units annually.
• Spend Management Procurement and supply chain management services managing $4 billion in spend across 300+ global suppliers.
• Drinkware & Merchandise Design and sourcing of branded drinkware and merchandise products, with $500 million in drinkware production volume.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.5 billion toys produced annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• McDonald'scoreStrategic or Co-development Partner51-year strategic partnership delivering Happy Meal toys, packaging solutions, promotional campaigns, and loyalty programs at massive scale - 1.5 billion toys annually and 150 billion packaging units globally
• AdidascoreStrategic or Co-development Partner12-year partnership including Juventus kit launches, experiential marketing events, and brand activations across global markets
• T-MobilecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner10-year partnership including app rewards, Member Month loyalty campaigns, and customer engagement programs
• Virgin Media O2coreStrategic or Co-development Partner6-year partnership delivering customer engagement programs; won Best Customer Engagement award at Marketing Society Awards
• SamsungcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduct launches, experiential marketing campaigns including Gear Up with Galaxy, and brand activation events
• Coca-ColaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrand partnerships and promotional products for global beverage campaigns
• StarbuckscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDrinkware collections including Starbucks x Sanrio Cinnamoroll collaboration with product design and sourcing
• CboeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCboe x Robinhood Summit experiential event production and management
• RobinhoodminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint summit event with Cboe including experiential marketing execution
• SanriominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCinnamoroll collection collaboration with Starbucks including product licensing and design

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• George P. Johnson Experience Marketing: Largest independent brand experience agency, focused on experiential marketing, events, and activations for enterprise brands. Highly comparable to tms' Retail Experience Services and event-driven GTM motion.
• Jack Morton Worldwide: Global brand experience agency (IPG-owned) specializing in experiential marketing, brand activations, and events. Directly comparable on retail experience, brand activations, and experiential campaigns.
• Momentum Worldwide: Omnicom-owned experiential and loyalty marketing agency. Closely comparable on loyalty programs, brand partnerships, gamification, and shopper/experiential activations for enterprise brands.
• GMR Marketing: Specialty marketing agency focused on sports, experiential, and entertainment-led brand activations. Comparable to tms' work with Adidas and sports/sponsorship activation, sharing enterprise brand and event-driven delivery model.
• Sparks: Experiential, gamification, and customer engagement agency (part of mg). Direct peer on gamified engagement programs (akin to McDonald's Monopoly), loyalty activations, and retail experiences.
• MKG: Independent experiential marketing and brand activation agency. Comparable on integrated campaigns that combine events, content, and brand experience for enterprise clients.

Emerging players

• C3 (Creative Channel Consulting / C3 Experiential): Specialty agency with expertise in consumer engagement, gamified promotions, and loyalty campaigns. Partial overlap with tms' gamification and loyalty programs offerings for enterprise brands.

Broad incumbents

• Omnicom Group: Global advertising holding company with significant promotional, experiential, and loyalty capabilities across multiple networks. Competes with tms for integrated enterprise marketing pitches, typically at larger scale but with portfolio scope rather than specialization.
• WPP: Largest global advertising holding group with brand activation, shopper marketing, and loyalty capabilities (e.g., VMLY&R, GroupM). Competes head-to-head on enterprise integrated marketing and sourcing mandates.
• Publicis Groupe: Global advertising holding group with strong promotional, experiential, and commerce capabilities (Publicis Sapient, Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi). Competes for integrated brand engagement and consumer activation work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tms-worldwide
• Instagraminstagram.com/tms_worldwide
• Xx.com/tmsagency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 The Marketing Store