What Riester Advertising does

Riester Advertising is a Phoenix-headquartered, founder-owned integrated advertising and marketing agency founded in 1989 by Tim Riester and William 'Bill G' Gegenheimer. The firm operates from four U.S. offices (Phoenix, El Segundo CA, Park City UT, Arlington VA) with a 51-100 employee base, and serves enterprise and mid-market clients across government/public sector, healthcare, financial services, hospitality/casino, fitness, consumer packaged goods, and sports/entertainment. Revenue is generated through professional-services fees on project and retainer engagements.

The agency is organized around five interconnected service modules: Planning Creative (research and brand strategy), Consulting Creative (marketing consulting and digital transformation), Producing Creative (video, web, UX, SEO, CRM-integrated production), Amplifying Creative (media planning/buying, PR, social media with an in-house multicultural media team), and Measuring Creative (analytics via the MetricsEdge joint venture). Its technology stack combines standard marketing infrastructure (Google Marketing Platform — Google Analytics, Paid Search, Display Network, YouTube, DV360; Salesforce and HubSpot CRM; Mailchimp; Wistia; Sprout Social; Meltwater; Talkwalker) with proprietary MetricsEdge analytics delivering cross-domain tracking, conversion configuration, and custom real-time dashboards. The firm holds elite-tier platform certifications including Google Premier Partner, Google Analytics Certified Partner, and Zartico Agency Certified Partner.

Riester's go-to-market is direct enterprise sales targeting major accounts through relationship-building and thought leadership, evidenced by multi-year and multi-decade engagements with California Highway Patrol, MidFirst Bank, Herdez/MegaMex Foods, HonorHealth, Talking Stick Resort, and Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. The agency has completed two acquisitions (Santy in 2019, Moses Inc. in 2021) and maintains a conservation-focused Riester Foundation alongside its commercial operations. The company remains privately held under founder Tim Riester with no disclosed external funding.

Name

Riester Advertising

Legal name

Riester

Website

https://riester.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Riester Advertising is a founder-owned, Phoenix-based integrated advertising agency serving enterprise and government clients across healthcare, financial services, hospitality, fitness, CPG, and sports via five service modules spanning strategy, creative, production, media, and analytics (via its MetricsEdge joint venture).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advertising & Marketing Agency Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (54181), Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Media Buying Agencies (54183)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Advertising (Brand + Performance + Media) (BPAFAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Creative Concepting & Campaign Development (BPAFAEAD)

Keywords

• Integrated marketing services
• Advertising agency
• Creative production
• Media planning buying
• Behavior change marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Agency Services: Full-service advertising and marketing agency providing integrated campaigns including strategy, creative, production, media planning/buying, public relations, social media, and analytics. Revenue generated through project fees, retainers, and ongoing client engagements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Riester Advertising is a full-service integrated marketing and communications agency that delivers strategy, creative, production, media planning/buying, public relations, social media, and analytics services to enterprise and mid-market clients. Its work is organized into five service divisions—Planning Creative, Consulting Creative, Producing Creative, Amplifying Creative, and Measuring Creative—and is supported by the MetricsEdge analytics joint venture for ROI measurement and behavior-change campaign optimization.

Product overview

Riester Advertising is a full-service integrated advertising and marketing agency offering a comprehensive suite of creative and digital services across five interconnected service divisions: Planning Creative (research and strategy), Consulting Creative (marketing consulting), Producing Creative (video production, digital marketing, web development), Amplifying Creative (media planning, PR, social media), and Measuring Creative (analytics and optimization via MetricsEdge joint venture). The agency serves diverse industries including healthcare, government/public sector, education, fitness, hospitality, financial services, and destination marketing. In 2021, Riester acquired Moses Inc. to expand resources and expertise.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Planning Creative Research, strategy, and brand planning services including qualitative and quantitative research, brand architecture development, audience assessment, and concept testing for enterprise clients.
• Consulting Creative Strategic marketing consulting covering brand positioning, audience research, crisis management, sustainability and corporate social responsibility, digital transformation, and integrated marketing strategy.
• Producing Creative Creative production services including video and TV/radio commercials, collateral materials, websites, mobile apps, emails, digital ads, social media content, package design, large-scale assets, plus digital marketing strategy, UX design, development, SEO, and CRM integration.
• Amplifying Creative Media planning and buying, public relations, and social media services delivered by an in-house multicultural media team covering paid search, social, digital, television (broadcast, cable, OTT), radio (terrestrial, streaming, podcasts), print, and out-of-home advertising with strategic planning and optimization.
• Measuring Creative (MetricsEdge) Measurement, analytics, and optimization services via the MetricsEdge joint venture, specializing in cross-domain tracking, conversion configuration, CRM connections, custom real-time dashboards, and Google Marketing Platform integration.

Quantifiable outcome

• MidFirst Bank: 600% growth in assets ($6B to $36B)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration23 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MetricsEdgecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture with Kurt Krake providing data-focused analytics platform with ROI measurement as primary focus. MetricsEdge builds custom real-time dashboards, manages offline call tracking, and integrates analytics across paid, earned, and owned media.
• CREMA (Center for Rescue of Endangered Marine Animals)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConservation partnership supporting sea turtle protection at Playa Corozalito, Costa Rica. Focuses on protecting nesting grounds of Olive Ridley turtles and maintaining pristine beach environment.
• ADICOR (Asociación de Desarrollo Integral de Corozalito)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization sanctioned by Costa Rica government supporting sustainable development and conservation at Corozalito Beach, including bi-monthly beach cleanups and turtle egg protection.
• Big Life FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWildlife protection partnership supporting Ranger Program covering 1.6 million acres across Amboseli-Tsavo-Kilimanjaro ecosystem in East Africa. Program includes 300+ local community rangers.
• Sheldrick Wildlife TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerElephant conservation partnership supporting Elephant Orphans Project in Nairobi, Kenya. Riester Foundation fosters five elephants including Enkesha, Eleanor, Jotto, Sinya, and Kiasa.
• African ParksminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConservation partnership supporting release of 2,000 Southern White Rhinos into African preserves. Long-term rewilding effort over ten years.
• Arizona Media AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDebate production partnership for Citizens Clean Elections Commission 2024 election debates. Collaboration to produce professional debates for U.S. Senate, Congressional, and Corporation Commission races.
• Jeremyville StudiosminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative collaboration for GoGreen Financing Green Means Go campaign illustrations and animations featuring diverse California settings and characters.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Lavidge Company: Phoenix-based independent full-service advertising agency of comparable size. Similar integrated service mix (creative, media, PR, digital) and overlap in Southwest-region clients makes it the closest like-for-like competitor.
• Sukle Advertising & Design: Denver-based independent creative agency of similar scale. Comparable owner-led culture and integrated creative/media/digital service mix, with regional tourism and outdoor-brand experience relevant to Riester.
• 22squared: Independent, full-service advertising agency with comparable size and integrated creative, media, and analytics capabilities. Competes for similar mid-market and enterprise clients across multiple verticals.
• OH Partners: Phoenix-headquartered integrated marketing agency offering brand strategy, creative, media, digital and PR. Direct head-to-head competitor for the same regional client set, including government, healthcare, and hospitality.
• Drake Cooper: Independent, founder-influenced integrated agency with creative, media, digital, and analytics practices. Comparable scale and owner-operator DNA, though anchored in the Pacific Northwest rather than the Southwest.
• RPA (Rubin Postaer and Associates): Santa Monica-based independent creative and media agency of comparable size. Long-tenured indie with full-service capabilities and similar Southwest/West Coast client overlap.
• LaneTerralever: Phoenix-based independent agency with comparable brand, digital, and media capabilities. Competes with Riester for mid-market and enterprise accounts across the Southwest.
• Duncan/Channon: Independent California-based creative and media agency with comparable independent ownership structure and integrated capabilities across brand, performance, and content.
• Karsh Hagan: Denver-based independent creative and media agency of similar size. Comparable full-service positioning with strong public-sector and tourism portfolios that mirror Riester's vertical mix.
• Colle+McVoy: Independent creative, media, and PR agency with similar employee scale and integrated service model. Historically strong in healthcare, CPG, and financial services — directly comparable verticals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/riesteragency
• Facebookfacebook.com/riesteragency
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/riester
• Instagraminstagram.com/riesteragency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A2 records

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Riester Advertising