GS&F

Name

GS&F

Legal name

Gish, Sherwood & Friends, Inc.

Website

https://gsandf.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advertising Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Graphic Design Services (541430)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAAAAAN

Packaging & Brand Identity Creative Agencies

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Advertising, Marketing & PR Services/Advertising Agencies (Full-Service/Creative)

Keywords

• Integrated marketing services
• Creative advertising agency
• Brand strategy consulting
• Media planning buying
• Digital development services

Headquarters

HQ city

Nashville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advertising Services: Full-service agency providing integrated advertising services including creative, media buying, digital development, PR, social media, and strategy to brand clients. Revenue derived from project fees, retainers, and service engagements with B2B brand clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

GS&F is a fully integrated advertising agency providing creative, digital development, media, PR, social media, and strategy services to brand clients. The agency offers specialized offerings including Brand AMP (brand evolution workshop), &ONE (concept development), and OWNR Studios (in-house production facility), serving clients across automotive, healthcare, food service, entertainment, and consumer goods categories.

Product overview

GS&F is a fiercely independent, employee-owned advertising agency based in Nashville, TN with a 46-year history. The agency offers a fully integrated suite of marketing services organized around distinct service lines: Creative Services (copywriting, art direction, concept development, design), Full Stack Web Development (enterprise websites, eCommerce, mobile apps, AR/VR, IoT applications), CX/UX/UI Design, Media Services, Production, PR & Partnerships, Social Media Management, and Strategy. The agency also operates specialized offerings including Brand AMP (brand evolution workshop), &ONE (concept development), and OWNR Studios (in-house production facility). The agency serves brands across diverse categories including automotive (Bridgestone, Firestone), healthcare (3Spine), food service (Hunt Brothers Pizza, Guthrie's), wellness (Juice Plus+), and sports/entertainment (Music City Grand Prix, Bridgestone Arena), positioning itself as a partner for challenger brands seeking to disrupt their categories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brand AMP An accelerated, collaborative brand evolution workshop that unites marketers and C-suite leaders to unlock breakthroughs and changes for category leadership.
• &ONE Concept development service that delivers boundary-pushing ideas to challenge briefs and potentially achieve industry fame.
• OWNR Studios Full-service production facility with state-of-the-art studio space for creative execution across various media formats including video, animation, and photography.
• Creative Services Includes copywriting, art direction, concept development, and design capabilities for brand communications.
• Full Stack Web Development Enterprise websites and apps, intranets, customer portals, eCommerce solutions, native mobile apps, API integrations, web services, IoT and Bluetooth applications, AR/VR, and web hosting.
• CX/UX/UI Design User experience design including rapid prototyping, usability testing, information architecture, data visualization, brand guidelines, interactive installations, and CX research.
• Media Services Search engine marketing, integrated media buying and planning, added value procurement, and analytics and reporting.
• PR & Partnerships Public relations, media relations and placements, sponsorships and partnerships, reputation and crisis management, influencer partnerships, and street teams.
• Social Media Services Social media management, strategy, content planning, community management, and channel monitoring.
• Strategy Brand strategy, brand architecture, competitive analysis, product and service naming, audience research, and product planning.

Quantifiable outcome

• 26% YOY increase in online sales for Juice Plus+
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Jack's Family RestaurantsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGS&F facilitated a partnership between Jack's Family Restaurants and two SEC football players (Alabama WR Javon Baker and Auburn LB Owen Pappoe) for influencer marketing on social media channels and the Jack's app. Southern fast-food brand connecting with football-crazed audiences.
• GopuffminorGTM or Marketing PartnerReferenced in article about Skittles Super Bowl campaign - Gopuff partnered with Skittles for live door-to-door commercial activation, though this is not a GS&F client relationship.
• Westminster Kennel Club (Westminster Dog Show)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPlayology partnered with Westminster Dog Show for campaign activation, with GS&F executing the campaign as their agency.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Tombras Group: Nashville-based independent, employee-owned full-service advertising agency of similar size. Direct competitor for Southeast regional brand engagements and shares the same challenger-brand positioning, ESOP-style structure, and integrated capabilities across creative, media, digital, and PR.
• Archer Malmo: Memphis-based mid-size independent advertising agency with integrated creative, media, digital, and PR services serving enterprise clients. Comparable in size, scope, and regional Southeast positioning as a fiercely independent alternative to holding company networks.
• The Martin Agency: Richmond, VA-based independent full-service agency known for creative work with major brands (GEICO, Oreo, Kraft Heinz). Comparable in independent ownership structure and integrated creative/PR/media capabilities, with similar enterprise client roster patterns.
• Fallon: Minneapolis-based independent creative agency with a heritage of category-defining work for brands like Cadillac, United Airlines, and Netflix. Comparable in mid-sized independent structure and reputation for creative extremism and challenger-brand positioning.
• The Richards Group: Dallas-based independent advertising agency of similar scale with integrated creative, media, digital, and PR services serving enterprise clients across categories. Comparable in independent structure and regional Southeast-adjacent positioning.
• Carmichael Lynch: Minneapolis-based independent creative agency known for challenger-brand work (Subaru, Jack Link's). Comparable in independent ownership, mid-sized scale, and creative-driven positioning for brands seeking to disrupt categories.
• Anomaly: Independent creative agency with offices in multiple US markets serving enterprise challenger brands (Coca-Cola, Nike, Google). Comparable in integrated capabilities and challenger-brand positioning, though larger in scale.

Broad incumbents

• VMLY&R: Global marketing communications network (now part of WPP) offering integrated advertising, digital, PR, and commerce services. Comparable in integrated capabilities but operates at significantly larger scale as a holding-company-owned incumbent.
• McCann Worldgroup: Global advertising network (IPG) offering creative, media, digital, PR, and healthcare marketing services. Comparable integrated offerings and enterprise client roster, but operates as a large incumbent competing for global enterprise accounts.

Regional players

• Mediahub: Stardust-owned media agency with strong presence in entertainment, sports, and consumer verticals. Comparable as a challenger brand-aligned partner for Bridgestone and Music City Grand Prix-style clients, but specializes more narrowly in media buying.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gs
• Xx.com/gsandf
• Facebookfacebook.com/gsandf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 GS&F