Michael Walters Advertising

What Michael Walters Advertising does

Michael Walters Advertising (MWA) is a privately held, full-service creative advertising agency headquartered in Chicago's River North neighborhood, founded in 1988 and operating with 11-50 employees. The firm provides brand strategy, creative development, media planning and buying, digital campaign execution, and video production to clients across financial services (credit unions and community banks), professional sports, education/trade schools, consumer brands, and social-awareness initiatives. MWA's client roster includes the Chicago Cubs (20+ year media partnership), Chicago Stars FC, Chicago Faucets, Hunter Douglas, Paul Mitchell, Midwest Technical Institute, Mission Fed Credit Union, Keesler Federal Credit Union, and several other regional financial institutions.

The agency's business model is professional services revenue, earned through project-based engagements and ongoing client relationships rather than recurring SaaS or media-resale economics. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is structured around bespoke scopes of work. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, leveraging a public portfolio of case studies with quantifiable outcomes (e.g., 866% enrollment growth over 7 years for Midwest Technical Institute, 1M+ video views in the first week for the You Are Brave campaign). MWA differentiates through purpose-driven storytelling and a stated mission to "work with people who make a community a better place to live," targeting organizations that align with this positioning. The firm maintains no disclosed proprietary technology platform, no parent company, and no external funding, indicating it remains founder/principal-owned and self-funded.

Name

Michael Walters Advertising

Legal name

Michael Walters Advertising, Inc.

Website

https://mwachicago.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Michael Walters Advertising is a Chicago-based full-service creative advertising agency, founded in 1988, serving credit unions, banks, professional sports teams, consumer brands, and education institutions with brand strategy, creative development, media planning/buying, and digital campaign services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advertising Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising Agencies (54181)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Creative Concepting & Campaign Development (BPAFAEAD), Digital Performance Marketing (SEM, Paid Social, Programmatic) (BPAFAAAD), Experiential, Event & Sponsorship Marketing (BPAFAAAH)

Keywords

• Creative advertising services
• Brand strategy consulting
• Media planning buying
• Digital campaign management
• Video production services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Creative Advertising Services: MWA generates revenue through professional creative advertising services including brand strategy, creative development, media planning and buying, digital campaigns, and video production. Revenue is earned through project-based engagements and ongoing client relationships with various organizations across multiple industries.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Michael Walters Advertising is a full-service creative advertising agency providing brand strategy, creative development, media planning and buying, digital and social media campaigns, and video production for clients across financial services, sports, education, consumer brands, and social causes. The agency engages consumers through purpose-driven storytelling, building brand ambassadors and disciples across every phase of the communications process.

Product overview

Michael Walters Advertising is a creative advertising agency that provides marketing and advertising services to clients across various industries including financial services (credit unions, banks), sports teams, consumer products, educational institutions, and hospitality. The agency offers strategic branding, campaign development, media planning and buying, and content creation services rather than a software product platform. Their portfolio includes work for credit unions (Vibe, Keesler Federal, Mission Fed, Redwood, Scott, Premier America, Armed Forces Bank, Academy Bank), sports organizations (Chicago Cubs, Chicago Stars FC), consumer brands (Chicago Faucets, Hunter Douglas, Paul Mitchell), trade schools (Midwest Technical Institute), restaurants (Bottleneck Management), and social awareness campaigns (You Are Brave/Big Blue Sky Initiative).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 866% enrollment growth in 7 years for Midwest Technical Institute
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Chicago CubscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLong-term strategic partnership spanning over two decades. MWA serves as the Cubs' media planners and buyers, helping drive over 3 million fans annually through sponsorship activation and media planning. The Cubs were the first major league team to utilize mobile ticket purchasing, a technology initiative MWA supported.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Laughlin Constable: Independent Chicago-based full-service advertising agency offering brand strategy, creative, media planning/buying, digital, and content services. Comparable mid-sized independent competing head-to-head with MWA for regional and mid-market accounts across similar verticals.
• The VIA Agency: Independent creative agency providing brand strategy, advertising, content, and digital services to mid-market and challenger brands. Closely comparable in positioning as a mid-sized full-service independent pursuing outcomes-driven creative work.
• Barkley: Independent full-service agency offering creative advertising, media, digital, and brand strategy. Comparable in scale (independent, mid-sized), integrated service model, and focus on outcomes-driven campaigns for mid-market and challenger brands.
• Preacher: Independent creative and media agency known for integrated campaigns combining brand storytelling with media planning/buying. Comparable in offering breadth (creative + paid media) and client mix (consumer brands and culturally resonant campaigns).
• Duncan/Channon: Independent creative agency offering brand strategy, advertising, and content to challenger and mid-market brands. Comparable in positioning as a purpose-oriented independent creative shop with a similarly strong portfolio narrative.
• RPA: Independent advertising agency offering creative, media, and digital services across consumer and mid-market verticals. Closely comparable in integrated service model and mid-market independent positioning.
• Schafer Condon Carter: Independent Chicago creative agency offering brand strategy, advertising, digital, social, and media services to mid-market and consumer clients. Closely comparable in geography, size band, and integrated service model to MWA.

Broad incumbents

• Leo Burnett: Iconic Chicago-based creative advertising agency, now part of the Publicis Groupe. Operates broadly across integrated advertising, creative, and media services with global scale; competes for the same mid-market and enterprise brand work in the Chicago market as MWA, though serving a much larger client roster across industries.
• DDB Chicago: Chicago office of the DDB global creative network (part of Omnicom). Offers integrated advertising, creative, and media at scale; competes for the same Chicago-based enterprise brand work as MWA, but with broader network resources and larger client roster.

Emerging players

• Plan B Advertising: Smaller independent creative agency offering brand and digital advertising services. Comparable in offering (creative-led campaigns) and similar client target (regional and mid-market brands), with overlapping focus on outcomes storytelling.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/MichaelWaltersAdv
• Facebookfacebook.com/mwachicagoadvertising
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/michael-walters-advertising
• Instagraminstagram.com/michaelwaltersadvertising
• Xx.com/MWAinChicago

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Michael Walters Advertising