What Partners + Napier does

Partners + Napier is an independent, full-service creative and media agency founded in 2004 and headquartered in Rochester, New York, with additional offices in New York City and Boston. The agency operates through three core production studios: The Media Group (media planning, strategy, buying, programmatic, social, and analytics), Vine Creative Studios (packaging, visual identity, 3D rendering, photography, retail promotion), and Gammut Productions (pre-production, video/photography production, editorial, animation, and color correction). Its service portfolio spans strategic brand positioning, integrated campaign development, experience design, B2B and direct response marketing, and content production, and is delivered under an integrated creative-plus-media model with design and production capabilities in-house.

The agency serves enterprise clients across six verticals — CPG Food + Beverage, Restaurants, Health + Wellness, B2B Enterprise Services, Beverage Alcohol, and Travel + Tourism — with named accounts including Royal Caribbean, Delta Vacations, Checkers & Rally's, Maimonides Health, MD Live, Highmark Health, Constellation Brands, Robert Mondavi, Pacifico, Smashburger, BurgerFi, Ace Valley, Cello, Pyrex, Treasure Cave, and The Strong National Museum of Play. Multiple campaigns have produced documented commercial outcomes, including an 18% Smashburger sales lift versus a -6% fast-casual category, a 93% Delta Vacations YoY bookings increase, a Cello 80% unit sales lift, an MD Live 218% CTR improvement, and Ace Valley selling out on launch day with 235MM earned impressions in the first month.

Partners + Napier generates revenue through professional services — project-based fees and retainers for creative, media, design, and production engagements, with likely media commissions for paid-media work. It is structured as an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) and operates as a subsidiary of Project Worldwide, Inc., alongside sister agencies Argonaut, George P. Johnson, Motive, Wondersauce, Praytell, and Spinifex. Leadership is led by founder and Executive Chair Sharon Napier, CEO Courtney Cotrupe (a 2026 ATHENA International Award finalist), Chief Creative Officer Rob Kottkamp, newly hired Chief Strategy Officer Karen Kraut (ex-Dentsu global American Express CSO), CFO Jennifer Rees, and VP of Media Innovation Dustin Johnson (ex-Mullen, MediaHub).

Name

Partners + Napier

Legal name

Partners & Napier, Inc.

Website

https://partnersandnapier.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Partners + Napier is an independent, ESOP-structured, full-service creative and media agency headquartered in Rochester, NY, serving enterprise clients across CPG, restaurants, healthcare, travel, beverage alcohol, and B2B via in-house strategy, media, design, and production studios.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advertising & Marketing Services

NAICS

Media Representatives (54184)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Brand Campaign & Integrated Communications Agencies (MPAAAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Affiliate & Partner Media Buying (BPAFABAJ), Content & Creative Studio for Creators (Concepting/Production) (MPAAAHAD)

Keywords

• Creative advertising services
• Media planning buying
• Brand strategy design
• Content production agency
• Integrated marketing communications

Headquarters

HQ city

Rochester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Creative Agency Services: Full-service creative agency providing strategic brand positioning, integrated campaign development, brand identity, packaging design, experience design, B2B and direct response marketing, and full-service content production. Revenue is generated through project-based fees, retainers, and potentially media commissions for client work.
2. Media Services: The Media Group within Partners + Napier provides media planning, strategy, buying, and optimization services including audience identification, communications planning, programmatic media, social media and influencer marketing, and measurement and analytics.
3. Vine Creative Studios: Custom design studios providing packaging design, 3D rendering, photography, retail promotion design, e-commerce asset creation, and sales enablement materials for clients.
4. Gammut Productions: Full-service video production studio providing pre-production, production (video and still photography), and post-production services (editorial, animation, color correction).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Partners + Napier is an independent full-service creative and media agency that develops brand strategy, creative campaigns, media planning and buying, design, and content production for enterprise brand clients. The agency operates three integrated studios (Media Group, Vine Creative Studios, and Gammut Productions) covering the full lifecycle of brand communications from strategy through production and media activation.

Product overview

Partners + Napier is an independent, full-service creative and media agency offering a comprehensive suite of services under one roof. The agency is structured around three core production studios: Media Group (media planning, strategy, and buying), Vine Creative Studios (custom design, packaging, 3D rendering, and photography), and Gammut Productions (full-service video production). Additional services include strategic brand positioning, integrated campaign development, experience design, B2B and direct response marketing, and full-service content production. The agency also operates community initiatives including IMPRINT for Education, NeighborGood pro-bono services, and Leave a Tip supporting minority-owned businesses. The company is part of Project Worldwide holding company and maintains offices in Rochester NY (HQ), New York City, and Boston.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Media Group: Intelligent media solutions offering traditional and digital media services including audience identification, communications planning, media buying, programmatic, social media, and analytics.
• Vine Creative Studios
• Gammut Productions

Products and services

• Creative Campaign Development

Quantifiable outcome

• MD Live Cyberchondria: 10% increase in visits, 218% improvement in click-through rate, Top 25% most viewed healthcare ad on TikTok
• +10 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• MediahubcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 September 2025Mediahub serves as the media agency for Royal Caribbean, working alongside Partners + Napier on the It's Big Time campaign. The partnership represents a multi-agency collaboration for the Royal Caribbean AOR relationship.
• Project WorldwideflagshipOthersPartners & Napier is part of Project Worldwide, Inc. (Project), a holding company that includes other agencies: Argonaut, George P. Johnson, Motive, Wondersauce, Praytell, and Spinifex. The partnership allows sharing of PII and services within the corporate family, and enables collaboration on client work across the network.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mother Design: Independent creative agency of similar size and structure offering integrated creative, content, and design services for enterprise brands. Comparable as a mid-sized independent competitor pursuing similar AOR-style enterprise engagements.
• 72andSunny: Independent full-service creative agency known for integrated campaigns and brand storytelling for major consumer brands. Comparable target verticals (CPG, restaurants, travel) and similar employee scale.
• Anomaly: Independent creative and media agency blending advertising, design, and media services. Paul Renner, now at Partners + Napier, previously held senior roles at Anomaly, making it a directly comparable shop for talent and client overlap.
• The Martin Agency: Independent full-service creative agency of similar scale serving major consumer brands (notably restaurants and CPG). Directly competes for the same type of integrated AOR engagements.
• Deutsch (dna): Independent creative and media agency providing integrated creative, media, and production services to enterprise brands across categories. Comparable integrated model and client roster size.
• Gut: Independent global creative agency with integrated creative + media capabilities and a track record of high-profile enterprise wins. Comparable as a challenger independent winning marquee AOR accounts.

Broad incumbents

• MullenLowe: Larger network-owned creative and media agency. Partners + Napier recently hired John Kearse from MullenLowe, and Dustin Johnson spent 10 years at Mullen, signaling direct talent and likely client overlap.
• Dentsu Creative: Global network agency where Karen Kraut (now CSO at Partners + Napier) previously held the CSO role on global American Express. Directly comparable for senior-talent flows and overlapping client targeting.
• Wieden+Kennedy: Premier independent creative agency. Paul Renner, now an ECD at Partners + Napier, previously held senior creative roles at Wieden+Kennedy, indicating direct talent lineage and a competitive benchmark for creative reputation.

Emerging players

• Mediahub: Media agency currently partnering with Partners + Napier on Royal Caribbean's AOR (We to Them relationship). Comparable as a fellow media-led agency serving similar enterprise clients and a potential collaboration or competition vector.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/partnersnapier
• Xx.com/partnersnapier
• Facebookfacebook.com/partnersandnapier
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/partners-and-napier

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries3 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 Partners + Napier