Brandience
Brandience is a Cincinnati-based, full-service marketing and advertising agency founded in 2003 that serves multi-location healthcare, restaurant, retail, and franchise brands with integrated strategy, creative, media, and analytics services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersCincinnati, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Brandience does
Brandience is a privately held, full-service marketing and advertising agency founded in 2003 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and operating with 11-50 employees. The firm specializes in serving multi-location brands in four verticals: healthcare, restaurant, retail, and franchise, with named clients including Kroger, AAA, TriHealth, Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Skyline Chili, Papa Johns, Biggby Coffee, Mercy Health, Drees Homes, US Bank, Cintas, and Valvoline. Its core offering is an integrated stack of brand strategy, creative development, media planning and buying (digital and traditional), programmatic media, social media marketing, and data analytics, delivered as project-based and retainer professional services engagements targeted at growth-minded regional and national B2C brands with established in-house marketing teams.
The agency's most differentiated technology component is SMRT Study, a proprietary synthetic research methodology that models audience perceptions to provide directional insight on strategy, messaging, and creative before larger campaign investments. Brandience also layers in predictive analytics (including Akkio for outcome prediction and audience targeting), machine learning for video viewer emotion analysis, and generative AI for content creation, summarization, translation, and brainstorming, with the team holding AI Ethics certification from the Institute for Advertising Ethics and AI Operator Certification through The AI Exchange.
Brandience generates revenue through professional services fees across multi-discipline engagements. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, consistent with agency retainer and project economics. Go-to-market is consultative, enterprise field sales targeting regional and national multi-location B2C brands, primarily in the United States with Midwest/Ohio concentration. The firm invests in thought leadership via its "Go Beyond" podcast (hosted by CEO Brian McHale), a blog, an active LinkedIn presence across senior leaders, and conference circuit participation (FoodFluence Berlin 2025, AMA Cincinnati IGNITE! 2025, FNCE Nashville 2025), positioning the agency as a retail-minded, data-driven partner for brands that need to translate national strategy into measurable location-by-location performance.
Brandience firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Brandience
- Legal name
- Brandience
- Website
- https://brandience.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Brandience is a Cincinnati-based, full-service marketing and advertising agency founded in 2003 that serves multi-location healthcare, restaurant, retail, and franchise brands with integrated strategy, creative, media, and analytics services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Brandience industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Full-Service Marketing and Advertising Services
- NAICS
- Advertising Agencies (54181)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Creative Concepting & Campaign Development (BPAFAEAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Brand Consulting, Audits & Research (Brand Health, Equity, Competitive) (BPAFAEAJ)
Keywords
Where Brandience is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cincinnati
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Brandience business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Marketing & Advertising Services: Full-service marketing and advertising agency providing end-to-end services. Revenue is generated through professional services fees including brand strategy and positioning, creative development and content production, media planning and buying (digital + traditional), digital advertising (Google Ads, Meta, programmatic, video, and display), social media management and paid social, and data analytics and campaign optimization.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
Brandience product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Brandience is a full-service marketing and advertising agency that delivers integrated advertising and marketing services across strategy, creative, media planning and buying, programmatic media, digital advertising, social media, and data analytics. The agency specializes in serving multi-location healthcare, restaurant, retail, and franchise brands, balancing national brand expression with market-specific local activation to drive measurable, location-by-location growth. A proprietary synthetic research capability (SMRT Study) powers data-led creative decisions.
Product overview
Brandience is a full-service marketing and advertising agency (founded in 2003) that operates as a single integrated offering rather than a modular software platform. The agency brings together strategy, creative, media planning and buying, programmatic media, data analytics, and social media marketing under one roof. Key proprietary elements include the SMRT Study synthetic research capability for audience insight, and the Go Beyond podcast for thought leadership content. The agency specializes in serving multi-location healthcare, restaurant, retail, and franchise brands with data-driven, retail-minded marketing strategies.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Full-Service Marketing and Advertising Agency Integrated advertising and marketing services combining strategy, creative, media planning and buying, programmatic media, digital advertising, social media, and data analytics under one roof. Built for multi-location healthcare, restaurant, retail, and franchise brands that need national brand expression balanced with market-specific local activation.
- Brand Strategy Comprehensive brand strategy services including brand foundation, positioning, naming, brand story, brand architecture, design strategy, and marketing strategy development for multi-location brands.
- Creative Services Full-service creative agency specializing in creative strategy, guidelines, concepting, and execution across video, audio, digital, print, and social media formats.
- Media Planning and Buying Strategic planning and purchasing of media placements across both digital and traditional channels including TV, radio, print, and digital advertising.
- Programmatic Media Automated media buying service that uses data to optimize ad placements across digital channels in real time.
- Data Analytics Data and insights services powering strategy, execution, and optimization including brand and audience research, measurement and attribution, campaign analysis, and competitive intelligence.
- Social Media Marketing Social media strategy, campaign development, creative content creation, paid social planning and execution, and analysis across Facebook, X, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
- Advertising Integrated advertising services combining bold creative with data-driven media strategies across multiple channels.
- SMRT Study (Synthetic Research) Proprietary synthetic research methodology that models audience perceptions to evaluate ideas and provide directional insight early in the decision-making process, enabling rapid audience insight on strategy, messaging, and creative.
Quantifiable outcome
- 450 new store openings supported for Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise expansion
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Brandience
Customer profileNamed customers21 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Brandience technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability7 records
Feature3 records
Brandience partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Tropical Smoothie CafecoreOngoing franchise expansion marketing partnership. Supported 450 new store openings with franchise expansion marketing. Client relationship described as the agency's go-to agency with deep understanding of their business and franchisee needs.
- TriHealthcoreHealthcare marketing partnership including multimedia account. Work includes life-stage messaging for women's health engagement, unbeatable heart care alliance launch, and award-winning campaigns. TriHealth named Top 5 Most Human Healthcare Brand in U.S.
- Mercy HealthcoreHealthcare marketing partnership for regional health system focused on patient engagement and service line promotion.
- Skyline ChilicoreRecord-setting communication strategy partnership. Skyline Chili named Top Regional Fast Food Restaurant. Earned Award of Excellence for Groundbreaking Achievement and won American Graphic Design Awards.
- Papa JohnscoreRebuilding Trust in Times of Crisis campaign for national pizza chain franchise.
- Biggby CoffeecoreNew agency of record (AOR) relationship for regional coffee franchise brand.
- KrogercoreRetail marketing partnership. Drove +47% lift in product sales during retail test campaign. National grocery retailer with significant market presence.
- Drees HomescoreStrategic branding partnership transforming market position for regional homebuilder.
- Home City IcecoreNamed Brandience strategic agency partner. Strategic communication and digital media drove measurable off-season growth.
- Cincinnati State Technical and Community CollegecoreNamed Brandience traditional media agency partner for community college.
- AAAcoreIncreased membership retention by 50% in key markets. Client describes agency as 'exceptional, unparalleled advertising agency that delivers flawlessly on all fronts.'
- AglamesisminorBrand refresh and packaging redesign for regional ice cream and candy retailer. Won Graphic Design USA Award for rebrand.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Brandience competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Marcus Thomas LLC: Mid-size, full-service advertising agency headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, with similar vertical focus on retail, restaurant, and consumer brands. Closely comparable in size, integrated model, and Midwest US positioning.
- LPK: Cincinnati-based brand agency with comparable size and deep consumer brand and packaging expertise. Operates in overlapping verticals (CPG, retail) with similar integrated strategy-to-execution model.
- Falls & Co. Cleveland-based full-service marketing and branding agency. Similar mid-size, full-service integrated offering serving regional and national B2C brands in the Midwest.
- Barkley: Mid-size, Kansas City-based independent full-service agency. Comparable in scale, integrated service model, and focus on mid-market and challenger brands.
- Doe-Anderson: Louisville, Kentucky-based full-service advertising agency with similar mid-size profile and integrated capabilities. Comparable Midwest/regional positioning and long operating history.
- Chemistry Communications: Pittsburgh-based mid-size full-service agency. Comparable size, integrated service model, and regional Midwest/industrial-adjacent client base.
- Curiosity Group: Cincinnati-based marketing agency with comparable mid-size profile and integrated service offering. Overlaps in Midwestern client base and consumer/retail focus.
Regional players
- The Brandery: Cincinnati-based brand and marketing agency. Operates in the same regional market with overlapping verticals, making it a strong local competitive comparable.
Broad incumbents
- 72andSunny: Larger, globally recognized creative-led agency. Competes for similar brand-building and campaign development engagements but with significantly more scale and a broader geographic footprint.
- Anomaly: New York-based independent agency known for integrated brand strategy and creative. Competes for similar full-service creative engagements at a larger scale and broader portfolio reach.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Brandience social profiles
Digital presenceBrandience compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Brandience financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Brandience leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
Brandience funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Brandience M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Brandience
What does Brandience do?
Brandience is a full-service marketing and advertising agency that delivers integrated advertising and marketing services across strategy, creative, media planning and buying, programmatic media, digital advertising, social media, and data analytics. The agency specializes in serving multi-location healthcare, restaurant, retail, and franchise brands, balancing national brand expression with market-specific local activation to drive measurable, location-by-location growth. A proprietary synthetic research capability (SMRT Study) powers data-led creative decisions.
Is Brandience a public or private company?
Brandience is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Brandience founded?
Brandience was founded in 2003. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Brandience based?
Brandience is headquartered in Cincinnati, United States, in the North America region.
How does Brandience make money?
One revenue line is on record: marketing & Advertising Services.
Who are Brandience's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Marcus Thomas LLC, LPK, Falls & Co., Barkley, Doe-Anderson, Chemistry Communications and Curiosity Group. The Brandery is listed as a regional player. Broad incumbents are 72andSunny and Anomaly.
Does Brandience have an API?
No public API is recorded for Brandience.
What industry is Brandience in?
Brandience's product category is Full-Service Marketing and Advertising Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAEAD, Creative Concepting & Campaign Development, with a secondary code of BPAFAEAJ, Brand Consulting, Audits & Research (Brand Health, Equity, Competitive). Its NAICS code is 54181 and its SIC code is 7311.