MHD Group

What MHD Group does

MHD Group Inc. is a privately held, founder-led design and advertising agency headquartered at 1127 12th Street, Suite 203, in Modesto, California, founded by Marcia Herrmann in 1987 and operating continuously for over 30 years. The firm delivers an integrated suite of professional services across seven core practices: branding, graphic design, packaging design, web design and development, public relations, marketing, and media and video production. Its technology stack is built on standard web content management systems combined with custom front-end and back-end development for e-commerce sites, employee scheduling portals, and bespoke HR tools, supplemented by in-house multimedia production capabilities for video, photography, storyboarding, and art direction.

The agency's business model is professional services with project-based and retainer engagements, quote-based pricing, and multi-year contract cadence on key accounts. MHD operates through direct consultative sales engagement and a content-marketing-driven inbound channel (blog, social media), serving primarily SMB and mid-market businesses across Northern and Central California with selected enterprise and government accounts. Its client portfolio spans consumer packaged goods (Kokomio, Five Monkeys BBQ, Meyenberg, Mercer Foods, One Speed CA Wines, That Wine, Bruno's Peppers, Grace & Ada, Le Lu Water), retail (Save Mart Companies), government and transit (City of Modesto Recycling, Dibs), agriculture (AgSafe), arts and culture (The Grand Theatre Center for the Arts), events (Stanislaus County Fair), and fire equipment (Golden State Fire Apparatus). The agency has received regional, national, and international awards for excellence in branding, graphic and web design, marketing, and advertising, and is structured as a California corporation wholly owned by Marcia Herrmann with no external investors, parent company, or institutional capital.

Name

MHD Group

Legal name

MHD Group Inc.

Website

https://mhdgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

MHD Group is a privately held, founder-led design and advertising agency founded in 1987 in Modesto, California, delivering integrated branding, graphic and packaging design, web development, public relations, marketing, and video production services primarily to SMB, mid-market, and select enterprise and government clients across Northern and Central California.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Modesto

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Branding and Design: Custom agency services including branding strategy, graphic design, web design, marketing, digital media, and public relations. Revenue generated through project-based and retainer engagements for businesses seeking brand elevation and customer acquisition.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

MHD Group is a full-service design and advertising agency that sells integrated creative services to businesses: branding strategy, graphic design, packaging design, web design and development, public relations, marketing strategy and execution, and multimedia/video production. Engagements are project-based or retainer, delivered as custom, consultative solutions to SMB, mid-market, enterprise, government, and nonprofit clients primarily in Northern and Central California.

Product overview

MHD Group is a full-service design and advertising agency that provides an integrated portfolio of creative services: Branding, Design, Packaging, Web Design, Public Relations, Marketing, and Media and Video. The agency's services work together to provide results-driven solutions that elevate brand awareness, motivate buyers, and ensure customer loyalty. MHD Group operates through its main website (mhdgroup.com) and a dedicated packaging subdomain (packaging.mhdgroup.com) showcasing food and beverage packaging work. The company serves diverse client portfolios including retail (Save Mart Companies), food and beverage brands (Kokomio, Five Monkeys, Bruno's Peppers, That Wine, Meyenberg, One Speed, Grace & Ada, Mercer Foods), government and transit (Dibs, City of Modesto Recycling), agriculture (AgSafe), arts (The Grand Theatre Center for the Arts), events (Stanislaus County Fair), and fire equipment (Golden State Fire Apparatus).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Branding Strategic branding services including brand strategy, brand development, and disciplined processes to build awareness and extend customer loyalty, sold to businesses seeking to elevate brand identity.
• Graphic Design Visual design services solving well-defined visual problems through research and strategy, including catalogs, brochures, direct mail, posters, business cards, advertising, stationery, and signage for business clients.
• Packaging Design Packaging design solutions that inspire consumers to purchase products and build a personal connection with brand values, serving CPG, food and beverage, and consumer brands.
• Web Design and Development Results-driven website design solutions including professionally designed websites, maintenance and support, domain registration, secure hosting, and custom web development for e-commerce sites, employee scheduling portals, and custom HR tools, serving SMB through enterprise clients.
• Public Relations Strategic communications services including reputation management, crisis communications planning, media training, social media management, public affairs writing, press releases, public service announcements, political campaigns, and content creation for corporations, public agencies, attorneys, and individuals.
• Marketing Strategic marketing services including marketing plan development, email campaigns, social media strategy, events and trade shows, media buys (digital and traditional), website landing pages, sales funnels, and rebranding for SMB and enterprise clients.
• Media and Video Production Multimedia production services including storyboarding, art direction, video production (corporate videos, product highlights, customer testimonials), photography, and digital media content for business clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• 80% increase in purchase intent for Kokomio within months of packaging redesign launch

Named customers10 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

Feature2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Duncan Channon: Independent, full-service creative agency based in San Francisco serving enterprise and challenger brands across health, finance, technology, and consumer. Comparable to MHD as a California independent creative shop offering integrated brand, design, and marketing services with a similar mid-size team structure.
• Mering: Independent full-service ad agency headquartered in Sacramento serving consumer and B2B brands across the Western U.S. Closely comparable to MHD by region (Northern/Central California), agency model (full-service integrated creative), and client mix (mid-market and enterprise regional accounts).
• Pereira & O'Dell: Independent creative/advertising agency with offices in San Francisco and New York. Comparable to MHD as an independent California-based agency serving enterprise and mid-market clients with integrated brand, design, digital, and content offerings.
• Argonaut: Independent creative agency in Sausalito (San Francisco Bay Area) delivering brand strategy, advertising, digital, and production services. Comparable to MHD in California geography, independence, and full-service integrated delivery model.
• Noble Studios: Independent digital creative and performance marketing agency based in Reno, NV with offices in California. Comparable to MHD in independent mid-market agency model, regional Western U.S. base, and integrated brand/design/web/PR offerings.
• McGarrah Jessee: Independent integrated marketing agency headquartered in Addison, TX with a Reno, NV office. Comparable to MHD in mid-sized independent status, integrated brand/marketing service mix, and a strong regional/SMB client roster alongside enterprise accounts.

Broad incumbents

• RPA (Rubin Postaer and Associates): Large independent full-service advertising agency headquartered in Santa Monica, CA. Comparable to MHD as a California-based independent creative shop offering integrated brand, design, and advertising services, though at substantially greater scale and primarily serving national advertisers.
• Mekanism: Independent creative agency with offices in San Francisco, New York, and elsewhere, focused on brand storytelling, content, and integrated advertising. Comparable to MHD as an independent integrated creative agency, though at materially larger scale serving predominantly enterprise/consumer national brands.
• Wieden+Kennedy: Largest independent global creative agency, headquartered in Portland with offices worldwide. Comparable to MHD in independent status and full-service integrated creative offering, though operating at vastly greater scale on globally recognized consumer brands.

Emerging players

• Godfrey Dadich Partners: San Francisco-based design and brand strategy firm with overlaps in editorial design, brand systems, and digital experience work. Comparable to MHD in California base and brand/design/marketing positioning, though positioned more upmarket toward tech and media enterprise clients.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/MarciaHerrmannDesign
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/marcia-herrmann-design
• Instagraminstagram.com/mhdgroup
• Xx.com/mhd_design

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 MHD Group