What Red Tettemer O'Connell + Partners does

Red Tettemer O'Connell + Partners (RTO+P) is a Philadelphia-headquartered, full-service creative advertising agency founded in 1997 that delivers integrated marketing services to mid-market and enterprise consumer brands. Following its February 2024 acquisition by Mod Op, the agency operates as a subsidiary within a global insights-led marketing organization of more than 280 employees across 25 countries, while retaining its Philadelphia headquarters at 2400 Market St. and a Los Angeles regional office opened in 2013. The agency serves clients in food and beverage (Sparkling Ice, Dietz & Watson, Nesquik, MorningStar Farms), fitness (Planet Fitness, Under Armour), convenience retail (Sheetz), fashion (Dockers), spirits (Reyka Vodka, Tullamore D.E.W.), jewelry (Swarovski), wine (Black Box Wines, Whitehaven), real estate (Century 21), and other consumer verticals, with a roster cited at 40+ active brands.

RTO+P's service portfolio spans seven integrated disciplines: Creative (brand growth, content creation, brand architecture, packaging), Strategy (digital, brand, content, creative, media, connections planning), Digital (UX, apps, games, web development), the in-house Makers Studio (installations, experiential activations, events, post-production), Media (planning, buying, earned media, insights), Analytics (behavioral tracking, measurement), and Social (community management, influencer marketing). The agency's Digital Production Suite is built on HTML5/CSS3/JavaScript and Ruby on Rails, with stated emerging capabilities in Web3, AR, and AI. Revenue is generated through agency-of-record retainers, project-based creative fees, and media commissions under multi-year contractual engagements; no public pricing is disclosed. Business development is driven by award submissions (Ad Age, Clios, Cannes Lions, ADDYs), earned media in trade publications, and direct client relationships. The agency has been recognized as Ad Age Small Agency of the Year in 2013 (11-75 employees) and 2015 (76-150 employees), received the 2012 4A's O'Toole Award, and has won Clios, D&AD Pencils, and Cannes Lions for individual campaigns. Leadership is led by founders Steve Red (President & Co-CCO) and Steve O'Connell (Partner & Co-CCO), supported by a partner bench drawn from Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, Ogilvy & Mather, and Leo Burnett.

Name

Red Tettemer O'Connell + Partners

Legal name

Red Tettemer O'Connell + Partners

Website

https://rtop.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Red Tettemer O'Connell + Partners is a Philadelphia-headquartered, full-service creative advertising agency founded in 1997, now operating as a Mod Op subsidiary. It delivers integrated creative, strategy, digital, experiential, media, analytics, and social services to 40+ mid-market and enterprise consumer brands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 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 Services Revenue: Revenue generated through agency of record retainer arrangements, project-based creative fees, media planning and buying commissions, and production services for integrated marketing campaigns across digital, social, experiential, and traditional channels.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Red Tettemer O'Connell + Partners (RTO+P) is an independent, full-service advertising agency that provides integrated creative, strategy, digital, media, social, and experiential marketing services to consumer brand clients. The agency operates primarily on agency-of-record (AOR) retainer and project-based engagements, producing campaigns across digital, social, traditional, and experiential channels for clients in food/beverage, fitness, fashion, spirits, retail, and lifestyle categories.

Product overview

Red Tettemer O'Connell + Partners (RTO+P) is an independent advertising agency that offers a comprehensive suite of creative, strategic, digital, experiential, media, analytics, and social marketing services. Rather than a unified software product with modules, the agency operates as a full-service creative partner providing integrated marketing solutions. Their service portfolio spans Creative (brand growth, content creation, design, packaging), Strategy (digital, brand, content, media strategy), Digital (UX design, apps, games, web development), Makers Studio (experiential, events, installations), Media (planning, buying, research), Analytics (behavioral tracking, measurement), and Social (community management, influencer marketing). The agency was acquired by Mod Op in 2024, combining technology and creativity under a global marketing organization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Creative Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Sparkling Ice first Oscars commercial placement
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• RPA (Rubin Postaer and Associates): Los Angeles-based independent creative agency of comparable scale with long-tenure AOR relationships (Honda, Intuit) and similar full-service creative capabilities. Direct peer on size, geography, and indie-creative positioning.
• Barkley: Kansas City-based independent creative + media agency with comparable AOR relationships across CPG, restaurant, and retail. Similar employee scale and integrated offering profile.
• Droga5: Now part of Accenture Song but operationally independent creative agency with comparable AOR creative work for enterprise consumer brands (including spirits and CPG). Direct creative product competitor in the same RFP set.
• Anomaly: Independent creative agency with similar integrated brand strategy + creative + media capabilities and comparable AOR engagements with CPG/consumer brands. Direct competitor for similar client mandates.
• The Martin Agency: Richmond-based independent creative agency of similar scale with strong CPG and consumer brand portfolio. Directly comparable on regional-base-but-national-reach indie agency model and AOR relationships.
• 72andSunny: Independent creative agency of comparable size known for bold, culturally-resonant work and similar enterprise consumer-brand client roster (Google, Samsung, Adidas). Closest peer on creative reputation and indie operating model.
• Mother: Independent, creatively-led full-service agency with NYC/London presence and similar mid-size boutique positioning. Direct competitor for the same AOR and project-based creative work with enterprise consumer brands that RTO+P targets.
• Venables Bell + Partners: San Francisco independent creative agency of comparable size with deep CPG and consumer-tech client relationships. Comparable on full-service creative model and mid-size indie positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Mod Op: Parent company that acquired RTO+P in February 2024. Global insights-led marketing firm with 280+ employees across 25 countries providing the technology, data, and AI capabilities layered onto RTO+P's creative product.
• Crispin Porter + Bogusky: Larger creative network where RTO+P co-CCO Steve O'Connell previously led creative work (MINI, IKEA, Virgin Atlantic). Comparable on creative pedigree and award-winning product, but operates at materially greater scale and as part of a global holding company.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/red-tettemer
• Xx.com/redtettemer
• Facebookfacebook.com/redtettemer

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Red Tettemer O'Connell + Partners