What Russ Reid does

Russ Reid is a full-service direct response marketing agency founded in 1964 and headquartered in Pasadena, California, specializing in fundraising and donor acquisition campaigns for nonprofit organizations. The firm operates as part of Diversified Agency Services, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC), and after its August 2013 merger with SCA Direct now serves more than 200 nonprofit clients across the United States and Canada from offices in Pasadena, Toronto, and Fairfax, Virginia. Its client base spans humanitarian aid (American Red Cross, Food for the Poor), international development (World Vision Canada), healthcare (American Cancer Society, Operation Smile), veterans services (Paralyzed Veterans of America), environmental causes (Environmental Defense Fund), public broadcasting (KCET), and a network of 150 food banks and rescue missions across North America.

The agency's core offering is integrated "surround sound" multi-channel fundraising campaigns combining digital fundraising (SEO, SEM, display, email), direct response television (DRTV), direct mail, radio, social media, and gift catalog programs. Proprietary methodologies include SQUINCH (a square-inch analytics framework that quantifies revenue contribution per catalog product/page/spread), donor lifecycle messaging (tenure-based copy variants for first, second, and third-year donors), and DSP-driven hyper-targeted display banner advertising using modeled donor response behavior. Bilingual English/Spanish/French execution and the "Heart of the Donor" Hispanic-donor research study (produced with Grey Matter Research) differentiate its capability for multicultural fundraising. Leadership includes CEO Alan B. Hall (Russ Reid career operator since 1990), Chairman Tom Harrison (also Chair of Omnicom's Nonprofit Group), and SVP Roger Hiyama (joined via the SCA Direct merger with prior experience at Merkle, CDR Fundraising Group, and Barton Cotton).

Russ Reid's business model is B2B professional services: revenue is generated through agency fees, media commissions, and project-based billing tied to campaign scope, with no publicly disclosed pricing. Go-to-market is sales-led via RFP processes, referrals, conferences, and content marketing (case studies, whitepapers, blog content). The firm operates within Omnicom's Nonprofit Group, which itself draws on Omnicom's 200+ agencies across 700+ offices in 71 countries, providing cross-discipline resourcing that standalone agencies cannot match. Documented client outcomes — 11:1 search ROI for American Red Cross, 68% sustainer growth at KCET, 58% revenue growth over 2009–2012 for an international relief client, $67MM raised through the Paralyzed Veterans of America direct mail program — demonstrate the revenue impact of the agency's campaigns on client fundraising.

Name

Russ Reid

Legal name

Russ Reid

Website

https://russreid.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1964

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Russ Reid is a full-service direct response marketing agency founded in 1964 that serves 200+ nonprofit organizations across the US and Canada with integrated multi-channel fundraising campaigns spanning digital, DRTV, direct mail, analytics, and social. It operates within Omnicom Group's Diversified Agency Services division.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Fundraising Services

NAICS

Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Public Relations Agencies (541820)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Direct Mail Advertising Services (7331)

akta.pro primary industry

Fundraising & Donor Acquisition Calling (Nonprofit) (BPAAADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Nonprofit & Cause Communications (BPAFADAK)

Keywords

• Direct response marketing
• Nonprofit fundraising
• Donor acquisition
• Multichannel campaigns
• Fundraising analytics

Headquarters

HQ city

Pasadena

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

Revenue model

1. Marketing Agency Services: Russ Reid provides professional agency services to nonprofit organizations including strategy, creative development, media buying, and campaign execution across multiple channels. Revenue is generated through professional service fees, media commissions, and project-based billing for nonprofit fundraising campaigns.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Russ Reid is a full-service direct response marketing agency that designs and executes integrated multi-channel fundraising campaigns for nonprofit organizations. Its deliverables span digital fundraising, direct response television (DRTV), direct mail, DR radio, social media, gift catalog optimization, and data-driven analytics — delivered as professional agency services rather than as software products. The agency serves more than 200 nonprofit clients across the US and Canada with operations in Pasadena, Toronto, and Fairfax.

Product overview

Russ Reid is a nonprofit fundraising and marketing agency, not a software product company. The company offers an integrated suite of marketing services including Digital Fundraising, Direct Response Television (DRTV), Direct Mail, Analytics, and Multi-Channel Integrated Campaigns. These services are provided as professional agency offerings rather than as standalone software products or modules. The agency specializes in helping nonprofit organizations grow through strategic 'surround sound' campaigns that combine multiple channels including TV, print, digital advertising, email, direct mail, outdoor, and social media.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Digital Fundraising
• Direct Response Television (DRTV)
• Direct Mail
• Analytics
• Integrated Multi-Channel Campaigns
• Social Media Services
• Gift Catalog Optimization
• DR Radio

Quantifiable outcome

• 5.3% income increase for American Red Cross holiday campaign, 26% increase year-over-year in 2010
• +10 more outcomes

Named customers11 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

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SCA DirectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2013In August 2013, Russ Reid and SCA Direct merged to form a combined entity serving nonprofit organizations. Both companies specialized in nonprofit fundraising. The merger expanded geographic presence with SCA Direct's Fairfax VA headquarters and provided broader product mix including digital fundraising, DRTV, direct mail, catalog, DR radio and social fundraising in English, Spanish and French. Roger Hiyama joined as SVP/Managing Director of the Fairfax office, formerly President of Strategic Fundraising at CDR Fundraising Group and Barton Cotton.
• Diversified Agency Services (DAS)coreOthersRuss Reid is a part of Diversified Agency Services, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC). DAS manages Omnicom's holdings in various marketing communications disciplines and includes over 200 companies operating through more than 700 offices in 71 countries. Tom Harrison serves as Chair of Russ Reid and Chair of Omnicom's Nonprofit Group of agencies.
• Grey Matter Research & ConsultingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRuss Reid partnered with Grey Matter Research & Consulting to conduct the 'Heart of the Donor' research study that provides insights into Hispanic donor behavior and characteristics.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Merkle: Merkle is a large data-driven marketing agency with a dedicated nonprofit practice offering CRM, analytics and multi-channel fundraising — a broader incumbent that competes with Russ Reid on analytics-heavy nonprofit engagements.
• Epsilon: Epsilon is a large global advertising/marketing services company offering data, tech and direct marketing capabilities that increasingly serves nonprofits — a broader incumbent adjacent to Russ Reid's direct response specialty.

Direct peers

• M+R: M+R is one of the largest U.S. agencies dedicated to nonprofits and causes, providing fundraising, advocacy, and marketing services across digital, email and direct mail — closely overlapping Russ Reid's mission and multi-channel service mix.
• Pursuant: Pursuant (formerly Artez Interactive) is a digital-first fundraising and engagement agency for nonprofits, combining fundraising technology, analytics and campaign execution — a direct digital counterpart to Russ Reid's surround-sound model.
• Alexander Haas: Alexander Haas is a fundraising and marketing consulting firm for nonprofits, providing campaign, direct mail and digital strategy that competes with Russ Reid for nonprofit mid-market and large accounts.
• Mal Warwick Donordigital: Mal Warwick | Donordigital is a direct response fundraising agency serving nonprofits with a strong digital and email fundraising practice, frequently competing with Russ Reid for nonprofit accounts.
• The Stelter Company: Stelter is a long-standing direct response fundraising agency for nonprofits, with strong direct mail and DRTV practices — directly comparable to Russ Reid's heritage strengths.
• True North Group: True North is a direct response agency serving nonprofit and association clients with fundraising, membership and marketing services — comparable in size and channel mix to a mid-size nonprofit agency.
• KCI Direct: KCI (Klemtner Carlson & Company) is a direct response fundraising agency for nonprofits specializing in DRTV, direct mail and digital — overlapping with Russ Reid's full-service DR mix.

Emerging players

• Fireside (formerly Network for Good): Fireside is a digital fundraising agency and SaaS provider for nonprofits, representing an emerging, more digitally native player that competes for the same nonprofit marketing dollars and donor-acquisition mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/russreidagency
• Facebookfacebook.com/russreidagency
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/russ-reid-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Russ Reid