What Asher Agency does

Asher Agency is a full-service marketing and advertising agency founded in 1973, headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, operating as a women-owned Women-Owned Small Business since 2022 under co-owners Kara Kelley (President) and Megan Bennett (CFO). The firm delivers integrated marketing communications spanning nine core capability areas — account services, creative, franchise services, digital media, web development, public relations, traditional media, social media, and video production — built primarily on WordPress CMS for web and Nielsen-certified media-buying infrastructure for traditional channels. It serves five primary verticals: franchise organizations (Subway, Scooter's Coffee, Pizza Factory, Wings Etc., Crimson Coward, Fantastic Sams — collectively covering 6,000+ restaurant franchise locations), higher education (Indiana Tech, Goshen College, Saint Mary's College), financial services (City National Bank, Indiana Members Credit Union), government and public affairs (Allen County Sheriff, Habitat for Humanity GFW, plus a dedicated D.C. public-affairs practice), and healthcare/PE (Regional Care Group, Ambassador Enterprises).

The agency operates from four offices — Fort Wayne (HQ), Carmel/Indianapolis, Charleston (WV), and Washington, D.C. — and generates revenue primarily through retainer relationships and project-based fees for specific marketing initiatives. Average client tenure of 8 years versus a 2–3 year industry average, combined with a 2024 client satisfaction rating of 4.7/5, indicates strong retention mechanics; the firm has placed approximately $1 billion in media over 25 years across U.S. and international markets. GTM is sales-led, relying on direct outreach, industry events such as the Restaurant Leadership Conference, and referral-based acquisition from long-tenured accounts. No venture capital, private equity, or institutional investment is disclosed, and revenue figures are not publicly reported. The franchise vertical — particularly restaurant chains and localizing national brands across thousands of franchisee locations — is the most cited area of differentiation and accounts for a disproportionate share of documented case studies.

Name

Asher Agency

Legal name

Asher Agency (KMBlu LLC)

Website

https://asheragency.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Asher Agency is a women-owned, full-service marketing and advertising agency founded in 1973, headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, serving franchise organizations, educational institutions, financial services firms, government entities, and healthcare clients with integrated creative, media, web, PR, and video services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Full-service marketing and advertising agency services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Full-Service Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAA)

Keywords

• Integrated marketing services
• Franchise marketing agency
• Digital media buying
• Public affairs advocacy
• Web development accessibility

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Wayne

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Marketing Services Retainers and Project Fees: Asher generates revenue through ongoing retainer relationships with clients and project-based fees for specific marketing initiatives. Average client relationship spans 8 years, indicating recurring revenue from established accounts. Services include strategic planning, creative development, media buying, web development, PR, and video production.
2. Franchise Marketing Services: Specialized marketing services for franchise organizations including national campaign coordination, localized media buying, and franchisee support across 6,000+ restaurant franchise locations.
3. Public Affairs and Advocacy Services: Federal funding assistance, grant identification, appropriations advocacy, and public affairs counsel through Washington, D.C. office, helping non-profits and organizations secure federal competitive grants and congressionally directed spending.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Asher Agency is a full-service B2B marketing and advertising agency that develops and executes integrated marketing campaigns for clients across franchise/restaurant, education, financial services, healthcare, government, and non-profit sectors. Offerings span account services, creative development, digital media planning and buying, traditional media buying, WordPress-based accessible web development, public relations, social media, and in-house video production. The agency also provides federal funding/grant identification, congressional appropriations advocacy, and public affairs counsel through its Washington, D.C. office.

Product overview

Asher Agency is a full-service marketing and advertising agency that operates as a single unified service platform rather than a modular product architecture. The agency offers integrated marketing services organized into nine core capability areas: Account Services, Creative Services, Franchise Services, Digital Media Services, Web Services, Public Relations Services, Traditional Media Services, Social Media Services, and Video Services. Their services are delivered through client-specific campaigns and projects, including website development (built primarily on WordPress), digital and social media campaigns, traditional media planning and buying, public affairs and advocacy, and video production. The agency specializes in franchise marketing, serving restaurant franchise co-ops with localized national strategies, and maintains expertise across financial services, healthcare, education, and government sectors. Key products include campaign work for clients such as Pizza Factory, Scooter's Coffee, Fantastic Sams, City National Bank, Indiana Members Credit Union, Goshen College, Habitat for Humanity GFW, and various government entities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Full-Service Marketing Agency Capabilities Integrated marketing services combining account services, creative services, digital media, traditional media, web development, public relations, social media, and video production under one roof for enterprise and mid-market clients. Delivered through dedicated account teams acting as client marketing extensions.
• Franchise Marketing Services Comprehensive franchise marketing services for restaurant, retail, and service franchise groups, including franchisee co-op marketing, localizing national brands, traditional and digital media buying, and franchise-specific strategy development across 6,000+ restaurant franchise locations.
• Digital Media Services Digital media planning and buying across programmatic display, paid social, LinkedIn, paid search, and YouTube, supporting franchise, education, financial services, and healthcare clients with measurable lead- and sales-generation outcomes.
• Creative Services Creative development including brand work, campaign concepts, copywriting, art direction, and production design across digital, print, broadcast, and out-of-home.
• Web Development and Accessibility Services Website design, development, hosting, and maintenance built primarily on WordPress, with focus on WCAG 2.1 AA and 2.2 AA accessibility compliance. Includes consolidations of multisite installations and ongoing accessibility QA for clients such as Goshen College, Allen County Sheriff's Department, Habitat for Humanity GFW, and Ambassador Enterprises.
• Traditional Media Buying Nielsen-certified media planning and buying across television, radio, out-of-home (billboards), direct mail, and local/national publications. Includes support for high-volume national placements such as 550 billboards for Scooter's Coffee.
• Public Relations Services Public relations services including news release drafting, op-ed placement, media pitching, crisis management, and earned-media amplification for clients, including the 8-year partnership with ACSM for the Fitness Index.
• Social Media Services Social media strategy, content creation, community management, and influencer marketing for franchise, education, and consumer clients (e.g., Fantastic Sams influencer campaign producing 7M impressions).
• Video Production Services In-house video production capabilities producing commercials, brand films, and social video content for television, web, and social platforms, including work such as the Scooter's Coffee commercials and Indiana Members Credit Union IMCYou campaign.
• Public Affairs and Federal Funding Advocacy Services Federal competitive grant identification, congressional appropriations advocacy, congressionally directed spending support, and public affairs counsel delivered through the Washington, D.C. office, helping non-profits and government-related organizations secure federal funding.
• Account Services Dedicated account teams serving as extensions of client marketing organizations, providing strategic planning, project management, and ongoing client relationship support across all service lines.

Quantifiable outcome

• Client retention: 8-year average client relationship (3x industry average of 2-3 years)
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)coreGTM or Marketing Partner8-year partnership with ACSM for distributing the annual Fitness Index rankings for America's 100 largest cities. Asher facilitates media interviews, distributes news, and amplifies results that help cities across the nation understand fitness and health metrics.
• Elevance Health FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Elevance Health Foundation (philanthropic arm of Elevance Health) in releasing annual Fitness Index rankings. Foundation partners with ACSM and Asher to fund and distribute health and fitness data for 100 largest cities in America.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Ruder Finn: Established global integrated communications and marketing firm with strong healthcare, public affairs, and corporate communications practices. Comparable to Asher in PR-heavy integrated offerings (ACSM Fitness Index partnership, public affairs counsel, health-sector clients) though larger in scale and global footprint.
• Walker Sands: Mid-sized integrated B2B marketing agency with capabilities in PR, digital media, content, and creative. Comparable to Asher's full-service B2B go-to-market approach and integrated service model, though broader in scope and heavier in B2B technology accounts.

Direct peers

• Burrell Communications: Independent, full-service integrated marketing and communications agency with deep franchise, multicultural, and consumer-marketing expertise. Comparable to Asher in client-retention story, integrated service offering (creative, media, digital, PR), and supplier-diversity positioning.
• MERGE: Mid-sized independent agency with integrated marketing, brand, and digital capabilities serving healthcare, education, financial services, and consumer clients. Comparable to Asher in vertical mix (financial services, healthcare, higher ed), full-service offering under one roof, and ~100-200 person operating scale.
• Cramer-Krasselt: Mid-size, Midwest-based independent full-service creative and integrated marketing agency. Comparable to Asher in operating scale (~200-300 employees), service mix (creative, media, digital, PR), and regional-to-national client base including franchise, retail, and education verticals.
• Carnegie: Full-service marketing agency specialized in higher education student recruitment, brand, and enrollment marketing. Comparable to Asher's higher-education vertical strength (Indiana Tech, Goshen College, Saint Mary's, FWCS) and overlap in enrollment-driven digital and social campaign execution.
• Mower: Independent integrated marketing, advertising, and PR agency headquartered in the Northeast with regional offices. Comparable to Asher in mid-sized full-service positioning, integrated offerings (creative, media, PR, digital), and vertical breadth spanning consumer, B2B, healthcare, and public-sector work.
• The Lacek Group: Mid-sized integrated marketing agency with deep expertise in loyalty, CRM, brand engagement, and creative for franchise and consumer clients. Comparable to Asher's franchise-franchise marketing specialization and integrated creative-media-data execution model.
• Empower Media Group: Independent full-service media, marketing, and communications agency. Comparable to Asher in Nielsen-certified media buying capabilities, integrated creative-plus-media model, and women/MBE-owned leadership positioning; focused on multi-channel campaign execution for consumer and B2B clients.
• Barkley: Independent creative, media, and brand-strategy agency based in Kansas City. Comparable to Asher as an independent, full-service agency focused on brands with integrated capabilities across creative, media, digital, and PR; similar mid-sized operating model and long-tenured client engagements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/asheragency
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/asher-agency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Asher Agency