Ackerman McQueen

What Ackerman McQueen does

Ackerman McQueen is a privately held, vertically integrated U.S. advertising agency founded in the mid-1940s (over 80 years of continuous operation) and headquartered at 1133 N Robinson Ave, Oklahoma City, OK. The firm operates as an Oklahoma C Corporation and serves more than 30 brand clients across the United States, organized around three core service pillars — Strategy (behavior-driven brand positioning), Creative (in-house execution by screenwriters, musicians, directors of photography, editors, designers, and writers), and Distribution (media planning, negotiation, measurement, and optimization across paid, owned, and earned channels). The agency's revenue model is professional services-based: account managers each oversee 2–3 major accounts on retainer/agency-of-record engagements, with project-based creative and media work billed per scope; pricing is custom-quoted and not publicly disclosed.

The underlying production and media stack is conventional agency tooling rather than a proprietary platform — Adobe Creative Suite with Cinema 4D for motion design, Google Campaign Manager 360 / Search Ads 360 for media execution, Google Analytics and Data Studio for analytics, HubSpot for CRM, and third-party research tools (Scarborough/Prime Lingo, SQAD, MRI, Kantar, Nielsen, Media Monitors) for audience insights. There is no public API, app, or developer-facing integration surface; distribution is entirely direct through the Oklahoma City headquarters, with renewals and expansion driven by dedicated account managers rather than a self-serve or partner channel.

Sitting alongside the core agency is Knox Studios, a wholly owned sub-brand/division that extends the firm into original entertainment and commercial content — music, documentaries, narrative podcasts, digital experiences, docuseries, commercials, and screenwriting — functioning as the agency's in-house creative production arm for owned-audience storytelling beyond paid media. Named client work showcased on the corporate site spans mid-market CPG (Nature Nate's), nonprofit running/events (OKC Marathon), and environmental/nonprofit (EarthX), reflecting deliberate cross-vertical diversification from a single geographic base.

Name

Ackerman McQueen

Legal name

Ackerman McQueen, Inc.

Website

https://am.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1945

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Ackerman McQueen is a privately held, vertically integrated U.S. advertising agency headquartered in Oklahoma City, serving 30+ brand clients nationwide through integrated strategy, creative, and media distribution services, with the Knox Studios division extending into original entertainment content production.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Oklahoma City

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Agency of record / retainer fees: Account Managers oversee 2–3 major accounts with budgets, monthly projections, and billing handled internally — indicating ongoing retainer-style agency-of-record engagements with major clients.
2. Project-based creative and media production: Custom creative, content production, and paid media work delivered on a per-project basis, with invoices, estimates, and client media investment reconciled between the agency and its media/accounting teams.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ackerman McQueen is a vertically integrated advertising agency that develops brand strategy, produces creative campaigns and original entertainment content, and plans and buys paid media for brand clients. Its work is delivered through three integrated pillars — Strategy, Creative, and Distribution — supported by the Knox Studios division for original content production across film, music, podcasts, and digital experiences.

Product overview

Ackerman McQueen is a single, vertically integrated advertising agency rather than a modular software platform, organized around three core service pillars — Strategy, Creative and Distribution — which together deliver strategic, emotional storytelling for client brands. Sitting alongside these core services, Knox Studios operates as a sub-brand/division that extends the agency's storytelling capability into alternative original entertainment and commercial projects, functioning as the agency's in-house creative production arm for screenplays, docuseries, commercials and related content.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Knox Studios: A division of Ackerman McQueen that pursues alternative original entertainment and commercial projects, operating as a flexible, savvy creative team focused on storytelling across media.

Products and services

• Ackerman McQueen Strategy Brand strategy service built on understanding human behavior; develops strong and lasting brand positions by analyzing key audiences' behavior and motivations. Sold to U.S. brand clients as part of Ackerman McQueen's integrated agency offering.
• Ackerman McQueen Creative In-house creative service spanning screenwriters, musicians, directors of photography, video and audio editors, designers, and writers; executes original work across screenplays, docuseries, commercials, documentaries, narrative podcasts, and digital experiences for U.S. brand clients.
• Ackerman McQueen Distribution (Media Planning & Buying) Media planning, negotiation, measurement, and optimization service delivering maximum return on media spend across paid, owned, and earned channels, including organic engagement strategies beyond paid media. Sold to U.S. brand clients as part of the integrated agency offering.
• Knox Studios Division of Ackerman McQueen that pursues alternative original entertainment and commercial projects, operating as a flexible, in-house creative team focused on storytelling across any medium (music, documentaries, narrative podcasts, digital experiences, commercials, and screenwriting).

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 30 active clients across the United States
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• RPA (Rubin Postaer and Associates): Independent, full-service advertising agency headquartered in Los Angeles with a comparable mix of creative, media, and brand strategy services. Similar in scale and independent ownership model, serving major U.S. brand clients on retainer-style engagements.
• GSD&M: Austin, TX-based independent creative agency with a similar heritage profile, multi-disciplinary creative team, and vertically integrated strategy/creative/media offering. Comparable to Ackerman McQueen in scale, longevity, and private independent structure serving major U.S. brand clients.
• The Richards Group: Large, privately held U.S. independent advertising agency headquartered in Dallas, TX, comparable to Ackerman McQueen in size (hundreds of employees), private ownership, full-service offering (strategy, creative, media), and concentration on a relatively small number of large brand clients. Operates on a similar retainer/project fee model without a global holding-company network.
• Wieden+Kennedy: Larger, privately held independent creative agency with global offices, anchored by a single long-tenured creative ethos and storytelling-led brand work. Comparable to Ackerman McQueen on independent ownership, heritage, and creative-driven differentiation, though significantly larger in scale and geographic footprint.
• Anomaly: Independent creative agency operating across strategy, creative, and media with a focus on building brand IP and original content. Comparable to Ackerman McQueen's vertically integrated model and to Knox Studios' emphasis on original entertainment production.
• Mother: Independently held creative agency with offices in New York, London, and Los Angeles. Comparable to Ackerman McQueen in its focus on creative-led storytelling, multi-disciplinary in-house talent, and retainer-style engagements with major consumer brands.

Broad incumbents

• Publicis Groupe: Global advertising holding company whose networks (Publicis, Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi, etc.) directly compete with Ackerman McQueen for major brand assignments across strategy, creative, and media buying at significantly greater scale and geographic reach.
• Accenture Song: Global, technology-driven creative and consulting group that competes with Ackerman McQueen for end-to-end brand strategy and content engagements, often absorbing work that traditional independent agencies would otherwise win. Operates at significantly greater scale with consulting-style integration.
• Omnicom Group: Global advertising holding company whose agency networks (BBDO, DDB, TBWA) compete directly with Ackerman McQueen on integrated brand campaigns. Broader scale, global footprint, and broader service portfolio position Omnicom as an incumbent competitor for enterprise brand budgets.

Emerging players

• Big Spaceship: Independently held digital and creative agency with a comparable mid-size headcount and integrated strategy/creative offering. More digitally native than Ackerman McQueen but competes for similar mid-market and large-brand storytelling engagements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/AckermanMcQueen
• Facebookfacebook.com/ackermanmcqueenads
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ackerman-mcqueen
• Instagraminstagram.com/ackermanmcqueen
• Xx.com/ackermanmcq

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Ackerman McQueen