Burdette Ketchum

What Burdette Ketchum does

Burdette Ketchum, operating under the brand name High Reason, is a full-service integrated marketing agency founded in 1996 and headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. The firm delivers services across four disciplines: Research & Strategy, Digital Marketing, Brand & Creative, and Public Relations / Content & Social. Its stated methodology couples data-driven research with creative execution, positioned around an "outthink rather than outspend" value proposition rather than media-buying scale. The agency serves enterprise and mid-market clients across healthcare (Zimmer Biomet, Neurolens, Healogics, Essilor Luxottica, Marco Lombart, PECAA), real estate and development (Hines, Vantrust, Rayonier), transportation (Jacksonville Transportation Authority, Tom Nehl Truck Company), technology (Nearmap, Mosai), consumer/retail (Daily's, Dreamfinders), financial services (Earn Up), and cultural/nonprofit (MOSH, EveryPet).

The business runs on a professional services model with revenue generated through client retainers and project-based engagements; pricing is not publicly disclosed and engagements are quote-based. The firm operates no proprietary technology platform, no SaaS product, and no data flywheel — it is a traditional creative and strategy consultancy rather than a martech or SaaS business. Distribution is direct and largely regional (Southeast U.S.), supplemented by an owned blog with content on marketing strategy, M&A branding, and AI-driven search (GEO), and by social presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Headcount is in the 11–50 band and operating history exceeds 29 years.

Name

Burdette Ketchum

Legal name

High Reason

Website

https://burdetteketchum.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Burdette Ketchum (operating as High Reason) is a Jacksonville, Florida-based integrated marketing agency founded in 1996, serving enterprise clients across healthcare, real estate, transportation, and retail with research, digital, brand/creative, and PR services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Jacksonville

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Services (Integrated Marketing): Full-service marketing agency offering research & strategy, digital marketing, brand & creative, and public relations services. Revenue generated through client retainers, project fees, and specialized engagement contracts. Services can be delivered holistically or on a project-by-project basis.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Burdette Ketchum is a full-service marketing agency offering integrated marketing solutions spanning Research & Strategy, Digital Marketing, Brand & Creative, and Public Relations, Content & Social. The agency delivers holistic integrated programs or specialized, project-based engagements to enterprise and mid-market clients. Website content is currently published under the brand name High Reason at highreason.com, suggesting a rebrand.

Product overview

High Reason is a full-service marketing agency offering integrated services including Research & Strategy, Digital Marketing, Brand & Creative, and Public Relations, Content & Social. The company serves clients across diverse industries including healthcare, real estate, transportation, eyewear/optical, retail, and nonprofits, with a portfolio of client work spanning sectors such as medical devices (Zimmer Biomet), transportation (Jacksonville Transportation Authority, Tom Nehl Truck Company), retail (Daily's Convenience Stores), optical technology (Neurolens), real estate (Hines), automotive (PECAA), and other B2B/B2C brands. The agency takes a calculated, data-driven approach to marketing while focusing on creating emotional connections with target audiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research & Strategy

Named customers18 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Biggs|Gilmore: Kalamazoo, MI-based independent integrated agency serving enterprise clients across brand, digital, and PR — closely matched regional independent full-service peer.
• Walker Sands: Chicago-based B2B integrated marketing agency offering PR, brand strategy, digital, and content services to enterprise and mid-market clients — comparable in integrated-services positioning and client size.
• Luckie & Company: Birmingham, AL-based independent marketing agency providing brand strategy, advertising, digital, PR, and media services to enterprise clients — a closely matched regional full-service peer with similar headcount range.
• Ervin & Smith: Omaha-based independent marketing and advertising agency serving mid-market and enterprise clients with integrated brand, digital, and PR services — directly comparable independent agency of similar scale.
• Tombras Group: Knoxville, TN-based independent full-service agency of similar size and structure offering integrated advertising, digital, media, PR, and branding services to enterprise and regional clients — directly comparable in scope, scale, and regional full-service model.
• Sagefrog Marketing Group: Doylestown, PA-based B2B-focused integrated marketing agency offering strategy, branding, digital, and content services — comparable mid-sized independent with a similar integrated-services go-to-market.

Broad incumbents

• The Richards Group: Dallas-based large independent agency offering brand strategy, advertising, digital, and media — operates in the same full-service independent-agency category but at meaningfully larger scale.
• Forsman & Bodenfors: Globally recognized creative-led agency network competing for enterprise brand strategy and creative work — relevant broader incumbent peer for the creative and brand portion of High Reason's offering.
• Publicis Groupe: Global advertising holding company whose agencies (Leo Burnett, Saatchi, Digitas) directly compete for the same enterprise marketing budgets that High Reason targets — relevant incumbent peer for competitive benchmarking.

Emerging players

• Rise Interactive: Chicago-based digital marketing agency specializing in media, analytics, and digital experience — comparable as a mid-sized independent competing for similar enterprise digital-marketing mandates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/burdetteketchum
• Facebookfacebook.com/BurdetteKetchum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/high-reason

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 Burdette Ketchum