How to choose a marketing agency in the Midwest

A marketing agency, as this list uses the term, is one team that can hold brand, campaigns, content and media together. You hire one when the work crosses channels and you do not want to be the person stitching vendors together.

You are buying a team that can finish a defined job. The useful question is which parts they do themselves and which they subcontract, and whether the people in the first meeting are the people who do the work the week after.

Write these down before you talk to a marketing agency. A vague brief produces a vague price.

• Write the job in one paragraph: what you sell, who buys it, and what done looks like in ninety days.
• Name the channels that are in scope, and the ones that are not.
• Separate the fee from the media budget before you compare two proposals.
• Decide whether you need a strategist, a production team, or both.

Ask each firm the same list. The useful part is the difference in the answers, not a polished version of the question.

• Who does the work, and are they on staff?
• What will you have in hand at thirty, sixty and ninety days?
• Which of your current vendors stay, and which does the agency replace?
• What is included in the monthly fee, and what is billed on top?
• Can you show one client with a problem close to mine, and say what changed?

the Midwest covers several states. Firms in different states can all belong on this list and still differ on price, travel and who shows up. State and city pages count where the listed firms are based. They do not rank cities.

A region named on a homepage is not the same thing as an office in your city. Use the city and state on the profile.

13 marketing agencies are on this list in the Midwest, re-checked September 28, 2026. Nobody pays to be ranked. They are based in Chicago, IL (3); Minneapolis, MN (2); Columbus, OH (1); Des Moines, IA (1); Detroit, MI (1); Indianapolis, IN (1); Kansas City, MO (1); Milwaukee, WI (1), and 2 more cities.

Where a team size is stated: 1 is 500+ people, 4 are 51–200 people. 8 do not state a size.

12 of 13 state a founding year. The earliest stated year is 1898 and the latest is 2018.

12 of 13 name a leader. 12 of 13 name at least one client. 0 of 13 publish a price. If a profile leaves a line out, no source stated it.

Specialties named by more than one firm: brand strategy (6); creative (5); media (4); public relations (4); healthcare (3); media planning and buying (3).

In the list's order: BarkleyOKRP, Cramer-Krasselt, Schafer Condon Carter, Highdive, Broadhead, Solve, Bailey Lauerman, Hanson Dodge, HLK, Young & Laramore, Fahlgren Mortine, Lafayette American, Flynn Wright.

Write the job in one paragraph. Keep the two or three firms whose reason for being here matches that job.

Open each profile. It says who leads the firm, work they can show, and a price if they published one. If they did not publish a price, the profile shows a typical estimate and says it is not a quote.

Then ask each firm for one piece of work like yours, and the name of the person who would do it.

The order weighs how long the firm has done the work, clients it can name, its size, and how clear its specialism is. Nobody pays to be ranked.

One card is marked Featured. It is paid placement for Fracs, which shares this list's publisher. It sits outside the ranking.

If a profile leaves out a leader, a price, or a founding year, no source stated it.

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• FAQ

Open a firm for who leads it, work it can show, any price it published, and why it made the list.

• 01 BarkleyOKRP — Kansas City, MO
• 02 Cramer-Krasselt — Chicago, IL
• 03 Schafer Condon Carter — Chicago, IL
• 04 Highdive — Chicago, IL
• 05 Broadhead — Minneapolis, MN
• 06 Solve — Minneapolis, MN
• 07 Bailey Lauerman — Omaha, NE
• 08 Hanson Dodge — Milwaukee, WI
• 09 HLK — St. Louis, MO
• 10 Young & Laramore — Indianapolis, IN
• 11 Fahlgren Mortine — Columbus, OH
• 12 Lafayette American — Detroit, MI
• 13 Flynn Wright — Des Moines, IA

These pages group firms that share a city or a state on this list. A place with one listed firm links from the comparison page straight to that firm's profile.

• Where they are based
• Chicago, IL (3)
• Minneapolis, MN (2)
• Illinois (3)
• Minnesota (2)
• Missouri (2)