Barkley and OKRP merge to form BarkleyOKRP

Independent agencies Barkley and OKRP have merged to form the new entity BarkleyOKRP. The merged agency will service OKRP clients including Burger King and Metro by T-Mobile, along with Barkley clients such as AMC, Motel 6, Papa Murphy’s, Planet Fitness, Premier Protein, Red Lobster and Smoothie King. Chicago-based private equity firm Keystone Capital brought the idea to the two agencies and now owns a “slight majority” of the new company, said Barkley CEO Jeff King, who retains that role at the new agency. He declined to give a specific figure. See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Creativity Award winners here BarkleyOKRP has more than 650 employees, roughly three-quarters of whom come from Barkley. No job cuts are planned as part of the merger, King said. Keystone invested in Barkley in September 2022 to help the Kansas City, Missouri-based agency find M&A opportunities. The PE firm introduced Barkley to the OKRP leadership team the following summer and helped structure the deal. Keystone did not own any shares of Chicago-based OKRP at that time. Agency acquisitions—who is buying, who could sell next The leadership of the two agencies said that the combination fills needs of one another. OKRP, which was formed in 2013 and had around 150 employees before the merger, is expected to elevate the new agency’s creative capabilities. Barkley, which launched in 1964 and had roughly 500 employees before the merger, brings a suite of offerings in strategy, research, and consulting, a 65-person content and social media studio, CRM services, media planning and buying, data analytics and performance media. “We’ve had a couple of really good years,” said Tom O’Keefe, OKRP’s CEO, who becomes creative chairman of the merged agency. “We felt like those capabilities, the resources, the people that they have along with us can get us all to another level quicker.” OKRP’s infectious “You Rule” campaign for Burger King was a massive hit shortly after the small agency won the account. The shop followed that up with another big account win in Metro by T-Mobile, which led to a commercial that aired last month during Univision’s Super Bowl broadcast. OKRP President and Partner Nick Paul and Barkley President Dan Fromm retain their roles and will split duties as needed. Barkley Chief Creative Officer Katy Hornaday retains her role, reporting to O’Keefe. OKRP Co-founder Matt Reinhard has transitioned from a partnership role to a “creative/artist in residence role,” in which he’ll be responsible for shaping the agency’s design department and influencing how creative work shows up for clients, O’Keefe said. “As we move forward, we’re going to invest in more of the deep capabilities around media data analytics, and performance,” said King. “But you can never have too much amazing creative talent. You can never have too many amazing strategists in your organization.” ‘Big Indie’ The merger brings together a mix of food clients under one roof, but King said there are no concerns about potential conflicts, and clients have been informed of the merger. Managing conflicts is still on a case-by-case basis, King said, but that has changed over the last 10 years as Barkley has attempted to grow its consulting work. “We've moved upstream in terms of the consultative role we play with clients, particularly around strategy, brand strategy, business strategy,” King said. “If you look at the big consultancies, they create verticals [called] category expertise, that’s littered with similar companies. They see that as a big strength because they have expertise in the category. I like to optimistically think that clients see that value in us as well.” King also said he believes clients are looking for expertise from large independent agencies and referred to the new entity as “Big Indie” despite Keystone being a majority owner. “Clients typically are faced with one of two choices, either a bigger holding company solution, or a smaller boutique independent solution, and each has their strengths and opportunities, and there’s just not a lot that is in the middle,” King said. “We think that there’s this big void in the market that we are incredibly well positioned to fill.” To introduce the new entity, the agency partners produced a tongue-in-cheek video (below) that will run on their websites and social platforms. The two agencies previously made strategic growth moves on their own. Barkley acquired food and beverage-focused Smiths Agency in 2022 and Lawrence, Kansas-based agency Callahan, which also works with T-Mobile and other clients including Toyota and pharma company Elanco, in 2023. OKRP in 2022 launched a Black-owned production and content studio named Putney. BarkleyOKRP will have offices in Chicago, Denver, Kansas City, New York and Pittsburgh. There will be one P&L structure moving forward. Currently, there are no plans to change locations for any employees and the two entities will work on projects and pitches as needed. “The goal is for the work to get better and our clients’ business to see a positive impact,” O’Keefe said. “The challenges are going to be in making sure that integration goes as smooth as it can, without disrupting what’s already working.” The new name makes it clear that each agency is still looking to keep its DNA. “I think Barkley won the coin flip,” O’Keefe joked about the new name. “Barkley is 60 years old and has a great legacy to it and at OKRP we have a reputation, too. Putting it together and saying, ‘This is what it is,’ especially coming out of the gate, just made the most sense for us.” “We understand we may be inviting some skepticism in terms of combining the names, but we’re okay with that,” King added. “We think BarkleyOKRP is a powerful brand, and we’re proud of it.” Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here

Barkley and OKRP merge to form BarkleyOKRP

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