Founding
Barkley, originally called “Barkley Evergreen,” was founded over 50 years ago. The firm’s original name was an ode to its origins -- on the cross-streets of Barkley’s first offices in Kansas City. The company’s founder, Bill Fromm, built the agency from the ground up. Before retiring from the company in 1997, Bill sold the agency to his employees, making Barkley the largest employee-owned marketing agency in the country (a title the company holds to this day).
A Full Service Agency
Barkley strives to develop relationships with a diverse set of companies. Lambert explained that the agency has the capacity to “specialize in any industry.” Currently, Barkley partners with clients across industries such as retail, restaurant, healthcare, agriculture, and financial services. The focus, and ultimate goal, of every client relationship is to transform the client’s business. Barkley’s motto is to “add good,” and this credo drives the company towards exceptional work.
Expanding
While founded and headquartered in Kansas City, Barkley has expanded to 3 new markets: Boulder, Pittsburgh, and New York City. Today, Barkley employs over 400 employees, or “partners” as they’re referred to by the company. They expanded based on opportunities driven by market attractiveness, potential growth, and the company’s existing client base. Barkley saw its Boulder office as not only a way to better engage existing clients, but as a gateway to new customer acquisition in the Western U.S. Having “boots on the ground” in their high-growth markets facilitates collaboration, creativity, and success.
This expansion has come with challenges of scalability, but Barkley made sure to invest in the right people and tools to allow for more seamless growth. The agency credits its partnership with Cisco as a main driver behind the smooth transition. The tools provided allow for instant data sharing, significant reduction in travel, and an overall increase in collaboration.
Culture
The culture of Barkley is driven by its employee-owned company structure. As a partner, there is a shared responsibility and a mutual respect created by an understanding that one’s decisions and work affect every team member. Barkley’s culture fosters innovation, camaraderie, and accountability.
Barkley’s sense of family starts from the top. When asked what sets Barkley apart, Lambert quickly pointed to the connection that company executives have with all partners. People are celebrated and awarded, and there is a conscious effort to make new-hires part of the team on day one. Additionally, executives encourage partners to submit questions and proposals, which are read aloud and answered at company-wide meetings. Such actions create a sense of transparency and a true partnership among everyone at the company.
Challenges
In the marketing agency world, the only constant is change. Demographics shift over time, as does the way in which people consume information and media. While industry standards like commercials and print media will always be around, there have been significant changes in who and what influences the decisions of consumers. Barkley must stay ahead of these changes. To do so, the agency has a dedicated department for strategizing how to engage and work with future generations. One of Barkley’s core competencies is the agency’s ability to “future proof” their client’s business, and the technology team is working to do the same for their own company.
Barkley is confident that it can meet the many challenges that come from working in a fast-paced, evolving industry. The agency has recruited and developed top-tier talent, adopted innovative technology, and fostered a culture of hard-work and collaboration. As their rocket ship logo seems to represent, the sky is the limit for this forward-thinking marketing firm.