Beer, Grimm, Portlandia, and "keeping it weird" are what make the city of Portland go round. But what about the advertising scene you ask? Portland, Oregon is not your typical advertising town. As a writer for The Portland Egotist put it, it's more like a small town that has been jammed full of creative scenesters that were forced to make ends meet by getting a job. Much less an advertising job. There are quite a few contenders that work under the gray cloud cover making some great work. Though we may not have 4000+ ad agencies and marketing firms that our neighboring city of San Fransisco has, we have our fair share.

If a Facebook "like" on your company page is somewhat of a statement of advocacy for your product or service, then the "followers" of a companies Linkedin page may tell us the measure of popularity from those within the business community.

The following list consists of companies which Linkedin has labeled as being in the marketing and advertising industry with actual headquarters in the Portland, Oregon area. I've broken the list into what I would consider big, medium, and small sized firms as well as a shout out to all those 1-9 person shops (to which there are many) and marketing software companies and ranked them in the order of number of Company Page followers. I'm sure there are many companies missing which offer marketing services and have a strong presence here in the area but in the spirit of local, I've chosen just those who are headquartered here.

The Big Players (or player)

Looking at the 500+ employee sized marketing agencies, there's just one who stands alone and anyone who lives here, knows who that is.

Wieden + Kennedy

18,476 followers

W+K was founded in 1982 and is an independently owned American advertising agency best known for its work for Nike. Founded by Dan Wieden and David Kennedy, and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, it is one of the largest independently-owned advertising agencies in the world. Over the past year, Wieden + Kennedy has expanded on its traditional marketing services and rebuilt new digital departments all around the network. These efforts are evident in terms of the breadth of work coming out of each office – from large-scale sites to flash experiences and web applications. It has expanded its experience of the social media world alongside additions to its strategy and planning teams.

The Mid-Sized Players

The list opens up for those companies in the 50-500 range. There were just over 20 companies listed in this field with the top 5 being the following.

CMD

1,217 followers

With an arsenal of specialized disciplines, CMD takes a synergistic approach to tackling the toughest marketing challenges in a new era of communications by using the right blend of powerful solutions—including digital, advertising, social media, PR, promotions, film and video and more. Headquartered in Portland, Ore., and ranked among the nation’s top 20 independent agencies, CMD works with some of the world’s leading brands including Microsoft, JELD-WEN, Intel, McCormick & Schmick’s, Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, NW Natural and Timber Products. CMD also has offices in Seattle, San Francisco and New York.

HMH

730 followers

Founded in 1978, HMH is a full-service creative marketing communications agency lucky enough to call Portland, Oregon, and Charlotte, North Carolina home. Clients include globally-recognized brands as well as local favorites.

R2C Group

662 followers

R2C Group, the industry’s largest independent direct response advertising agency, offers clients a winning combination of creative and production, media-planning and -buying, as well as performance-based media for TV, online and mobile. For more than a decade, the team at R2C Group has been harnessing the power of TV for marketers to drive response, acquire customers, sell products, and build brands – ultimately providing the most efficient and effective advertising possible for its clients. Headquartered in Portland, Ore., with offices strategically located across the country, the agency’s clients include Adobe, bareMinerals, Humana Healthcare, NordicTrack, Rosetta Stone, Shark, TiVo and many others.

roundhouse

519 followers

Roundhouse is a creative agency which works across channels while always growing its digital roots. It has an assemblage of talent from many disciplines hellbent on providing clients and partners increased brand awareness and identity. Clients include large multinational corporations, local business all-stars, and up and coming organizations

Instrument

452 followers

Instrument is a Digital Creative Agency which offers video/ motion graphics, web development, e-commerce, digital campaigns, mobile/ tablet, branding, and social. Clients include, Livestrong, Google, and Xbox.

The Smaller Folks

With nearly 150 listed as having 11-50 employees, it's clear that the majority of marketing firms here in Portland are on the smaller side. Below are the top 10 as ranked by followers.

Anvil Media, Inc.

564 followers

On the top of the list is Anvil Media, Inc. (Anvil), a search engine marketing (SEM) agency specializing in search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) management, search engine marketing public relations (SEM PR), online reputation management (ORM) and social media marketing (SMM) services. Anvil has been recognized by the Portland Business Journal as a Lighthouse Award winner for ranking on its 100 Fastest Growing Companies list five consecutive years and has has made the Inc. Magazine 500|5000 Fastest Growing Company list for the second consecutive year. Current clients include Advantis Credit Union, Icebreaker, International Rescue Committee (IRC), Lucy, Oregon State University, Provenance Hotels, Right Management, SEMA, Seminole Gaming, TEKsystems, The Nature Conservancy and Travel Portland.

NORTH

480 followers

A brand advertising and content agency born in 2006. North helped launch Subaru’s 2012 Impreza and includes recent clients Clif bars and Dick’s Sporting Goods. Driven by that and other business, the agency’s staff has doubled to 24 in the past two years, according to Ray.

Pop Art, Inc.

386 followers

Established in 1997, Pop Art is a full-service digital agency with a collection of proven marketing strategists, designers and software engineers.Clients include companies big and small, from local to international brands, as well as non-profits and government entities.

DHX Advertising

379 followers

Founded in 1998, DHX Advertising is a full-service marketing agency that provides strategic marketing and communications at all levels, from business cards to "tweaking" a website, with many offerings in-between: ad design and media placement, marketing communications strategy, photography, signage, displays and packaging.

Sasquatch Advertising

343 followers

Sasquatch is a full-service advertising and marketing communications firm specializing in outdoor products and services, travel and tourism, and food and beverage. Founded in 1995, its clients include Widmer Brothers Brewing, Burgerville, Franz Bakery,Wiley X Eyewear, Northwest Community Credit Union, Oregon State University, College of Forestry, and North Clackamas Parks and Recreation Department.

Mutt Industries

325 followers

Mutt Industries is a full–service, creative agency whos founders come from a long line of well-known agencies like Wieden + Kennedy and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. Founded in just 2008, Mutt founders have capitalized on their years of relationships to gather their own A-list clients, including the NFL Network, Nike, Adidas and Coca-Cola soft drink Mello Yello.

eROI

315 followers

A digital agency who has won a variety of awards including Addys, a Cannes Lion, four AMA Max Awards, and a Marketing Sherpa Award for email. Ryan Buchanan has led the growth of eROI from a couple employees at its inception in 2002 to a full team of e-marketing experts, creatives, technical, account, and sales teams and has driven significant growth to earn eROI a spot as an Inc. 500 company.

Grady Britton

312 followers

GB opened in 1974 with its first client, Freightliner, still one of their clients today. Since then GB has partnered with hundreds of others—local, regional and national— including EartH2O, Gunderson, Better World Club, Flextronics, Daimler/SelecTrucks, Port of Vancouver, and Travel Portland.

R/West

290 followers

R/West provides marketing, public relations, and related services. They are best known for the Trunk Monkey commercials, which they created in collaboration with Limbo Films for Suburban Auto Group.The agency gained national attention as dealerships across the U.S. licensed the ads. Other clients include Burgerville, G.Loomis, Maryhill Winery, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, and Taco Time. The company was founded in 1997 as Big Ads, and later changed its name to R/West.

Babcock & Jenkins

275 followers

Babcock & Jenkins is a full service direct and relationship marketing agency that combines web-based marketing with traditional agency services for the business-to-business market. B&J has worked with leading organizations, including Qwest, LinkedIn, BMC, Polycom, Ciena and Adobe since 1992.

The Single Digit Shops

Well over half of the marketing firms located here in Portland fall into this category. 380 of the 690 firms listed on Linkedin have less then 10 employees. Below are the top ten.

Amplify Interactive

280 followers

Amplify Interactive is a Search Engine Marketing (SEM) agency, offering search engine optimization (SEO), Pay-Per-Click (PPC) and related services like social media optimization, social media marketing & website analytics.

Formic Media, Inc.

226 followers

Formic Media is a search engine marketing (SEM) agency that provides affordable, localized SEM services for small business, including Web analytics, keyword research, competitive benchmarking, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) management and social media marketing.

Harlo Interactive

223 followers

Harlo Interactive is a full-service digital agency specializing in strategy, web design and development, content management solutions, custom application development, and corporate branding. Since 2004, Harlo has been teaming up with leading brands, both domestic and international, including Consumer, Business-to-Business, Agencies, and Non-Profit.

Fish Marketing

190 followers

Fish Marketing, a full service marketing & advertising agency, provides brand strategy, traditional advertising, digital marketing and more. If you are looking for well-coordinated TV, Radio, Print, PR, Web & SEO to present your brand in a recognizable and unified way, you've found the right agency. Fish Marketing specializes in serving small to mid sized Northwest businesses.

Rain

152 followers

David Savinar, RAIN’s founder and principal, has a 30-year record of directing advertising for Fortune 500 companies and smaller companies across the United States and internationally. Ten years ago he created RAIN to take advantage of a gap in direct marketing and online advertising in the Northwest. Rain has a robust client list including: Costco, IBM, Nestle, YMCA, and Nissan. 

Magneto Brand Advertising

94 followers

Magneto Brand Advertising is a creatively-driven full service branding company with strategic planning, creative, account service, media, print and broadcast capabilities. They service brands on many levels–from traditional mediums like TV, print, outdoor and radio, to all things interactive and social.

SwellPath

91 followers

SwellPath is a Digital Marketing and Measurement agency which provides clients with enterprise-level analytics, optimization, usability, search, social and media services for improved customer acquisition and awareness.

Coexist Digital

89 followers

Coexist Digital is a new species of digital agency creating digital shopping experiences that live on mobile devices, tablets and desktops. It's new line of hosted software systems helps brands deliver quick-to-market shopping experiences. Clients:
Bath & Body Works, American Eagle, DSW, Lane Bryant, C.O. Bigelow, Victoria’s Secret, Pet360, Green Empowerment

Mambo Media, Inc.

89 followers

Mambo Media is an award winning, woman-owned Internet marketing agency. For over a decade, Mambo has delivered new media strategy and cutting-edge technology to our clients in the private and non-profit sectors. Mambo’s services include: Internet marketing (lead generation programs, internet public relations, ecommerce, social media marketing, etc.); website design (user-interface optimization, information architecture, content management system development, etc.), and professional services (branding and positioning, video production, logo development, etc.).

Kinesis, Inc.

62 followers

Kinesis specializes in branding professional services firms. This includes developing identity packages (logo, stationery, business cards), websites, and printed materials.

Marketing Software Companies

Marketing software has emerged as one of the must haves for marketing professionals.  Combining the functionality of many tools marketers have come to rely upon – email, CRM, display media, search and social media -  into a suite that makes it easy to develop, execute and track marketing programs, it’s no surprise that this category is growing rapidly. It also happens to be an area where Portland is seeing some huge growth. Some of the top players in Portland include:

Webtrends

2,581 followers

Establish  in 1993, Webtrends offers a diverse products and services portfolio which includes real-time web analytics, unified digital analytics across mobile, social and web, optimization + testing, audience segmentation, targeting + scoring, mobile and social apps creation and Facebook Page management, professional consulting services and general digital marketing wizardry. It has a huge portfolio of more than 3,500 global brands including: The New York Times, Microsoft, BMW, RIM, China Telecom, China Mobile, CCTV, Tencent QQ, Hitachi, The Associated Press, HSBC, Barclays, Vivo Cellular and Petrobras.

Janrain, Inc.

898 followers

Founded in 2005, The Janrain User Management Platform (JUMP) helps organizations succeed on the social web by providing leading technology to leverage the popularity of social networks and identities for user acquisition, engagement, and enhanced customer intelligence. Solutions, include social login, social sharing, social profile data collection and storage, access to the social graph, game mechanics, and digital strategy services, which improve the effectiveness of online marketing initiatives for leading brands like Fox, Universal Music Group, Whole Foods, MTV, Purina, Avis and Dr Pepper.

Urban Airship

871 followers

Urban Airship helps the world's top brands do great things in mobile. As the most globally deployed service for push notifications, in-app purchases and subscriptions, Urban Airship enables thousands of enterprise organizations to deliver exceptional customer service experiences and better engage and monetize mobile app audiences. The company works with leading brands such as Accenture, CBS Interactive, Groupon, Macy’s, Soundtracking and Warner Bros.

Act-On Software, Inc.

397 followers

Act-On Software's cloud-based integrated marketing platform is built around a 3rd generation email marketing system, and featuring forms, landing pages, drip programs, social media prospecting, webinar management and the ability to automate critical marketing tasks, the Act-On integrated marketing platform generates rich analytics in real-time for your multi-channel online marketing campaigns. An adaptive behavioral scoring capability and a deep integration with Salesforce.com, SugarCRM, Microsoft Dynamics, and Sage SalesLogix enable Act-On to push only the most promising, sales-ready leads to your sales representatives. Their clients include:  Motorola and Siemens, as well as rising stars like HA Advantage and BreakingPoint.

Ensequence

299 followers

Ensequence enables programmers, service providers and advertisers to increase programming ratings, advertising effectiveness and merchandise sales by making their shows and commercials more powerful and engaging with interactivity. The Ensequence iTV Manager® interactive platform solves the technical complexities associated with creating and deploying a high volume of uniquely branded interactive television experiences across cable, satellite, telco and connected devices. Ensequence’s customers include the largest and most innovative programmers and service providers in the media industry: NBCUniversal, MTV Networks, Showtime Networks, Turner Broadcasting, HBO, QVC, WE tv, MSG, Fuse, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Canoe Ventures, DISH Network and Verizon. In addition, Ensequence is deployed on multiple connected device platforms.

ShopIgniter, Inc.

284 followers

Founded in 2009, ShopIgniter is a rapidly growing, social Commerce software company which helps retailers and brands leverage the social web to extend their reach, promote products and generate revenue. ShopIgniter provides the sCommerce Suite of flexible products that include a Social Promotion Engine to power shareable coupons, group based promotions, referral and loyalty incentives, private and time-based sales; a fully transactional Facebook Storefront; and Commerce Influence analytics; all of which can power a stand-alone eCommerce business or be integrated with existing eCommerce systems.

There you have it. I'm sure the numbers will change over time and new contenders will come on the scene and grow like gangbusters as the latest and greatest. It will be interesting to see who thrives and who falls.

Gabe Elliott

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