Dive Brief:

• Independent agencies Barkley and OKRP have merged to become one of the largest independent agencies in the United States, the companies announced.
• The merged agency, BarkleyOKRP, will have more than 650 employees and offices in Chicago, Denver, New York, Pittsburgh and Kansas City, Missouri. Its client roster includes brands such as Metro by T-Mobile, Burger King, Planet Fitness, Motel 6, Premier Protein and AMC.
• The merger is part of a growing trend of independent agencies either merging or selling to holding companies to gain critical skills and scale.

Dive Insight:

Barkley and OKRP’s merger is yet another demonstration of the challenges independent agencies face in the current landscape, where global networks can be a one-stop shop for clients, particularly as marketing becomes more digitally focused. In a statement accompanying the release, Barkley CEO Jeff King alluded to the challenges.

“In a world where the choice is often ‘big holding company’ or ‘small independent,’ BarkleyOKRP provides an alternative that marries the best of both worlds. We affectionately call it ‘big indie,’” King said. “This merger not only creates a powerful new platform today, but it sets the stage for continued investment to expand and strengthen our capabilities in all areas of the business, including media, data, analytics, performance marketing and technology.”

There has been a flurry of smaller and mid-sized agencies selling to holding companies. Stagwell, for one, has been on a buying spree, acquiring creatively driven shops including Left Field Labs, Tinsel and Movers + Shakers. While much of the buying spree has been spurred by a need for digital expertise, which can be expensive and time-consuming to build on one’s own, it also indicates that scale is becoming increasingly important to survival.

“It doesn’t bode well for small- to medium-sized agencies,” Jay Pattisall, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, said of broader industry trends in a previous interview with Marketing Dive. “It used to be that when we looked at the issue of the scale of holding company agencies versus the culture of small independents, there was a debate as to which one was more beneficial because they both come with pros and cons.”

King will be CEO of BarkleyOKRP, while Tom O’Keefe, formerly CEO of OKRP, will become creative chairman of the merged shop. OKRP’s minority-owned subsidiary, Putney, will continue as an integral part of the newly formed agency, according to the announcement. The deal was brokered by Chicago-based private equity firm Keystone Capital.