Last Updated: January 2025
In a city as vibrant and competitive as Chicago, standing out in the crowd requires more than just a great product or service—it demands cutting-edge marketing strategies and impactful advertising campaigns.
With over 70% of small businesses planning to increase their digital marketing ad budgets in the next two years, finding the right agency partner is more crucial than ever. Whether you’re a startup looking to carve your niche or an established brand aiming to amplify your presence, Chicago offers a wealth of top-tier marketing and advertising agencies ready to deliver results.
This article highlights the top 15 advertising agencies in Chicago that can help elevate your brand and drive meaningful growth.
Table of Contents
Top Advertising Agencies in Chicago
- TMS
- Bounteous
- Eicoff
- Nerdery
- Pivot Design
- 50,000feet
- A5 Branding & Digital
- ArtVersion
- Bandwidth Marketing
- CDM Media
- ColorJar
- Cubicle Ninjas
- The Distillery Project
- Dom & Tom
- FINN Partners
How do Advertising Agencies Charge for Services
Types of Advertising Agencies
Knowing the types of advertising agencies available in the market is essential before searching for an advertising partner for your business. It will help you simplify your search and help you make an informed decision.
Here is a breakdown of the different types of advertising agencies:
1. Full-Service Agencies
These agencies, which handle everything from strategy to creative and media execution, are called integrated agencies. Their services provide a one-stop solution to companies in need of end-to-end advertising capabilities.
2. Digital Advertising Agencies
Digital Marketing (Social Media Ads, SEO, PPC, Email Campaigns) agencies are constantly working on reach and engagement in the digital space.
3. Creative Boutiques
Only focus on creative functions like design, copy, content, etc. Perfect for brands looking for distinctive and creative campaigns.
4. Media Buying Agencies
Negotiate and buy ad space for TV, radio, and online. They do this by guaranteeing the exposure, at a predetermined price per click.
5. Social Media Agencies
Focus on setting up and running paid ad campaigns on sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. It aims to increase engagement and brand awareness on social media.
6. Branding Agencies
Focus on developing a brand’s identity, including logos, taglines, and visual elements. They help businesses establish a consistent and memorable brand image.
7. Performance Marketing Agencies
Focus on tangible results like conversions, leads, and ROI. Solicit feedback from your target audience to improve campaigns.
8. Specialized Agencies
Focus on niche markets or industries and create targeted solutions. They know how to get products out to the right customers and how to solve market pain points.
9. Public Relations (PR) Agencies
Manage, monitor and influence a brand’s reputation through media relations, events and crisis management. They build trust based on public perception.
10. In-House Agencies
Businesses hire their advertising team to manage campaigns in-house. It helps them work in line with company values and reduces the dependency on external partners.
Top Advertising Agencies in Chicago
Chicago is a vibrant industry environment and has some of the best advertising agencies in the U.S. As the global advertising market is expected to reach $870.85 billion by 2027, businesses are relying more and more on top agencies to help them stand out.
Here’s a glimpse of the top advertising agencies in Chicago that are helping to shape the future of the industry.
1. TMS
Pricing: Custom Pricing
TMS (The Marketing Store) is the world’s leading technology, marketing and sourcing company delivering innovative solutions to market-leading brands including Samsung and McDonald’s.
TMS is based in Chicago’s Fulton Market and offers app development, loyalty programs and strategic sourcing. Named one of Crain’s “Coolest Offices in Chicago” in 2023, the company’s diverse, sustainable and socially responsible approaches generate 110 million customer experiences worldwide daily in 26 countries.
2. Bounteous
Pricing: Custom Pricing
Bounteous is a digital solutions agency that partners with the world’s top brands to create and drive growth through co-innovation. Their services cover AI, data analytics, digital commerce, experience design, enterprise digital transformation, marketing activation, and cloud enablement.
The agency is working in a wide range of industries from financial services and healthcare to telecommunications, retail and consumer goods. Bounteous has partnered with customers such as Chase, Coca-Cola, CVS and Domino’s Pizza of Canada to build personalized, data-driven customer experiences.
Their co-innovation approach emphasizes collaboration to accelerate digital transformation and deliver impactful business outcomes.
3. Eicoff
Pricing: Custom Pricing
Founded in 1959 in Chicago by Alvin Eicoff, Eicoff is a performance advertising agency focusing on Direct Response Television (DRTV) and digital video solutions.
A part of The Ogilvy Group, Inc. family of companies, Eicoff provides creative development, media planning and buying, and advanced analytics via the EiQ platform. They specialise in driving measurable growth for your brand across traditional TV, Connected TV, digital, social, and audio channels, with expertise across a number of industries.
Eicoff’s client roster includes companies like James Hardie, Stride Inc., Ladder Life, and UnitedHealthcare, with testimonials highlighting their impact on business growth.
4. Nerdery
Pricing: Custom Pricing
Nerdery is a digital consulting firm bringing together strategy, design, and engineering to build custom digital products for businesses. Their offerings include digital consulting, cloud development, data and AI services, along with custom software development.
Nerdery has worked with clients including Google Cloud and Purina, delivering custom software solutions that improve operational efficiency and enable business growth. Nerdery partners with organizations to help them adapt to the ever-changing digital landscape through human-centred design and innovative solutions.
5. Pivot Design
Pricing: Custom Pricing
Pivot Design is an award-winning creative agency in Chicago and a woman-owned business specializing in healthcare branding. They’re committed to bringing ‘brand soul’ into everything they do, with the purpose of making health so much more interesting that it will improve lives.
Their offerings span the areas of strategy (market assessments, brand positioning, omnichannel marketing), branding, and activation (digital and non-digital engagement).
Some of Pivot’s clients include healthcare organizations like Akay Bioactives, Taysha Gene Therapies, and Arcutis Biotherapeutics.
6. 50,000feet
Pricing: Custom Pricing
50,000feet is a brand consultancy and creative agency that helps clients fuel growth and efficiency through brand activation. They create flexible and scalable brand platforms that allow clients to engage audiences and increase market share.
Working with some of the most recognized brands in the world, 50,000feet is a valued and trusted agency partner that provides solutions across a variety of industries. Their expertise in brand ecosystems showcases the strength of a cohesive brand experience to engage customers.
7. A5 Branding & Digital
Pricing: Custom Pricing
A5 Branding & Digital is a Chicago-based agency specializing in brand development, digital communications, advertising, public relations, and social media.
Dedicated to the development of sustainable communities, they partner with the public and private sectors in education, healthcare, transit and real estate.
They do creative and strategic work: their projects include branding for the Village of Hanover Park and a gambling awareness campaign for the Illinois Department of Human Services.
8. ArtVersion
Pricing: Custom Pricing
ArtVersion is a Chicago-based creative agency that focuses on web design, graphic design, branding and UI/UX solutions. They have spent 25+ years working with a wide range of clients, from fledgling start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, developing user-centred digital experiences to foster engagement and fuel business growth.
With innovative web development, impactful art direction, and strategic branding, they are on a mission to elevate the brand presence and foster meaningful connections with audiences.
9. Bandwidth Marketing
Pricing: Custom Pricing
Bandwidth Marketing is a creative consultancy dedicated to building tailored business growth strategies. They provide marketing consulting services, software development, e-commerce solutions, email campaigns, influencer marketing, social media and web design, etc.
They built a diverse team and have worked with clients from GrubHub to CareerBuilder, providing customized solutions that align with specific client goals.
10. CDM Media
Pricing: Custom Pricing
CDM Media is a global leader in tailor-made connectivity for C-suite executives from the world’s leading brands via CxO Summits, Digital Boardrooms and Custom Dinners.
Founded in 2007, the firm enables collaboration, strategic learning and relationship-building in an effort to solve key business problems.
They specialize in Account-Based Marketing, Sales Cycle Acceleration, and C-suite marketing to empower organizations to achieve their goals in a tangible and impactful manner.
11. ColorJar
Pricing: Custom Pricing
ColorJar is a brand strategy and design firm based in Chicago. They have over 15 years of experience offering services including brand creation, redesign, logo design, and visual identity development.
The agency also concentrates on brand touchpoints such as websites, packaging, and branded contexts. Among notable projects: the rebranding of Chicago’s Navy Pier and design work for Lettuce Entertain You.
The team is led by founder David Gardner, a former professional athlete who knows the value of collaboration.
12. Cubicle Ninjas
Pricing: Custom Pricing
Cubicle Ninjas bring ideas to life creating impactful campaigns for some of the most recognized brands across the globe. They offer a full range of services including brand consulting & market research, creative design & branding, custom web & app development, immersive reality & emerging technologies, and video production & animation.
13. The Distillery Project
Pricing: Custom Pricing
The Distillery Project is a Chicago-based independent creative agency founded in 2012 with locations in Los Angeles and Nashville. They specialize in big, simple, and effective campaigns and have worked with clients such as Kohler and Caterpillar.
Named Small Agency of the Year multiple times by AdAge. They work to bring clarity and purpose in a complicated and confusing world.
14. Dom & Tom
Pricing: Custom Pricing
Dom & Tom is a digital product agency focused on UX design, web and mobile development, and digital strategy. Established in 2009, the firm has offices in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles.
They have provided a variety of digital products for their clients, from startups to Fortune 500 companies, and at every stage of the product lifecycle from strategy to maintenance.
Dom & Tom is recognised by Clutch as a Top App Development Company to create impactful digital experiences.
15. FINN Partners
Pricing: Custom Pricing
FINN Partners is a global marketing and communications agency with 34 offices on three continents, serving more than 1,300 professionals.
It provides advertising, branding, digital marketing, public relations and crisis communication services and works across all sectors, including health, technology, travel and education.
FINN Partners, an agency whose culture, values, and long–term brand vision are its bread and butter.
How do Advertising Agencies Charge for Services
As far as marketing expenses are concerned, marketing technology receives 25.4% of the marketing budget, while agencies account for 23.3%. Hence, companies need to consider not just the cost of the ad content and placement of the ad but also the fee of the agency.
A good knowledge of pricing and average rates for different advertisement types would help to plan your budget better. The table below summarizes the common pricing models for each form of advertising, the anticipated costs of working with an agency, and the average hourly rates.
Advertising Costs Breakdown
| Service | Description | Common Ad Platforms | Average Hourly Cost |
| Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising | Advertisers are charged based on clicks on their advertisements. Costs vary according to bids for keywords or placements, so competitive keywords can increase campaign costs. | Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, Quora | $100–$149 |
| Social Media Advertising | Paid ads on social platforms, charged by impressions (CPM) or clicks (CPC). Each platform offers unique advertising products tailored to its audience. | Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest | $100–$149 |
| Over-The-Top (OTT) Advertising | Writable Video ads on streaming services, purchased via CPMs. These ads can target audiences using different criteria, which may have an effect on the cost of your campaigns based on how niche your demographics are. | Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, Max | $50–$99 |
| Connected TV (CTV) Advertising | For demand generation, video ads on connected devices, targeting audiences based on demographics. Charges are made on a CPM basis. | Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV | $50–$99 |
| TV Advertising | Advertising on traditional TV networks, where the price varies by market, channel, time slot, and season. Ad prices go up for premium times and popular shows. | ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS | $100–$149 |
| Radio Advertising | Prices are prorated by market, genre, audience, and airtime by estimated CPM. Supports AM/FM radio and digital streaming services. | AM/FM Radio, SiriusXM, Spotify, Pandora | $150–$199 |
| Print Advertising | Print media Ad costs are related to readership, ad size and position in the publication. | Newspapers, Magazines, Brochures, Direct Mailers | $100–$149 |
| Out-of-Home (OOH) Advertising | Outdoor ads are priced weekly or monthly. Costs depend on format, circulation, demographics, and impressions. | Billboards, Bench Ads, Transit Ads, Wayfinding Ads | $100–$149 |
| Email Marketing | Ad space within email newsletters, with costs based on newsletter circulation and target audience. | The Assist, The Daily Upside, Morning Brew, NYT’s The Morning | $100–$149 |
Helplama – The Best Customer Service Outsourcing Agency
Helplama is a customer service provider offering live chat, email, phone support, telemarketing, and data entry services. They integrate communication channels into a unified platform, enhancing efficiency and customer experience.
Their tools include agent onboarding guides and real-time analytics to track performance and satisfaction, turning interactions into revenue opportunities. Serving industries like eCommerce and technical support in the USA, UK, and Australia, Helplama emphasizes tailored solutions with trained experts and a zero-risk model.
Conclusion
In conclusion, choosing the right marketing and advertising agency in Chicago can significantly impact your business growth, especially in a dynamic market like Chicago. With 82% of marketing leaders shifting their investments towards digital channels, it’s clear that an expertised marketing strategy is necessary.
If you’re looking for innovative strategies, and targeted customer support, agencies like Helplama stand out for their dedication to tailoring services to specific business needs. As a multi-channel customer service expert, Helplama ensures your customer interactions align seamlessly with your marketing efforts, enhancing the overall brand experience.
Evaluate your goals, explore these top agencies, and select the partner that resonates with your vision for success.
