These companies – our 2018 Top Companies in the Advertising and Marketing industry category, to be exact – have mastered the art of selling your products and services. Marketing is the activity, set of institutions and processes for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, partners and society at large. Meanwhile, advertising – which must be differentiated – is the action of calling the attention of the public, typically by way of paid announcements. To be successful in today's modern, sometimes oversaturated market, these strategic practices are crucial pieces of the puzzle, nay, it's the spoken soul of your business. Here to show you how it's done, look no further than these Top Companies.

WINNER

KARSH HAGAN

DENVER

With their love of big ideas, Phil Karsh and Tom Hagan co-founded their namesake company in 1977 to provide multi-disciplined marketing, design and technology services.  

Some of the company’s well-known and long-term clients include Denver International Airport, Aspen Snowmass resort, Colorado Tourism with the successful “Come to Life” campaign, as well as a 25-year collaboration with Visit Denver.

“In our 41-year existence in Denver, we have helped hundreds of Colorado businesses grow and prosper by providing them big marketing ideas,” says Pocky Marranzino, who serves as co-CEO with Kathy Hagan Brown, co-founder Tom Hagan’s daughter.

With 62 full-time employees, the Colorado powerhouse in advertising embraces a strong purpose: “To help our clients find a deeper meaning about their brand that redefines how they interact with the world in a positive way.”

The full-service agency creates TV campaigns, annual reports, packaging and social videos and is delving into digital work such as new mobile apps and conversational interfaces with smart speakers.

Karsh Hagan gives back to the community with more than $250,000 in agency time donated last year. The Karsh Hagan Cares program gives every employee a paid day off to volunteer with groups such as Metro Caring hunger prevention and Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado. The firm has hosted minority student interns from the University of Colorado for 25 years to help bring more cultural diversity to advertising.

Through the past four years the company continued to grow steadily in employees and revenue. An outline of future business goals ends with “make Denver and Colorado proud.”

FINALISTS

DENVER WESTWORD

DENVER

A free alternative weekly news publication in print for 41 years with 47 current full-time employees has got to be doing a lot of things right and satisfying many diverse advertising clients.

Denver Westword rolled with the print punches with the 2013 creation of a digital advertising agency dubbed V Digital Services, which helped grow company revenue by 3 percent last year. This fast-growing division served by 15 employees specializes in helping local businesses – including many long-time advertisers in Westword – improve online performance.

Keeping with the independent and entertaining vibe, Westword employees enjoy a fun work environment with beer on Fridays, games in the office and tickets to concerts and festivals. On the serious side, Westword supports some 13 charitable programs through in-kind advertising and donation of funds and volunteers.

MANTOOTH MARKETING CO. 

FORT COLLINS

This Northern Colorado company with its 90 percent female workforce focuses on building relationships and helping small, family-owned businesses and nonprofits thrive in the local economy.

The name Mantooth means “strong lead” in the Cherokee language, and the firm’s message to clients is, “Tell us what we can do to make your life easier.”

Founded in 1995, the company with a staff of 12 provides advertising, public relations, digital marketing, branding and events services, even producing their own Lagoon Summer Concert Series for more than two decades on the Colorado State University campus. The firm serves clients with causes including Pathways Hospice, ChildSafe and Fort Collins Habitat for Humanity. Multiple Mantooth employees also serve on the boards of local nonprofits.