Top 13 marketing agencies in Des Moines
13 marketing agencies in Des Moines that are actually operating, each checked against its own site and a second source. What they do, who it’s for, and the one reason it made the list. No pay-to-rank.
- 01
- Des Moines, IA
- Since 1984
- 51–200 people
Flynn Wright is a full-service advertising agency headquartered in downtown Des Moines with additional offices in Sioux Falls and Portland. It runs research, strategy, creative, media buying, direct marketing and PR under one roof, with 101 staff split across account service, creative, media, PR and research. Clients span telecom, equipment, energy, retail, agriculture and tourism.
Why it’s hereOne of the largest locally owned agencies in Des Moines, in business since 1984 with a 101-person staff and a client roster that includes Mediacom, Bobcat and the Iowa Lottery.
Known forfull-service advertising · media planning and buying · research · public relations
Named clientsMediacom, Bobcat, Culligan, Medica, MidAmerican Energy, Fareway, Kemin, Iowa Lottery, Sammons, Advanced Drainage Systems
Checked against flynnwright.com, clutch.co
- 02
- West Des Moines, IA
- Since 1984
Meyocks is a full-service branding, advertising and marketing agency in West Des Moines that concentrates on agriculture, food and beverage, and health and wellness brands. Services include brand strategy, creative, packaging design, SEO, social, web and PR. The agency reports a seven-year average employee tenure and a longest client relationship of 36 years.
Why it’s hereFour decades of work for agriculture and food brands including Hy-Vee, ADM and Farm Credit Services of America.
Known foragriculture · food and beverage · health and wellness · brand strategy · packaging design
Named clientsHy-Vee, ADM, AgDirect, Farm Credit Services of America, Grinnell Mutual, Hass Avocado Board, Iowa Pork Producers Association, Topco, Seed Consultants, Vivid Clear Rx
Checked against meyocks.com, clutch.co
- 03
- West Des Moines, IA
- Since 1980
- 51–200 people
Strategic America is an employee-owned, full-service marketing agency in West Des Moines with more than 120 associates. It works for enterprise and multi-location brands, with particular depth in franchise and dealer-network marketing, and offers brand strategy, media, SEO, web, social, email, PR and analytics. The agency became an ESOP in 2021.
Why it’s hereFounded in 1980 and employee-owned since 2021, with 120+ staff focused on multi-location and dealer marketing.
Known formulti-location and franchise marketing · media planning · digital advertising · public relations · data analytics
Named clientsExmark, American Heart Association
Checked against strategicamerica.com, clutch.co
- 04
- Des Moines, IA
- Since 2000
- 51–200 people
Two Rivers Marketing is a B2B agency in Des Moines' East Village that works with manufacturers and brands selling through dealer and distributor networks. Its 110-plus associates handle full-funnel growth strategy, content, go-to-market planning and sales enablement. The agency is a wholly owned subsidiary of The VGM Group, an employee-owned company based in Waterloo, Iowa.
Why it’s hereA 110-person B2B specialist with 25 years of work for manufacturers that sell through channel partners.
Known forB2B · channel and dealer marketing · content marketing · sales enablement
Named clientsPioneer
Checked against tworiversmarketing.com, clutch.co
- 05
- Des Moines, IA
- Since 2004
- 51–200 people
Trilix is a full-service marketing agency in downtown Des Moines formed in 2004 through the merger of Direct Advantage and Porter & Associates. It provides digital marketing, branding, communications, PR and in-house video production through Trilix Studio, and has grown to nearly 60 staff. Clients include Stine Seed, UnityPoint Health and Iowa One Call.
Why it’s hereTwenty years in operation, close to 60 employees and a client list that includes Stine Seed and UnityPoint Health.
Known forfull-service marketing · branding · digital marketing · public relations · video production
Named clientsStine Seed Company, UnityPoint Health, Iowa One Call
Checked against trilix.com, clutch.co
- 06
- Des Moines, IA
- Since 1907
- 11–50 people
Lessing-Flynn is a strategy, creative and digital agency in Des Moines' East Village that has operated continuously since 1907. It works on brand positioning and campaigns for established and emerging brands, with recent case studies for Hitachi Construction Machinery Americas, Champion Seed and DCI Group. The agency has been named an Iowa Top Workplace for seven consecutive years.
Why it’s hereFounded in 1907, it is one of the oldest continuously operating advertising agencies in the United States.
Known forbrand strategy · creative · digital strategy · video · event marketing
Named clientsHitachi Construction Machinery Americas, Champion Seed, Insane Impact, DCI Group
Checked against lessingflynn.com, clutch.co
- 07
- Des Moines, IA
- Since 1987
- 11–50 people
ZLR Ignition is a full-service branding and marketing agency in downtown Des Moines that began in 1987 as Zimmerman, Laurent & Richardson. It offers brand planning, creative development, media strategy, PR and digital services, and organises much of its work around healthcare, financial services, education and nonprofit clients. It holds Google Premier Partner status and is a member of the ICOM independent agency network.
Why it’s hereNearly 40 years in Des Moines with named public-sector and healthcare clients such as the Iowa Clinic and Iowa State University.
Known forbrand planning · creative · media strategy · public relations · healthcare
Named clientsCemen Tech, Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau, The Iowa Clinic, Iowa State University, UnityPoint Health
Checked against zlrignition.com, clutch.co, icomagencies.com
- 08
- West Des Moines, IA
- Since 2011
- 11–50 people
Happy Medium is a digital creative agency founded in 2011 by Katie Patterson. It started in media buying and digital marketing and now offers digital business strategy, web and product development, and brand and media strategy. It also runs a consulting practice for state housing finance agencies across the U.S.
Why it’s herePlaced at #591 on the Inc. 5000 with 781 percent three-year growth, per the Business Record, and built a niche serving housing finance agencies.
Known fordigital strategy · web design and development · media strategy · housing finance agencies
Named clientsVectair, Proliant Health Biologicals, Accu-Steel, Shindler Anderson Goplerud & Weese
Checked against itsahappymedium.com, clutch.co, businessrecord.com
- 09
- West Des Moines, IA
- Since 2007
Blue Compass is a digital marketing agency in West Des Moines that started as a two-person web shop in 2007 under founder Drew Harden. It builds websites and runs SEO, generative-engine optimisation, content and social advertising programmes, and reports a 48 percent average organic traffic increase one year after site launches. The agency also operates the West48 event centre.
Why it’s hereOne of the metro's largest homegrown digital shops, with web work for Spalding, NAPA Auto Parts and Sammons Financial Group.
Known forSEO and GEO · web design and development · digital marketing · content marketing
Named clientsDes Moines International Airport, Sammons Financial Group, Spalding, UnityPoint Health, NAPA Auto Parts, DMOS, Chevron
Checked against bluecompass.com, expertise.com
- 10
- Clive, IA
- Since 1996
- 11–50 people
Spindustry is a digital business agency in Clive that has built e-commerce sites, web applications and SharePoint solutions since 1996, alongside digital marketing and creative design. It works mainly with mid-market clients, many in agriculture and manufacturing, and reports an average employee tenure above 12 years. It is a Google Partner and HubSpot Certified Partner.
Why it’s hereThirty years of web and e-commerce work for Iowa brands including Blue Bunny, Brownells and Travel Iowa.
Known fore-commerce · web development · digital marketing · SharePoint · agriculture
Named clientsBlue Bunny, Brownells, Travel Iowa, Iowa Economic Development Authority, Turfwerks, Ring-O-Matic
Checked against spindustry.com, clutch.co
- 11
- Clive, IA
- Since 1998
- 11–50 people
Farmboy is a web development, marketing and creative studio in Clive founded in 1998. It focuses on WordPress sites, branding, SEO and campaigns for small and mid-sized businesses, with practice areas in home builders and remodelers, manufacturing, home services and senior living. Named clients include Featherlite, DMACC, Kum & Go and the Iowa Cubs.
Why it’s hereTwenty-five-plus years serving Des Moines-area businesses with web and brand work for Kum & Go, Hy-Vee and the Iowa Cubs.
Known forweb development · branding · SEO · home builders · manufacturing
Named clientsFeatherlite, DMACC, Kum & Go, Hy-Vee, Iowa Cubs, Gilroy's, Good Word Restaurant Group
Checked against farmboyinc.com, clutch.co
- 12
- Des Moines, IA
- Since 2003
- 11–50 people
Flying Hippo is a branding and digital agency in downtown Des Moines with satellite offices in Tampa and Fort Myers, Florida. It offers brand identity, web design and development, PPC and SEO, video production and environmental branding, and is a HubSpot-certified partner. Named clients include Iowa State University, Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield and Fox Sports.
Why it’s hereTwo decades of brand and web work with Iowa institutions such as Iowa State University and Wellmark.
Known forbranding · web design and development · video production · digital marketing · environmental branding
Named clientsIowa State University, Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Fox Sports, Pepsi, McDaniel College
Checked against flyinghippo.com, clutch.co
- 13
- Des Moines, IA
- Since 1996
- 1–10 people
Hanser & Associates is a public relations firm in downtown Des Moines founded in 1996. It handles media relations, crisis management, public affairs, product launches, events and advertising for clients in agribusiness, healthcare, financial services and technology. It is the Iowa member of the IPREX global network of independent PR firms.
Why it’s hereThirty years as an independent Des Moines PR firm and the state's IPREX network partner.
Known forpublic relations · media relations · crisis management · public affairs · advertising
Checked against hanser.com, clutch.co
Checked, not scraped.
Every firm on this page was found through directories, press and client mentions, then verified two ways: its own website had to be live and describe the work, and a second, independent source had to agree it exists and does that work. Founding years, headcounts and client names appear only where the firm or a directory states them; where we couldn’t confirm, the field is blank rather than guessed.
The order is editorial — longevity, named clients, scale and a clear specialism, in roughly that weight — not a score, and nobody on the list paid to be on it. The one exception is marked: the featured card is our own bench and says so.
Lists are re-checked each quarter. Missing a firm that belongs here, or listed and want a correction? Write to lists@primortul.com.
Hiring a marketing agency in Des Moines, answered plainly
- How many marketing agencies in Des Moines are on this list, and where are they?
- 13. All 13 are based in the Des Moines metro — Des Moines, West Des Moines, Clive. Each was verified against its own website and a second source before it was listed.
- How do I choose between marketing agencies in Des Moines?
- Start from the job, not the agency: write down what done looks like in one paragraph, then read the "why it's here" line on each entry and shortlist the two or three whose reason matches your job. Ask each for one comparable piece of work and who on their team would actually do yours. 7 of the 13 here are under 50 people, which usually means the people you meet are the people who do the work.
- Did any of these firms pay to be listed?
- No. The order is editorial — longevity, named clients, scale and a clear specialism — and no firm on the ranked list paid for its place. The one paid card is marked "Featured" and is our own bench, Fracs; it is not ranked.
- How long have these marketing agencies been around?
- The oldest firm on the list dates from 1907; founding years are shown on each entry where the firm states one, and left blank where it doesn't.
- What should I bring to a first call with a marketing agency?
- Your revenue band, what you sell and to whom, the one number you want moved, a budget range, and a start date. Firms price faster and more honestly when the brief is concrete; the match form on this page asks for exactly those five things.
- How is this list kept current?
- It was checked September 2026 and is re-checked each quarter: dead sites come off, mergers and renames are updated, and firms that belong here are added. Corrections go to lists@primortul.com.
Describe the job. Get one marketing agency back that fits it.
Two minutes. We read what you wrote, pick one provider from this list or our bench whose work matches it, and they contact you within a business day. Nobody else gets your details.
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