# Brunner

> Brunner is an independent, employee-owned integrated marketing agency headquartered in Pittsburgh, with an Atlanta office and a national client base. It combines creative, media, strategy, communications, content, CRM, web development and business intelligence in one operating model, then measures the work against business results. Its defining case study is 84 Lumber’s 2017 Super Bowl campaign: Fox rejected the original ending, the campaign website crashed, and the work still generated more than 92,000 applications. More recently, Brunner has expanded its performance and AI capabilities by acquiring Rakuten Advertising’s Performance Solutions group in 2025 and AdSkate in 2026.

- **Founded:** 1989
- **Headquarters:** Pittsburgh, United States
- **Founders:** Michael J. Brunner (Co-founder and former Chairman and CEO), Joe Blattner (Co-founder and former Chairman)
- **Products:** Strategy and integrated planning, Media and performance marketing, Business intelligence, Creative and content, CRM, web and experience
- **Notable:** The 84 Lumber 'Journey' campaign generated more than 14,000 media placements, over 17 million cumulative video views, more than 92,000 job applications and more than 135,000 talent-network opt-ins., MAGNET Global lists the 84 Lumber work as Adweek’s Brand Marketing Story of the Year and the publication’s number-one Super Bowl TV spot., Brunner won 21 Atlanta ADDYs in 2020 for YellaWood and Atlanta Fire Rescue Foundation work: nine gold, seven silver and five bronze.

## Products & services

- **Strategy and integrated planning** — Brand strategy, multicultural marketing, customer journey mapping and integrated marketing plans built around audience behavior and return.
- **Media and performance marketing** — Paid search, paid social, programmatic display, OTT/CTV, retail media, SEO, media planning, buying, testing and optimization.
- **Business intelligence** — Market research, brand tracking, data management, customer insights, campaign analytics and media mix modeling.
- **Creative and content** — Creative concepting, production, video, content strategy, social media, public relations, influencer and event marketing.
- **CRM, web and experience** — CRM management, marketing automation, email, web and mobile development, UX design and augmented reality development.
- **AdSkate** — An acquired AI-powered creative analytics platform for analyzing images, video, messaging and audience segments, with predictive insights and campaign optimization.

## Achievements

- The 84 Lumber 'Journey' campaign generated more than 14,000 media placements, over 17 million cumulative video views, more than 92,000 job applications and more than 135,000 talent-network opt-ins.
- MAGNET Global lists the 84 Lumber work as Adweek’s Brand Marketing Story of the Year and the publication’s number-one Super Bowl TV spot.
- Brunner won 21 Atlanta ADDYs in 2020 for YellaWood and Atlanta Fire Rescue Foundation work: nine gold, seven silver and five bronze.
- Brunner’s work for Church’s Texas Chicken won Best in Show at the 2025 PRSA Pittsburgh Renaissance Awards, alongside wins for Church’s, Dairyland Insurance and WesBanco.
- Brunner acquired Rakuten Advertising’s Performance Solutions group in 2025, adding 21 employees and expanding retail, e-commerce and performance-media capabilities.
- Brunner acquired AdSkate in 2026, bringing AI-powered creative intelligence and predictive performance modeling into the agency.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Brunner acquired AdSkate, an AI-powered creative analytics and marketing intelligence platform; co-founder Akaash Ramakrishnan joined Brunner as senior director of AI and innovation.
- **2026-04** — Brunner and SWYM.ai published results from programmatic supply optimization for a consumer fintech client, reporting a 14% lower CPA and 14.5% lower CPM.
- **2025-07** — The agency announced a group of 2025 promotions across its teams.
- **2025-04** — Brunner completed its acquisition of Rakuten Advertising’s Performance Solutions group, adding 21 remote employees across US time zones.
- **2025-01** — Brunner won Best in Show at the PRSA Pittsburgh Renaissance Awards for work with Church’s Texas Chicken.
- **2024-05** — Brunner joined the Home Improvement Research Institute as a founding strategic partner.

## Links

- Website: https://www.brunnerworks.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brunner-inc
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/BRUNNERworks
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Brunnerworks
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brunnerworks
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brunnerworks

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/brunner
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-23