# Swanson Russell

> Swanson Russell is a privately held, full-service advertising and marketing agency headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, with a second office in Omaha. Founded in 1962, it competes nationally by specializing in people who work and play outdoors - especially audiences in outdoor recreation, agribusiness, construction and the green industry - and combines brand strategy, creative, media, public relations, digital products, research and customer experience under its Make Belief mission.

- **Founded:** 1962
- **Headquarters:** Lincoln, United States
- **Founders:** Gus Swanson (Co-founder), Steve Russell (Co-founder)
- **Products:** Marketing strategy, Creative development, Brand management, Customer experience, Audience engagement
- **Notable:** Celebrated 60 years in 2022 after reporting 34% revenue growth over the preceding five years and adding 12,000 square feet to its Lincoln office., Won five consecutive Best of Show awards from AAF Nebraska by 2022 and was named AMA 2022 Corporate Marketer of the Year., Earned 14 honors at the 2025 AAF Nebraska American Advertising Awards, including Best of Show for Humminbird XPLORE and MEGA Live 2 photography.

## Products & services

- **Marketing strategy** — Market and audience research, positioning, naming, brand health, data and analytics, and planning.
- **Creative development** — Integrated advertising, identity, content, packaging, motion and video production across traditional and digital channels.
- **Brand management** — Product launches, campaign management, media planning and buying, public relations and ongoing brand stewardship.
- **Customer experience** — Websites, mobile experiences, email, trade shows and other touchpoints across the customer journey.
- **Audience engagement** — Social media, influencer programs, endemic media, programmatic media and stakeholder communications.
- **AI search and behavioral research** — AI visibility audits, answer-engine optimization and experimental persona-led behavioral modeling.

## Achievements

- Celebrated 60 years in 2022 after reporting 34% revenue growth over the preceding five years and adding 12,000 square feet to its Lincoln office.
- Won five consecutive Best of Show awards from AAF Nebraska by 2022 and was named AMA 2022 Corporate Marketer of the Year.
- Earned 14 honors at the 2025 AAF Nebraska American Advertising Awards, including Best of Show for Humminbird XPLORE and MEGA Live 2 photography.
- Won first place and merit recognition at the 2026 Region II Best of NAMA Awards for Cattlemen's Beef Board's The Drive emails and newsletters.
- Turned the One-Boat Challenge into more than 56,000 viewing hours and secured added distribution through Pursuit Channel, Mossy Oak and Bassmaster.com.
- The Takeuchi TL11R3 launch generated 52 trade placements, more than 2.3 million impressions, a fourfold increase in coverage and a 10% lift in share of voice.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Published a perspective on why Made in America claims increasingly need to prove practical value in price, performance and availability.
- **2026-07** — Published ICAST 2026 observations and a staff passion profile connecting outdoor interests with client work.
- **2026-02** — Outlined a zero-click crisis communications approach for fast-moving brand controversies across notifications and social platforms.
- **2026-01** — Earned two Region II Best of NAMA honors for Cattlemen's Beef Board's The Drive communications program.
- **2025-11** — Released Creative Showcase 33 and described experimental behavioral AI work using dynamic personas.
- **2025-08** — Reported measurable results from Takeuchi's TL11R3 launch: 52 placements, 2.3 million-plus impressions, 4x coverage and a 10% share-of-voice lift.

## Links

- Website: https://www.swansonrussell.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/swansonrussell
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/swansonrussell
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SwansonRussell
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/swansonrussell/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swansonrussellcommunications

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/swanson-russell
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-24