# The Shipyard

> The Shipyard is an independent, full-service marketing and communications agency based in Columbus, Ohio, that calls its approach 'marketing engineering' - putting brand strategy, creative, media, analytics, and PR under one roof to build what it calls performance-driven brands. Founded by Rick Milenthal, the agency has grown through a string of acquisitions (Mering, TinyWins, Turner Duckworth, and PR firm Fahlgren Mortine) into a roughly 400-person shop with about $350M in billings and clients including In-N-Out Burger, Visit California, Nationwide, and Joby Aviation.

- **Founded:** 2012
- **Headquarters:** Columbus, Ohio, United States
- **Founders:** Rick Milenthal (Founder, Chairman & CEO)
- **Team size:** ~330-400 employees across ~10 offices
- **Products:** Brand Strategy & Identity, Creative & Campaign Development, Media & Performance Marketing, Digital Experience & Innovation, Public Relations & Reputation Management
- **Notable:** Helped drive In-N-Out to roughly 400% sales growth over three years (internally nicknamed the 'Double-Double')., Work for Visit California tied to major year-over-year growth in ad-influenced travel spending., Named an Adweek Fastest Growing Agency.

## Products & services

- **Brand Strategy & Identity** — Brand positioning, differentiation, identity, and strategy grounded in consumer insight and research.
- **Creative & Campaign Development** — Creative strategy, campaign development, content at scale, video production, and in-house production.
- **Media & Performance Marketing** — Tradigital media planning and buying, performance marketing, DMP/DSP and programmatic activation, SEO/SEM, and campaign analytics.
- **Digital Experience & Innovation** — Web development, UX/digital experience, ecommerce and D2C growth, and data-science-driven optimization.
- **Public Relations & Reputation Management** — PR, communications, and reputation management, largely delivered through Fahlgren Mortine and Turner PR.

## Achievements

- Helped drive In-N-Out to roughly 400% sales growth over three years (internally nicknamed the 'Double-Double').
- Work for Visit California tied to major year-over-year growth in ad-influenced travel spending.
- Named an Adweek Fastest Growing Agency.
- Named one of the world's top independent agencies by Campaign for two consecutive years.
- 2025 Effie Award winner.
- Acquired Fahlgren Mortine, the reigning PRSA national Public Relations Agency of the Year, in 2024.
- Grew to a combined ~$350M in billings, ~400 professionals, and ~10 offices nationwide.

## Latest updates

- **2025-06** — Raised $80M via a convertible note, bringing reported total funding to roughly $167M.
- **2024-05** — Completed acquisition of Fahlgren Mortine, creating a combined company with ~$350M in billings, ~400 professionals, and ~10 offices.
- **2023-01** — Established San Diego as its West Coast anchor, expanding California operations.

## Links

- Website: https://theshipyard.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-shipyard-llc
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/theshipyardcrew
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshipyard
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/TheShipyardCrew/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/the-shipyard
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-16