February 17, 2026

Madison Avenue Is in Crisis. Midwestern Ad Agencies See an Opportunity.

Brands’ urgent bid to understand ‘real Americans’ has boosted the profiles and confidence of heartland ad shops.

Around the same time that Droga5 was interviewing the sausage-makers, Greg Andersen was packing up his life in Los Angeles to move back to his hometown of Omaha, Neb. He had taken on the chief executive job at Bailey Lauerman and set to work rebranding the ad agency from a generic marketing shop to experts in the “92% of Americans living outside the 10 largest cities.”

Bailey Lauerman’s head count has remained fairly steady in the decade since. It counts national businesses like AMC Theatres and Bosch eBikes as clients, and expects revenue to increase 19% this year, Andersen said.

Continue reading more on The Wall Street Journal.