Flyover State No More: KC Ad Agencies Lure Talent from Coasts

For advertising creatives, Kansas City is losing its tag as a flyover city — it’s becoming a destination.

“There is a definite trend of agencies in Kansas City bringing people in from outside of the market, and not just the coasts. It’s Chicago and Atlanta,” said Sam Meers, CEO and founder of Meers Advertising. “It’s more than creative. It’s every level of agency staff.”

The city’s renaissance, particularly in the urban core, is helping drive this change, Barkley CEO Jeff King said. There’s the thriving Crossroads Arts District, the Kauffman Center for Performing Arts and the arts community itself.

“All those things just collectively have made Kansas City a much more appealing place for the creative class,” King said.

But the appeal goes beyond the city’s amenities, King and Meers said.

Kansas City has a vibrant advertising community, with agencies that are growing and winning more national accounts and awards.

“We’re starting to make Kansas City a more known destination for talent,” King said. “It’s becoming increasingly easier and more attainable to get some of the best talent from the coasts to move here.”

Kansas City has the highest concentration of agencies per capita among the members of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, Meers said. There’s also variety, with agencies’ focus ranging from millennials to senior living to digital. That means ample career opportunities for people who move here, he said.