Welcome to Stephens+
After 45 years as Stephens Direct, we are starting over: as the people who own it.
Today we are introducing Stephens+ — a new name, a new structure, and a new chapter for the agency our clients and team have known as Stephens Direct for nearly a half century.
We are now a 100% employee-owned agency.
The work, the craft, the people, and the long relationships that got us here are all still here. What changed is who owns the company that makes it. The answer is the people who do the work.
Why the +
The new name is a small mark with a big idea. We are Stephens, plus more. Plus our 45-year history. Plus the people who have built our agency. Plus our values and the relationships that came with it. Plus, four newly enhanced service lines: media, strategy, creator, and experiential, that complement our full suite of marketing services. Plus a new ownership structure where every employee has equity in the outcome.
The employee holding company
The largest agencies in the world are consolidating into bigger and bigger holding companies, concentrating ownership at the top, further from the desks where the work actually happens. We are pointing the other direction. Every person here, on every account, has equity in the outcome of what we create. Our clients and partners have always told us they could feel the ownership in how we show up. Now it is literal.
A startup sitting on top of 45 years of excellence
Stephens+ is brand new and 45 years old at the same time. We have the institutional muscle that comes from decades of client relationships, environmental work that lives in the world, and a creative bench that has survived every cycle the industry has thrown at it. We also have a fresh operating model, fresh leadership roles, and a team that is moving like a company on day one.
Expanded capabilities
Stephens+ now offers six service lines: creative, environmental design, media, strategy, creator, and experiential. The company is well-poised for the modern brief — fully integrated, with one team accountable end to end.
Same hands on the wheel
Phil Stephens remains as the President/CEO and will serve as the Chairman of the Board of the new entity, ensuring continuity of vision and stewardship. Jen Ball, who joined Stephens 15 years ago, will continue to lead company operations as Chief Operating Officer. Rory Foster, who joined in 2025, will remain as the Chief Marketing Officer in charge of growth and innovation.
To everyone who got us here
To our clients, partners, and the cities of Cincinnati and Dayton that have backed this company for 45 years: thank you. The relationships that brought us here are the same ones we are betting on for the next 45.
Welcome to Stephens+.