Memphis marketing firm Oden to close June 30
Memphis brand strategy firm Oden announced it will close following the loss of business with a major client.
The company was founded in 1971 by Dale Oden and is now co-owned by Memphis marketing executives Bill Carkeet and Bret Terwilleger.
Oden employed 35 people last year and ranked fourth in size among Memphis marketing firms.
“While the COVID-19 pandemic caused project delays and pauses with most of our clients, we were managing through it,” Carkeet, the chief executive officer, says in a statement released to the public.
“However, our largest client has decided not to fund the vast majority of our work at this time. As a result, this severe impact to our work, combined with other client project cuts related to COVID-19, eliminated virtually all our revenue streams for the foreseeable future in one fell swoop, rendering our ongoing operation unsustainable,” the statement says.
The closure is effective June 30. In 2017, Oden offices on South Main were relocated Downtown to 158 Vance aided by an eight-year partial tax freeze approved by the Center City Revenue Finance Corp. At the time, the city agency estimated the tax break would save Oden $240,545 and increase property tax collections $80,182 over eight years.
The firm did not identify the client that canceled recent business. Over the decades, Oden worked for an array of large Memphis corporations including ABB, Fedex, First Horizon, International Paper, Hilton Worldwide, nexair, Holiday Inn, Maybelline and Smith and Nephew, the marketing firm said.
Carkeet joined Oden as vice president in 1986 and was named chief executive in 1996 after Dale Oden retired. Carkeet earlier had been vice president of marketing at First Tennessee Bank, the previous name of First Horizon.
“Our remaining time will be spent wrapping up our client commitments and assisting our employees with their transition. While the sadness is overwhelming, we are extremely proud of our company, our leadership group and team, our culture, and our spirit of giving back,” Terwilleger, Oden’s chief operations officer, says in the statement. “We love our community and strongly believe in Memphis, and especially Downtown. Two years ago, we validated our beliefs by purchasing a long-vacant building just south of Fed Exforum, completely renovating it to house our agency. And our support of the arts and community organizations by our team through the years has been a joy to experience,”