Ripple Marketing, Palmquist merge

In an attempt to make both advertising companies more competitive, Ripple Marketing http://www.ripplemarketing.com/ and Palmquist Creative recently merged.

By KAYLEY MENDENHALL Chronicle Staff Writer

Palmquist has been operating in Bozeman for 13 years with an emphasis on creative graphic design services for clients.

Ripple Marketing, on the other hand, focuses on business consulting and demographic studies. It has been in Bozeman for five years

"It was really a strategic move," said Kitch Walker, president and co-founder of Ripple. "We both complimented each other well."

Andrea Stevenson, a co-owner of Palmquist, agreed.

"It was beneficial to us because Ripple provided the marketing expertise to enable our clients to dig deep into marketing research if that was necessary for them," Stevenson said.

"We were limited in our ability, somewhat, for providing analytical marketing for our clients."

Palmquist employees moved into the Ripple Marketing building on West Kagy Boulevard last week.

With the completed merger the company, which is keeping the name Ripple Marketing, http://www.ripplemarketing.com/ has 14 full-time employees, is planning to hire two more and has a handful of part-time workers as well, Walker said.

"I think it’s a terrific opportunity for both of those companies coming together," said Alicia Bradshaw, executive director of the Gallatin Development Corp. "It’s been interesting to watch both of the young entrepreneurs building their businesses and then deciding to merge."

With the slow economy, many companies are looking to trim back and consolidate their advertising, Bradshaw said. Creating a firm that can serve both the graphics and marketing needs for customers may help Ripple grab more of the advertising market share.

"Companies are starting to merge services to get a competitive advantage. … We are seeing lots of little mergers here and there with IT, to consulting to manufacturing," she said. "It’s sort of the super-store approach to consulting."

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2003/04/07/news/ripple+marketingbzbigs.txt