• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, September 6, 2019

Jim Price, CEO of Cincinnati-based agency Empower, has acquired the agency for an undisclosed sum.

Price’s mom Mary Beth Price—a pioneer in the unbundled media movement—founded the agency 34 years ago. The agency now bills itself as “the creative media agency.”

The agency, MediaPost’s 2016 Media Agency Of The Year, had been the largest woman-owned business in the Greater Cincinnati area according to the Cincinnati Business Courier, which estimates 2018 revenue at about $250 million.

But an agency rep notes that while that is no longer the case “female empowerment and leadership is still very much alive and fully endorsed within our culture, [as] 70% of director level and above are women.”

As to why Price purchased the agency, versus waiting to inherit it, he stated, “I’m a leader who’s all in. And to continue to lead with purpose and long-term vision, I had to own it.”

Commenting on the transaction, Mary Beth Price stated, “In the last decade, he has proven to be a visionary leader who understands that change is constant in this industry and has successfully paved the way for Empower to evolve into the creative media agency that it is today.”

The shop’s client roster includes TriHealth, Dremel, Formica, Fifth Third Bank, Gorilla Glue and Wendy’s.

In addition to its Cincinnati headquarters, the agency has an office in Chicago.