Carlberg Branding & Advertising

Last Modified: 03-08-2024

https://www.carlberg.com
Ownership: Privately Held
Size: 0-50

Overview

Company Summary

We’ve been in this roller coaster ad biz for 50 years and counting. So our co-principals, Gayl and Chuck Carlberg, have seen and done it all. Carlberg Branding & Advertising is a full-service creative agency based in Houston, Texas. We partner with brands and people we truly believe in and then drive their success with every ounce of our craft and conviction. We do our best work on brand challenges that demand experience, ambition and creativity. We welcome partners of all sizes, industries and walks of life. Carlberg Branding & Advertising helps clients generate results. Period. Results like sales, calls, visits, clicks and that enigmatic “buzz.” So if you have goals to reach, reach out to us.

Contact

5535 Memorial Drive
Houston, TX 77007
P: 713-965-0764
F: Not- ap-plic

Chuck Carlberg
President, Executive Creative Director
[email protected]
(713) 965-0764

Offices

Carlberg Branding & Advertising
5535 Memorial Drive
Houston, TX 77007
713-965-0764

Global Service Capabilities

Mexico

Staff

Total Number of Employees

Office Employees: 0-50
Total US: 0-50
Total Worldwide: 0-50

Gayl Carlberg
CEO/Executive Creative Director
Gayl is creative. Period. She has been honored by some of advertising’s most prestigious and selective competitions – Clio Awards, New York Art Directors Club, Communication Arts magazine, the American Advertising Federation’s ADDY Awards, and Graphis magazine. She was also named one of Adweek’s “Women on the Rise” and “Best Television Art Director in the Southwest.” However, most people don’t realize that Gayl enjoyed entrepreneurial forays into children’s clothing design and songwriting, too. One of her clothing designs was even worn by Robin Williams’ newborn daughter on The Tonight Show. Gayl’s song “There’s a War in Me” was recorded by Academy of Country Music Best New Artist nominee Chalee Tennison.

As CEO and Executive Creative Director of Carlberg Branding & Advertising, both Gayl’s right brain and her left brain have proven to serve both the clients and the ad agency well. Gayl has an ability to focus on the big picture of a client’s marketing objective, fashioning integrated campaigns across every conceivable medium. In fact, she was developing “guerrilla” or “street buzz” ad campaigns for the Houston Chronicle years before the trend caught the eye of national advertisers. That kind of strategic thinking and creative output helped the Houston Chronicle grow into Texas’ biggest newspaper and helped “the big, new H-E-B” in its successful push into Houston, one of the nation’s most competitive grocery markets. Of all the brands Gayl has worked on across the years, she is especially proud to be leading the charge to build nationwide recognition for UTHealth Houston – a health university with six schools, breakthrough research, and world-renowned physicians. As executive creative director and CEO, Gayl oversees a number of website redesigns, from small to large in scope, for clients such as the UTHealth Houston’s microsite, to full websites for Texas A&M University School of Law, Stephen F. Austin State University, Blue Bell Creameries, The University of Houston-Downtown, and more.

Whether it’s a health institution, a university, a newspaper, a financial institution, a grocery store chain, or a famous Texas ice cream, Gayl has managed to bring that same level of insight and creativity to each and every client she works with.

Perhaps what’s most amazing about Gayl is that between creating award-winning advertising, developing a successful children’s clothing line, and writing critically acclaimed music, she somehow found time to raise two children, along with her business and life partner, Chuck. It’s no surprise, with their double DNA, that both children also happen to be in the ad business.

Chuck Carlberg
President/Executive Creative Director
As President and Executive Creative Director, Chuck is involved with our clients on a daily basis, and never misses an opportunity to sit down with a client and ask, “How’s business, or how is enrollment?”

Chuck’s work has been recognized by every major advertising competition from Houston to New York. He was named to Adweek’s Creative All-Stars and “Best Creative Director of the Southwest.” In 1999, he was awarded Houston Advertising Federation’s (AAF-H) Silver Medal for outstanding work in advertising and in the community. In 2012, he was inducted into the Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame. In February 2017, he was presented the Media Alliance of Houston Silver Star of Excellence Award, and in June, the AAF-Houston Living Legend Award.

He’s proud of the awards given to him by both clients and peers: National CLIOS, Tellys, numerous medals from New York Art Directors Clubs and ONE Shows, several National ADDYs, Gold Medals from the Dallas Society of Visual Communications and more than 100+ Gold Medals from the Houston Advertising Federation and the Art Directors Club of Houston.

Chuck has worked on airlines, restaurants, hotels, newspapers, radio and TV companies, energy businesses, packaged goods, soft drinks, cell phone service, health care, higher ed, automobiles, tractors, parks, and flood control – and he even helped elect one of Houston’s mayors. He understands what it takes to make customers actually do something – open their wallets, open their eyes, open their mouths, or open their minds.

He loves his city, serving as a founding member of the Quality of Life Coalition and chair emeritus of The Buffalo Bayou Partnership. He has worked with City Council members to “Stop Trashing Houston” and to “Stop Graffiti” in Houston neighborhoods.

Chuck married his wife and business partner, Gayl, on April Fool’s Day, 1978, and loves working and living with her every day. They have two children who are also in the ad business. When he’s not working (which he loves), Chuck is a very active outdoors kind of guy, now training for his next MS 150 Bike Ride from Houston to Austin.

Chris Carlberg
EVP, Group Creative Director
Chances are, you’ve already seen Chris Carlberg’s work. Chris brings to the agency many years of experience and countless award-winning campaigns to his name. Some of the most recognizable brands found in his portfolio are Bush’s Baked Beans, Subaru, and Avocados from Mexico (to name just a few). He started his career working at Dimassimo Goldstein in New York, then at GSD&M in Austin, and at Carmichael Lynch in Minneapolis before joining Carlberg Branding and Advertising in the Fall of 2021. Some of his proudest moments throughout his career include being a part of a Super Bowl campaign for Avocados from Mexico and working on four different car launches for Subaru.

What’s that? You want to know more brands he’s worked on? Ok, we’ll name a few more: Walgreens, Pacifico Beer, TXDOT, USBank, Phillips 66, Red Baron Pizza, Chipotle, Jack Links, and Helzberg Diamonds. Since joining Carlberg, Chris is enjoying the new challenge of working across the agency’s client roster. If he lets himself take a break from creative thinking, he’ll take time off with a game of tennis or traveling with his wife, Sarah.

Ross Wingo
Media Director
Ross brings deep agency and client-side marketing experience to Carlberg Branding & Advertising, with a particular focus on digital – including nearly a decade of digital media experience.

Just before joining the Carlberg team, he led paid media for multi-billion dollar companies at Media.Monks, an international marketing group. Clients included TriNet/Zenefits, JumpCloud, UserTesting, Paylocity, and Splash Financial.

Ross owned not only the strategic relationship with his Media.Monks clients, but he frequently executed ad campaign optimizations and audits himself. His experience at both the strategic and technical levels within digital media positions him well when it comes to maximizing ROI.

Previous stints at RUNNER Agency and LOCALiQ, both with a strong presence in Dallas-Fort Worth, gave Ross a chance to cut his teeth with paid media management. He worked with small- and medium-sized businesses across various industries, with a particular emphasis on health care, automotive, and home services.

Ross builds strong relationships with his clients by keeping their goals top of mind, proactively bringing new opportunities to the table, and demonstrating a positive, calm demeanor.

A Dallas native, Ross proudly supports his university alma maters – SMU and UT Dallas. His non-work interests essentially boil down to English Premier League soccer and breakfast tacos; but above all, he loves hanging out with his wife Lauren and daughter Lillian.

Clients and Brands

Client & Brands	Start Date
PYEK Group	N/A
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston	10-17-2012
Mahindra Tractors	09-01-2000

Billings & Revenue

Billing / Revenue Ranges Number of Clients
Billing < $1M and/or Agency Revenue < $200K 15
Billing > $1M and < $3M 2

Billing / Revenue Ranges	Number of Clients
Billing < $1M and/or Agency Revenue < $200K	15
Billing > $1M and < $3M	2

Total Gross Media Placed by this Office
Under $50 Million

Allocation Percent of Media Placed by this Office
Local Broadcast: 30%
National Broadcast: 20%
Digital: 15%
Print: 5%
Out of Home: 30%

Types of Services

Service Offering Revenue

Industry Experience

Agency Profile