Our Story

In 1984, BDSmktg was originally founded as a field marketing agency. Our founder, Mark Dean, had a vision to provide an excellent working environment for employees, and believed that by focusing on putting employees first, they would in turn take great care of their clients. With two other founders, BDS was born in Mark’s garage, and the group of three formed BDS: Baker, Dean and Sherwood. The rest was history.
 

In the early years, BDS was a boutique agency that ran customer promotions and sampling events for a few clients. Since then, we have grown to be the leading, privately-held, retail marketing agency in the U.S. We support world-class brands, manufacturers, and retailers with a streamlined suite of integrated sales and marketing solutions, 18 specialized services, award-winning in-house experts, and a field team of over 7,000 representatives. To get where we are today, we made a number of partnerships and acquisitions throughout the years that allowed us to meet our clients’ needs and service the entire retail value chain.
 

The first major addition to the BDS family was in 2006, when we acquired Channel Partners to enrich our Training, Assisted Sales and Product Launch offerings. The following year, Keystone Marketing Specialists was purchased, which added the Flex Force shared model, along with the Retail Access training platform, into our mix of capabilities. In 2013, BDS brought RMSe on board to offer retail installation and construction services as an in-house capability, furthering expanding the retail value chain to include retail environments. Most recently in 2016, BDS partnered with Apollo Retail Specialists and its equity partners to form BDS Solutions Group, LLC, a platform organization that has allowed us to significantly expand our field team and service offerings to further influence purchase decisions throughout the entire customer shopping journey.
 

Values

Our values are engrained in our culture and guide our actions each day. It’s what we stand for.

Achievement

Achievement is getting it done and getting it done right. Know what result you are looking for, break it down into meaningful goals and be relentless in pursuing it. Use what you know works, and don’t reinvent the wheel. When things get tough, get tougher.

Agility

Agility is being fast and flexible. Know the lay of the land and what lies ahead. Trust your instincts but know when to get creative. Put things together in new ways. Embrace change and act bravely.

Authenticity

Authenticity is coming from a place of truth. Be true to yourself and be real with others. Share the whole picture: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Set clear expectations, live by your word, and always assume good intentions.