New firm offers a unique blend of marketing expertise that  speaks the same language as clients and their customers

St. Louis, MO - June 29, 2009 - A strategic, branding and design firm has officially raised its flag in the St. Louis marketplace, under the auspicious name of Yank and Limey. The new firm provides ‘big agency expertise at independent rates.' Building on international experience from London and St. Louis, Yank and Limey offers businesses the advantage of highly experienced and disciplined strategic problem solving, brand and identity development, and web and print design.

The brainchild of branding expert Benjamin Franklin, Yank and Limey recently put to use a name that Franklin developed years ago. "The concept has been brewing for some time and only recently did I decide to formally put the name to paper," commented Franklin, founder and creative director of Yank and Limey. Franklin has worked for several leading local agencies as well as agencies in London, England. He married an American and settled with his family in St. Louis.

Franklin is a British citizen who has recently been granted U.S. citizenship, hence the name "Yank and Limey". The name came to him several years ago as he planned to someday take his branding and design skills to an ownership level. The timing was somewhat determined by a need he sensed in clients. "The current state of the economy has many clients looking for a way to make their budgets work... they want a simpler process but continue to need intelligent, on target work that keeps their budget in line... Yank and Limey provides the best strategy and branding you can find but at independent rates," he added.

Based on that philosophy, and with the expertise and promise to deliver high quality agency work at non-agency rates, Yank and Limey was born. A former client of Franklin's, Paul Gassett, joined forces with Franklin to bring strategy, writing, and public relations expertise to the team. Gassett has 20 years of experience in both consumer and high technology industries including life sciences, wireless networking, and healthcare, where he's developed marketing strategy and managed multi-million dollar budgets on both the agency and client side of the desk. "This perspective has proven useful time after time in understanding what a client faces day in and day out in their quest to sell products and services," reported Gassett, director of strategy and business development for Yank and Limey.

Gassett has worked for local companies such as Tripos and Incyte Genomics, and both he and Franklin have worked for several ad agencies located in London, Boston, Indianapolis, and St. Louis. "True to our claim, I feel I can speak the same language as the client having been in their shoes for most of my career," Gassett commented. He earned his MBA from Washington University in 2000 and he often leverages the knowledge and network of that experience in creating on-target strategy that helps position companies in ways that are meaningful to their customers. Gassett also teaches marketing and business courses to MBA students at Maryville University and Missouri Baptist University.

About Yank and Limey

Yank and Limey (http://www.yankandlimey.com/) is a strategic branding and design firm offering high-end marketing strategy and design at independent rates. Yank and Limey offers the creative capabilities of an award-winning brand expert plus the strategic business knowledge of a Washington University MBA so a client's message will be on target as well as on budget. Yank and Limey is experienced in branding, strategic marketing, messaging and positioning, corporate identity, web and interactive design, corporate communications, public relations, print, packaging, signage, and online marketing.

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For more information, contact Paul Gassett at 314-378-5863, paul@yankandlimey.com, or Ben Franklin at 314-803-5422, ben@yankandlimey.com.