Barkley Evergreen & Partners, Inc., the largest independent employee-owned agency in the country, has changed its name to Barkley. The shift comes as the agency moves to a new national headquarters building located in Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District, a thriving creative community that includes the city’s best art galleries and production houses.
The agency’s original name was created by combining the street names of the agency’s former Kansas City and Detroit offices, respectively.
The building, on the national historic register, is the former worldwide headquarters of TransWorld Airlines and legendary owner Howard Hughes. The 133,000- square-foot, state-of-the-art facility includes a theater, a grass-lined rooftop observation deck, open floor plan and gallery space that will feature art from local and national artists. A key feature is the return of the TWA Moonliner, a three-story-tall rocket designed by Walt Disney’s team of Imagineers and later used by Hughes to signify his goal to guide TWA into space travel. A replica of the original rocket will now stand on the roof of Barkley’s headquarters after a 44-year absence from the skyline.
Founded in 1964, the company has 320 partners offering a full range of marketing communications services.
In related news, Barkely blogger Average Jane, discusses the move and her filing protocol.