4.9 stars out of 1400+ reviews
Most agencies start with funding, a co-founder, or, at the very least, a full-time commitment. The Ad Firm started with split shifts. Kevin Heimlich spent his mornings working for an automotive parts company and every afternoon building a digital marketing agency that didn’t exist yet, because nothing out there met the standard he refused to lower.
No investor wrote him a check. No partner split the risk. Kevin built The Ad Firm in 2009 because he had spent years as a business owner searching for a marketing company that actually cared about long-term results, and never found one.
He launched the agency as Locally Ranked while still holding down his automotive parts job. Mornings at the warehouse from 5:30 AM to noon. Afternoons and evenings building the agency until 8:00 PM. Every single day.
The company grew quickly, moving through offices in Lake Forest, Fullerton, and Newport Beach before landing in Santa Ana with 10 private offices and 25 cubicles. But rapid growth exposed a hard truth: Kevin was a gifted marketer, not yet a skilled manager. The pressure nearly broke him.
Instead of walking away, he took a week to tear down the business structure and rebuild it. The new Ad Firm stopped taking every client who could pay. Kevin became selective, focusing only on businesses his team could serve well over the long haul. Every agreement was tied to clear success goals. The agency became accountable for outcomes, not activity.
One client running three automotive companies dominated pages 1 and 2 of Google so completely that Amazon offered to acquire the business. That moment made the company’s philosophy permanent: “We win only if you win.” That mindset drives every strategy at The Ad Firm, delivering value not just to the company, but especially to the clients and the employees who make the work possible.
The Ad Firm is now a full-service digital marketing agency offering several services, including SEO, AI SEO, PPC, web design, and social media marketing, supporting businesses across the United States.
Over 15 years, the agency has helped small businesses scale into multi-million-dollar enterprises. Many of those clients have gone on to sell their companies, keeping The Ad Firm onboard under new ownership because the results were too consistent to replace. The agency holds a 96.8% long-term client retention rate, over 60 documented case studies, and 4.9 stars across 1,400+ reviews.
Beyond the agency, Kevin was a recognized marketing expert witness who had testified in numerous cases in California. He served as a digital marketing consultant and fractional CMO for businesses that need executive-level marketing leadership. He spoke at industry conferences, gave guest lectures at California colleges, and competed in drag racing and road rallies across Southern California.
Those values now live in the hands of Cyrus Kennedy and Burkan Bur, who carry Kevin’s mission forward every day.
Cyrus is a proven business builder who now serves as CEO of The Ad Firm. He has founded, scaled, and led companies across multiple industries, with a track record that includes growing organizations at 72–82% year-over-year, earning multiple Glassdoor Best Places to Work awards, and working with over 250 clients worldwide. Cyrus brings the same people-first leadership to The Ad Firm that Kevin built the company on.
Burkan brings over 25 years of digital marketing experience as Managing Director and Head of SEO. He started as a programmer before moving into search marketing, and he created and taught the first-ever SEO and analytics courses at UCSD. His career includes leading campaigns for Amazon, Hilton, Intel, DoorDash, and American Express. At The Ad Firm, Burkan drives the agency’s technical strategy and mentors the next generation of search marketers.
The proof is in the results. The Ad Firm is bigger, stronger, and more capable than it has ever been. Kevin continues to inspire us, not as a memory on a wall, but as the living standard we measure ourselves against every day. He didn’t just start a company—he started a culture. And that culture is only getting stronger. Everything The Ad Firm is today started with Kevin—and everything it becomes will carry him with it.
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