MB Piland Advertising + Marketing

MB Piland Advertising + Marketing is a branding and marketing firm based in Topeka, Kansas, led by President and CEO Martha Bartlett Piland. Under the line "Helping brands win from within," it provides strategic planning, brand alignment, advocacy and consulting, with particular focus on financial brands such as banks and credit unions, and on health brands.

Piland describes her approach as unconventional, holistic strategic planning that applies creative thinking to every client problem. The firm marks its 25th anniversary on its website. Its work is organised around programs and tools: Strategy On Call, Quick Pulse, Sounding Board, Policy and Advocacy, Process, Speaking, a Banktastic division for financial institutions, and Transformotion in a Box, a subscription program. Clients on the site describe the experience as working with a personal trainer, and one bank president credits Piland with making him do the hard work needed to grow.

• Strategy On Call: a monthly subscription for focused strategy, counsel and brainstorming, available after the firm completes the client's marketing plan, with Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers; packages start at $1,500 per month according to its website
• Brainstorm sessions: product development, program ideas, special event themes and brand alignment tactics aimed at revenue and profit
• Quick Pulse and Sounding Board: shorter advisory formats for checking direction
• Policy and Advocacy: communications support for policy-related work
• Free tools: Brand-O-Matic, Culture Quiz and Health Check
• Speaking: seminars and talks across the US and Canada

Named work includes the Worst Day safety campaign for the Kansas Highway Patrol, which the firm reports earned a number one national award in 2025, and Punctuating the Period, a 2023 campaign on student needs. Piland has also published two books: Culturing Creative (2015) and Beyond Sticky (2019), the latter written for financial brands.

Recognition listed on the site includes the Legacy in Business Award at the 2025 Greater Topeka Partnership Small Business Awards. Piland's credentials include the ABA Advanced Bank Marketing Certificate, the ABA Certified Financial Marketing Professional (CFMP) designation, graduation from Leadership America, an IABC EXCEL honor in 2008, the American Business Women's Association Woman of Excellence award in 2010 and induction into the Junior Achievement Kansas Business Hall of Fame in 2017. Alex Reilly is listed on the executive team.