History

CRT/tanaka offers coast-to-coast capabilities with offices in Virginia, New York, California and the Washington, D.C. area. The agency was founded in Richmond, Va., as Carter Ryley Thomas Public Relations and Marketing Counsel (CRT) in March 1996, when a group of employees bought the PR operations of then top-20 advertising agency Earle Palmer Brown. The agency’s name changed to CRT/tanaka after CRT acquired New York-based consumer specialist Patrice Tanaka & Company Inc. (PT&Co.). Similar to the founding of CRT, PT&Co. was founded in 1990, when the agency completed a management buyback from its parent company, Chiat\Day.

As CRT/tanaka has grown and flourished, we have added new capabilities to better serve the needs of our clients, including our Interactive/Social Media Practice, which offers interactive marketing and Web development services, social media and creative/graphic design expertise. CRT/tanaka also owns New York-based Lewis & Neale, a wholly-owned subsidiary, which is the leading marketing communications agency exclusively devoted to food and nutrition.