ACR Nally closing its doors June 30

ACR Nally Communications Inc. will close June 30, the owners said today in a memo.

The advertising and marketing firm has been in operation for 23 years and was purchased by Mike and Lisa Nally in 2003.

"Personally, this is a very difficult and disappointing outcome, but it is simply not economically feasible to continue operating in the current environment," Lisa Nally said in a memo to Springfield Business Journal. The memo was regarding past due amounts to SBJ, which has published advertising for ACR Nally clients.

In the memo, Nally said options and payment plans are being evaluated, noting that "sole responsibility for payment of these invoices rests with ACR Nally Communications Inc."

The Nallys could not be immediately reached by phone or e-mail.

Cindy Howell, former ACR Nally vice president and account executive who left in January, said the company was feeling effects of the recession while she was there.

"We certainly saw, prior to my departure, the fact that the economy was taking its toll, and companies were holding off - they maybe had trimmed their marketing budgets," Howell said. "I'm sure that was a contributing factor."

SBJ reported last week that ACR Nally had vacated its downtown office space at 509 W. Olive St. The Nallys also are facing legal trouble from the company's founders - Rosa Shockey, Diana Cowan and Paula Ringer - who have filed petitions in Greene County Circuit Court claiming the Nallys have failed to make payments outlined in a stock purchase agreement when they bought the company.

Major ACR Nally clients have included Murney Associates, Rib Crib, Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr Pepper Bottling Co., Friendly Ford and Springfield-Greene County Parks, according to SBJ's 2008 list of the Area's Largest Advertising Agencies. The company ranked No. 8 on that list.[[In-content Ad]]