Mountain West Marketing Agency

A Mountain West marketing agency in Montana that travels. Brand strategy doesn’t require a local office, but it does require local understanding.

Here’s where we work and how the work actually runs.

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The central hub in Billings, Montana (red star) is connected by yellow lines to multiple U.S. cities shown with blue pins, including Seattle, Portland, Denver, Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, Dallas, Salt Lake City, Boise, Sheridan, Bozeman, and Omaha.
reach

Based in Billings. Working across the Mountain West and beyond.

We’re based in downtown Billings, Montana. From there, we work with clients across the Mountain West (Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, the Dakotas), the Pacific Northwest (Portland, Seattle, and the cities in between), and select markets nationally (Salt Lake City, Denver, Dallas). The work is the same regardless of geography. Brand strategy first, marketing second. Senior-led from the first conversation to the last deliverable. Over 35 years of strategic work organized around the Let’s Canoe Framework: discovery, positioning, identity, brand narrative, activation. We don’t open satellite offices because we don’t need to. The work travels.

Philosophy

Brand strategy doesn’t need a local office

Brand strategy is intellectual work. The deliverable is a document, a system, a roadmap, or a brand book. None of those requires shared zip codes. They require deep listening, careful pattern-finding, and the kind of strategic judgment that comes from twenty years across industries.

The travel matters when it matters. Leadership interviews work better on-site. Customer conversations benefit from in-room presence. Certain photography and video shoots can’t happen remotely. Kickoff meetings often deserve a plane ticket. We build those moments into the engagement when they’re worth it.

The rest of the work runs through structured remote: scheduled video sessions for stakeholder interviews and strategic reviews, asynchronous documentation to handle the heavy lifting between sessions, and a working cadence that respects the client’s calendar. Most engagements have one or two on-site visits, and the rest are handled remotely; the client never has to think about it.

The math also works in the client’s favor. A senior strategist in Montana costs less to engage than the equivalent talent in Dallas or Portland. Same depth of work, lower overhead.

Process

The same engagement,
anywhere you are

Every engagement starts the same way. A free 30-minute fit call with Brian Murnion, our co-founder and Chief Strategist. He’ll ask about where the brand is, what’s getting in the way, and what success looks like. If we’re a good match, a written proposal will land within five business days. If we’re not, he’ll say so.

From there, the work splits into four camps. The cadence stays the same regardless of which one fits.

Strategy & Audit.

Brand strategy, audits, and full engagements.

Senior-led, Framework-based. The work when you need clarity.

Strategy →

Marketing Services.

When the brand strategy is in place.

SEO, PPC, web design, content, conversion rate optimization, and outsourced marketing team support. Project or retainer based.

Services →

Studios.

Production, video, and film.

Brand films, commercials, documentaries, and social video. Senior-led from concept to delivery.

Studios →

Fractional CMO.

Senior marketing leadership.

Marketing leadership on a monthly partnership basis. Mostly remote with quarterly on-site presence in the client’s market.

CMO Leadership →

cities

Cities we know

Billings, Montana

Our home office. The agency was founded here in 2021. Downtown address, Northern Hotel, within walking distance. Northern Hotel, Billings Symphony, Yellowstone Art Museum, and Altana FCU are local clients.

See brand agency in Billings, Montana.

Bozeman, Montana

Two hours west. The fastest-growing micropolitan area in the country. Tech (MSU spinoffs, the old Oracle / RightNow Technologies footprint), outdoor recreation, hospitality, and real estate.

See brand agency in Bozeman, Montana.

Sheridan, Wyoming

Two and a half hours south. Energy, ranching, tourism (Big Horn Mountains), small manufacturing. A market that values authenticity and rewards agencies that understand the region.

See brand agency in Sheridan, Wyoming.

Salt Lake City, Utah

An eight-hour drive or a short flight. Silicon Slopes tech corridor, outdoor brands, healthcare, finance, and a distinctive cultural market.

See marketing agency in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Portland, Oregon

Direct flight in. Outdoor and lifestyle brands, food and beverage, tech, and sustainability companies. A market that knows brand work and rewards real strategy.

See marketing agency in Portland, Oregon.

Denver, Colorado

Direct flight in. Explosive growth, mature professional services, strong tech, sophisticated buyers. We bring strategy depth and Mountain West understanding to a market saturated with creative shops.

See marketing agency in Denver, Colorado.

Dallas, Texas

Direct flight in. Enterprise B2B, energy, real estate, finance, healthcare. The hardest market in our cluster, and the one where founder-led strategy depth competes hardest against big-agency overhead.

See brand agency in Dallas, Texas.

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Direct flight in. The Twin Cities anchor a market built on retail headquarters (Target, Best Buy), medical device, and financial services. Sophisticated buyers, national-tier competition.

See marketing agency in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Chicago, Illinois

A direct flight east. The agency capital’s overlooked mid-market: family-owned manufacturers, food processors, and distributors across Chicagoland, many in generational transition.

See brand strategy in Chicago, Illinois.

Honestly

Why hire a Mountain West marketing agency for your city?

We get this question on most fit calls outside Billings. The honest answer has three parts.

First, brand strategy depth doesn’t come from local presence. It comes from twenty years across industries, hundreds of stakeholder interviews, and the strategic judgment that builds from doing the work. A senior person who’s audited fifty hospitals knows healthcare branding better than a senior person who’s never audited one but happens to live in your city.

Second, outside perspective is a feature, not a bug. The agency that’s known your category for a decade sometimes can’t see what’s stuck. An out-of-market firm doesn’t carry the assumptions of the local scene.

Third, the economics work in the client’s favor. Senior strategy talent in Montana costs less to engage than the equivalent talent in Dallas or Portland. Same depth of work, lower overhead. We won’t try to dress that up as anything other than what it is.

Practical details

How it actually works

Scheduled video for the interactive work (interviews, strategic reviews, working sessions), with asynchronous documentation handling the heavy lift between meetings. Sessions get booked around your hours, not ours. We don’t run engagements on Slack.

Yes, when the work calls for it. Leadership interviews, customer conversations, photoshoots, kickoffs, and key presentations are usually on-site. The rest happens remotely.

We’re in Mountain Time. Most clients are within two time zones. We schedule around your working hours, not ours.

No. The engagement price is the same whether you’re in Billings or Dallas. Travel for on-site visits is billed separately, at cost.

The first phase of the Framework (discovery) is built for exactly this. We do the listening, the deep dive, and the research before we make any strategic decisions.

Next step

Ready to start the conversation?

Free 30-minute fit call with Brian Murnion.
He’ll listen, ask questions, and tell you whether Let’s Canoe is the right partner for your work. If we’re not, he’ll say so.

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