Bolt Marketing

What Bolt Marketing does

Bolt Marketing Group, LLC is a privately held, full-service experiential and digital marketing agency headquartered in Portland, Oregon, with a secondary office in Bend, Oregon. Founded in 2009 by Brooke Jackson, the agency delivers event production, campaign management, event staffing and brand ambassador programs, design services, custom retail installations, and custom display and vehicle fabrication to enterprise and mid-market clients across the U.S. and Canada. Its operational footprint spans 300+ events per year, 600+ staffed shifts, and 3,500+ staffing hours annually, executed through a distributed contractor network supported by the Near.tl recruitment platform. The agency also provides Digital Experiences — including augmented reality, virtual reality, and custom interactive applications — as a complement to in-person activations, and historically operated Kids Obstacle Challenge, a family-focused obstacle course race brand it is divesting as of December 2025.

The business operates on a professional services revenue model with project-based, quote-driven pricing and multi-year contracts, distributed via a sales-led direct enterprise motion and an inside-sales quote-request channel. Its customer base includes large consumer brands (Nike, Subaru, GORE-TEX, Foot Locker, Clif Bar/Clif Kid, Noodles & Company, Zevia, Razor, Eastbay, GoPuff), utilities (NW Natural), government (TriMet), and nonprofit/healthcare (A Healthier America, Regence). The core team is small (1-10 employees) and the company is founder-operated, with no disclosed institutional funding, board composition, or cap table. Kids Obstacle Challenge — the agency's owned event property that previously attracted 150,000+ participants annually across U.S. cities prior to COVID-19 — is currently listed for sale as an asset purchase.

Name

Bolt Marketing

Legal name

Bolt Marketing Group, LLC

Website

https://boltmarketinggroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Bolt Marketing Group is a privately held, full-service experiential and digital marketing agency founded in 2009, serving enterprise and mid-market brands across the U.S. and Canada with event production, staffing, design, and custom retail installations through a distributed contractor network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Experiential Marketing Services

NAICS

Marketing Consulting Services (541613)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Promotions, Shopper & Retail Marketing (Sales Promotion, POS) (BPAFAAAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) / Paid Search (PPC) (BPAFACAA), Industry / Category Marketing Strategy (Vertical GTM) (MPAAAFAN)

Keywords

• Experiential marketing agency
• Event staffing services
• Brand activation campaigns
• Event production management
• Retail display fabrication

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Experiential Marketing Services: Full-service experiential and digital marketing agency providing campaign development, event production, design services, and staffing solutions to brands. Revenue is generated through service fees for marketing campaigns, events, and ongoing client engagements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Bolt Marketing Group is a full-service experiential marketing agency that plans, designs, staffs, fabricates and executes in-person brand events, retail activations and digital campaigns for enterprise and mid-market clients. Services span event production, event staffing and brand ambassadors, design and branding, custom retail installations, custom vehicle and modular display fabrication, digital marketing, and digital experiences (AR/VR/custom apps).

Product overview

Bolt Marketing Group is a full-service experiential and digital marketing agency offering a unified portfolio of services. The core offering includes Experiential Marketing (event production and campaign management), Digital Marketing (social media and digital advertising), Event Staffing & Brand Ambassadors, Design Services, Custom Retail Installations, and Custom Displays/Vehicle Fabrication. The agency also develops Digital Experiences including custom apps, augmented reality, and virtual reality for occasions when in-person presence isn't possible. The company operates under the DBA 'Kids Obstacle Challenge,' a family-focused obstacle course race brand that is currently listed for sale as an asset purchase opportunity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kids Obstacle Challenge: Family-focused obstacle course race series for kids - the largest kids and family obstacle event in the country prior to COVID, welcoming more than 150,000 participants annually

Products and services

• Experiential Marketing Full-service event production and marketing that develops strategy and activation plans, designs and produces event displays and signage, hires event staff, plans event schedules, and provides post-event reporting and photo/video assets for brand campaigns.
• Event Staffing & Brand Ambassadors Provides event staffing, brand ambassadors, event managers, promotional staff, technical reps, catering staff, street teams, production assistants, and mobile tour staff for live events across the U.S. and Canada.
• Design Services Comprehensive design capabilities including logos and branding, 2D and 3D environmental design, digital and print design, outdoor signage, product displays and packaging, and event branding.
• Custom Retail Installations Custom-built retail displays, seating, point-of-sale stations, product displays, and signage for in-store or event spaces, including design, production, and nationwide rollout execution.
• Custom Displays & Vehicle Fabrication Design and fabrication of custom marketing vehicles and modular displays that create branded event environments with customized displays and interactive technologies.
• Digital Marketing Digital marketing services including social media management and digital advertising campaigns designed to supplement in-person events.
• Digital Experiences High-impact digital experiences delivered to audiences' devices, including custom interactive landing pages, augmented reality, virtual reality, online games, and custom apps for when in-person presence is not possible.

Quantifiable outcome

• 300+ events per year
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• FUSE: FUSE is a mid-sized experiential marketing agency providing brand activation, event staffing and sponsorship execution for enterprise clients. Directly comparable to Bolt as a similarly-sized full-service experiential shop with shared categories like beverage, retail and outdoor brands.
• G7 Entertainment Marketing: G7 is a minority-owned experiential and entertainment marketing agency delivering brand activations, events and staffing for enterprise clients. Comparable to Bolt in service mix and client categories (CPG, beverage, retail), with similar emphasis on live brand experiences.
• MKG: MKG is a Brooklyn-based experiential marketing agency serving enterprise brands with live events, brand activations and digital creative. Closely comparable to Bolt in size and service mix — both are independent, mid-sized experiential shops serving enterprise CPG, retail and tech clients.
• Sparks: Sparks is a global experiential marketing agency delivering brand experiences, events, and sponsorship activation for enterprise clients. Directly comparable to Bolt in that both operate as full-service experiential shops serving Fortune 500 brands across consumer categories, though Sparks is materially larger.

Broad incumbents

• Jack Morton Worldwide: Jack Morton is a global brand experience agency within the IPG network, offering event marketing, digital experiences and sponsorship activation. Comparable to Bolt across the experiential + digital stack but operates at much greater scale and with deeper holding-company resources.
• George P. Johnson Experience Marketing: GPJ is one of the largest independent experiential marketing agencies globally, focused on events, exhibits, and digital experiences for enterprise clients. Overlaps with Bolt on experiential campaigns, custom fabrication and integrated digital, but at significantly larger scale and with global offices.
• The Marketing Arm: The Marketing Arm is a large Omnicom-owned agency offering sponsorship, experiential, sports and entertainment marketing. Overlaps with Bolt on enterprise brand activation and event execution but operates with significantly greater scale and category breadth.
• Mosaic: Mosaic is a large North American experiential marketing agency (part of Acosta Group) focused on in-store, event and field marketing for CPG and retail brands. Comparable to Bolt on the staffing + activation + retail-installation axis, especially for retail-heavy clients like Foot Locker.
• Octagon: Octagon is a global sports and experiential marketing agency serving major brands with sponsorship activation, events and athlete marketing. Relevant comparable to Bolt on the sponsorship activation and live event execution axis serving enterprise clients.

Regional players

• MAS Event Design: MAS Event Design is a Pacific Northwest-based experiential and event production agency with custom fabrication capabilities. Highly comparable to Bolt geographically (Portland/PNW) and in service mix, including custom retail and event fabrication.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bolt Marketing