Madden Media
Madden Media is a privately held, full-service destination marketing agency founded in 1982 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado, serving U.S. destination marketing organizations, state tourism boards, convention and visitors bureaus, and economic development organizations through long-term Agency of Record retainer contracts and proprietary Voyage analytics.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1982
- HeadquartersTucson, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Madden Media does
Madden Media is a privately held, full-service destination marketing agency founded in 1982 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The firm specializes exclusively in tourism and destination marketing, serving destination marketing organizations (DMOs), state tourism departments, convention and visitors bureaus, and economic development organizations across the United States. Named clients span state-level tourism authorities (Visit Idaho, Wyoming Tourism, Missouri Tourism, Puerto Rico), city/regional destinations (Visit Pasadena, Visit Lubbock, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, Houston Film Commission), counties (Door County), and economic development entities (Lubbock Economic Development Alliance).
The agency delivers end-to-end marketing services across eight core product lines: Strategic Planning, Destination Intelligence (the proprietary Voyage suite with modules Atlas, Beacon, GPS, Waypoint, Flare), Creative, Martech/Web (WordPress CMS-based), Media Buying, Public Relations, Email Marketing, and SEO. Underlying technology combines WordPress-based content management with a microservices architecture and AI-powered natural language processing for website personalization, including a digital concierge deployed on the Discover Atlanta website. The Voyage suite provides campaign measurement, audience personas, and analytics specific to tourism KPIs such as visitation, overnight stays, and tax revenue impact.
The business model is sales-led, with a go-to-market centered on long-term Agency of Record (AOR) retainer contracts won through direct sales to government and quasi-government entities, supported by project-based fees for defined campaign scopes. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Revenue streams combine professional services agency fees, campaign-based project work, and recurring AOR retainers. In 2025, Madden Media acquired Arsenal (February) and Karsh Hagan (November), combining with the latter under the "KHM" brand to extend capabilities beyond tourism into broader purpose-driven and data-led marketing. The company also maintains an agency partnership with Tempest for complex digital delivery work. No external venture capital or private equity investment has been identified; the firm remains privately held.
Madden Media firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Madden Media
- Legal name
- Madden Media
- Website
- https://maddenmedia.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1982
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Madden Media is a privately held, full-service destination marketing agency founded in 1982 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado, serving U.S. destination marketing organizations, state tourism boards, convention and visitors bureaus, and economic development organizations through long-term Agency of Record retainer contracts and proprietary Voyage analytics.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Madden Media industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Tourism Marketing Services
- NAICS
- Media Representatives (541840), Direct Mail Advertising (54186)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Fantasy Contests, Leagues & Tournament Organizers (MPAEAHAF)
Keywords
Where Madden Media is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tucson
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Madden Media business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Professional Services - Agency Fees: Full-service agency fees covering creative development, media buying, public relations, SEO, MarTech implementation, and strategic planning for tourism and destination marketing clients.
- Campaign-Based Fees: Project-based pricing for specific campaigns, website redesigns, and experiential marketing initiatives with defined scopes and deliverables.
- Agency of Record Retainers: Long-term retainer arrangements providing ongoing marketing services, strategic planning, and campaign execution for designated client accounts.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels8 records
Madden Media product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Madden Media is a full-service destination marketing agency serving Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs), state tourism departments, and economic development organizations. The agency delivers strategic planning, creative development, media buying, public relations, SEO, email marketing, MarTech/website development, and proprietary data analytics through its Voyage Destination Intelligence suite, operating primarily under Agency of Record (AOR) retainer relationships.
Product overview
Madden Media is a full-service destination marketing agency that operates as a unified platform combining strategic planning, data analytics, creative services, web/martech, media buying, public relations, email marketing, and SEO. The core offering centers on their Destination Intelligence suite called Voyage, which includes Atlas (audience personas), Beacon, GPS, Waypoint, and Flare modules. The agency also provides specialized services in creative production, public relations including crisis communications, and website development using WordPress CMS. All services are designed specifically for Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs), tourism boards, and destination management entities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Strategic Planning Comprehensive destination marketing strategy development including brand positioning, audience targeting, and campaign planning for tourism organizations and destination marketing organizations.
- Destination Intelligence (Voyage) Proprietary data analytics suite including Atlas (audience personas), Beacon, GPS, Waypoint, and Flare modules that provide insights for destination marketing decisions, campaign performance measurement, and visitor behavior tracking.
- Creative Services Full-service creative including brand development, visual identity, content creation, video production, photography, and experiential marketing campaigns for destination marketing clients.
- MarTech / Web Development Website design and development using WordPress CMS, marketing technology implementation, and digital platform solutions with AI-powered optimization for destination marketing organizations.
- Media Buying Digital and traditional media planning and buying services including paid search, display advertising, social media ads, and video distribution for destination marketing clients.
- Public Relations PR strategy, media relations, crisis communications, press releases, and media coordination for tourism destinations and destination marketing organizations.
- Email Marketing Email campaign development, optimization, and automation for destination marketing including newsletters and promotional campaigns targeting potential visitors.
- SEO Search engine optimization services including strategy, audits, competitive analysis, keyword research, content strategy, predictive analytics, and domain migration for travel and destination websites.
Quantifiable outcome
- 19M+ campaign impressions and 190K+ clicks achieved for Door County
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Madden Media
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Madden Media technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability8 records
Feature2 records
Madden Media partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Karsh HagancoreStrategic partnership announced November 2025 to create a new agency combining storytelling and data-led marketing capabilities. The partnership merges Madden Media's destination marketing expertise with Karsh Hagan's creative and brand development capabilities to offer enhanced integrated marketing services to tourism and destination clients.
- TempestminorAgency partnership for Visit Pasadena website redesign project. Tempest collaborated with Madden Media to deliver the award-winning destination website that won HSMAI Silver Adrian Awards.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Madden Media competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Havas: Havas is a global advertising and communications group operating integrated agency networks across travel, tourism, and consumer verticals. It occasionally competes with Madden Media on larger enterprise tourism RFPs where global execution and multi-market media buying are required.
- Publicis Groupe: Publicis is one of the world's largest advertising holding companies with significant travel and tourism practice capabilities. It competes for enterprise tourism and destination marketing accounts as part of a broader portfolio, serving as a large-scale incumbent alternative to specialized agencies like Madden.
- Ogilvy: Ogilvy is a global advertising and marketing services network with a travel and tourism practice. While not specialized exclusively in destination marketing, it competes for larger state and country tourism accounts that Madden also pursues, representing a broad incumbent threat on premium RFPs.
- Barkley: Barkley is an independent advertising and marketing agency with experience in tourism and consumer brand work. While not exclusively focused on destination marketing, it competes for select DMO and tourism marketing RFPs as part of a broader portfolio of client services.
- Dentsu: Dentsu is a global advertising and marketing services group with travel and tourism capabilities across multiple agency brands. It competes for larger state, national, and international destination marketing contracts where buyers prefer a multi-region holding company partner.
Direct peers
- MMGY Global: MMGY Global is one of the largest integrated marketing firms exclusively serving the travel, tourism, and hospitality industry, offering research, branding, advertising, and digital services to destinations, hotels, and travel brands. It is the most direct head-to-head competitor to Madden Media in the U.S. destination marketing agency space.
- Development Counsellors International (DCI): DCI is a marketing firm specializing in economic development and place branding, helping cities, regions, and countries attract business investment, talent, and visitors through targeted marketing campaigns. It directly overlaps with Madden Media's economic development organization segment.
- Karsh Hagan: Karsh Hagan is a Denver-based creative and brand development agency that merged with Madden Media in November 2025 to form the combined entity KHM. It is now a sister brand within the combined agency, bringing complementary creative, media, and analytics capabilities to the partnership.
- Tempest: Tempest is a full-service creative agency delivering brand strategy, design, and digital marketing. It collaborated with Madden Media on the Visit Pasadena website redesign that won a 2025 HSMAI Silver Adrian Award, making it a working peer and proven partner across destination marketing engagements.
- Miles Partnership: Miles Partnership is a marketing and strategic communications agency focused exclusively on destination marketing, working with state tourism offices, CVBs, and DMOs on media planning, content strategy, and integrated campaigns. Its vertical-only focus and DMO client base make it nearly identical in positioning to Madden Media.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Madden Media social profiles
Digital presenceMadden Media financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Madden Media leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Madden Media funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Madden Media M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A2 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Madden Media
What does Madden Media do?
Madden Media is a full-service destination marketing agency serving Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs), state tourism departments, and economic development organizations. The agency delivers strategic planning, creative development, media buying, public relations, SEO, email marketing, MarTech/website development, and proprietary data analytics through its Voyage Destination Intelligence suite, operating primarily under Agency of Record (AOR) retainer relationships.
Is Madden Media a public or private company?
Madden Media is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Madden Media founded?
Madden Media was founded in 1982. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Madden Media based?
Madden Media is headquartered in Tucson, United States, in the North America region.
How does Madden Media make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Professional Services - Agency Fees are the primary driver. The others are campaign-Based Fees and agency of Record Retainers.
Who are Madden Media's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Havas, Publicis Groupe, Ogilvy, Barkley and Dentsu. Direct peers are MMGY Global, Development Counsellors International (DCI), Karsh Hagan, Tempest and Miles Partnership.
Does Madden Media have an API?
No public API is recorded for Madden Media.
What industry is Madden Media in?
Madden Media's product category is Tourism Marketing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAEAHAF, Fantasy Contests, Leagues & Tournament Organizers. Its NAICS code is 541840 and its SIC code is 7311.