What Pollinate does

Pollinate is a privately held, full-service creative and digital agency headquartered in Portland, Oregon, founded in 2008 during the Great Recession by Levi Patterson, Al Lukies, and Ben Waldron. The firm operates with 101-250 employees organized across seven integrated disciplines under one roof: Creative Services, Video Production, Media, Development, UX/UI, Analytics, and Account Services. This structure enables end-to-end campaign delivery from strategy and brand identity through creative production, media planning and buying, digital product development, and post-launch analytics optimization.

The agency's technology stack spans WordPress (including headless/static deployments), Azure cloud infrastructure with SQL, Cosmos Document DB, and Blob storage, iOS and Android mobile development, Shopify e-commerce builds, and accessibility integrations such as AccessiBe. Pollinate maintains a sister-company relationship (not a subsidiary) with Spectrum, a 3D product customization SaaS platform that integrates real-time visualization into client e-commerce environments, exemplified by the Specialized Bottle Customizer site.

Revenue is generated through quote-based professional services engagements (project work plus retainers) for a client base of 40+ brands spanning consumer retail (New Seasons Market, lululemon, Specialized), government and lottery (Oregon Lottery, Oregon Teacher of the Year), financial services (First Tech Federal Credit Union), food and beverage (Feast Portland, Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey), and nonprofits (Call to Safety, Surfrider Foundation). The company is independently owned with no disclosed venture capital, private equity, or parent company, and Levi Patterson maintains personal involvement in new business development.

Name

Pollinate

Legal name

Pollinate

Website

https://pollinate.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Pollinate is a Portland-based, privately held full-service creative and digital agency founded in 2008, serving 40+ consumer, government, financial services, and nonprofit clients with integrated creative, video, media, development, UX/UI, and analytics services under one roof.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Marketing and Creative Agency Services

NAICS

Media Buying Agencies (541830), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Influencer Media Amplification (Paid Creator Whitelisting/Spark Ads) (MPAAABAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Lead Generation & List Building Services (Prospecting, Data Sourcing) (BPAFAKAE)

Keywords

• Full-service creative agency
• Digital marketing services
• Web and app development
• Media planning and buying
• Video production services

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Marketing Agency Services: Full-service agency providing creative, media, development, UX/UI, analytics, and account services to brands. Revenue generated through project-based work, retainer agreements, and campaign execution for clients across various industries including retail, government, financial services, and food/beverage.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Pollinate is a full-service creative and digital agency that delivers integrated marketing campaigns and digital products for brand clients. Its offerings span Creative Services (brand identity, copywriting, design), Video Production, Media planning/buying, Development (websites, mobile apps, e-commerce), UX/UI design, Analytics, and Account Services, executed under one in-house roof. The firm also maintains a sister SaaS company, Spectrum, providing 3D product customization technology integrated into client e-commerce builds.

Product overview

Pollinate is a full-service advertising and digital agency that combines multiple service offerings—Creative Services, Video Production, Media, Development, UX/UI, Analytics, and Account Services—into integrated campaigns. The agency operates as a unified team collaborating across disciplines to deliver client work, as evidenced by projects like Oregon Lottery's digital platform (Dev, UX, UI and Creative teams working together). Pollinate also has a sister company, Spectrum, which operates as a separate SaaS platform providing 3D product customization technology. The agency leverages third-party integrations including AccessiBe for accessibility compliance and Shopify for e-commerce builds.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Spectrum: A 3D customization platform that allows brands to offer easy, accurate product customization in their own e-commerce environment and integrates directly with factories for personalized SKU production. Spectrum is described as Pollinate's 'sister company' rather than a subsidiary.

Products and services

• Creative Services Brand identity and campaign development including strategy, concepting, copywriting, photography, illustration, design systems, messaging, voice and tone development, and sonic branding for brands seeking integrated creative campaigns.
• Video Production Full-scale video production from concept to post-production, including broadcast, connected TV, social video, animation and motion graphics for brands and organizations.
• Media Planning and Buying Media planning and buying across digital and traditional channels, platform management, research, creative asset trafficking, brand safety implementation, reporting, optimization, and analytics.
• Development Website and mobile app development including WordPress theme and plugin development, static/headless solutions, hosting, e-commerce and Shopify integration; iOS and Android apps with custom backend and API development on Azure; tech strategy and cloud architecture.
• UX/UI Design User experience and interface design including user flows, wireframes, interactive prototypes, site maps, expert usability reviews, and user testing for client digital products.
• Analytics Analytics services including KPI definition, tracking strategy and implementation, data analysis, optimizations, and recommendations across media campaigns and digital products.
• Account Services Account and project management including budget and timeline tracking, status meetings, client communication, strategic perspectives, and project coordination across engagements.
• Spectrum 3D Customizer (Sister Company) 3D product customization SaaS platform (sister company to Pollinate) that enables brands to offer real-time product customization in their e-commerce environment, integrating directly with factories for personalized SKU production.

Quantifiable outcome

• Oregon Lottery Cash Pop: +567% increase in average monthly revenue
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AccessiBecoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with AccessiBe for ADA compliance implementation. AccessiBe is a licensed widget that Pollinate integrates into client websites (starting at $490/year). Pollinate's dev team can implement the widget in about 8 hours and recommends quarterly website audits for continued compliance. Pollinate also uses AccessiBe on their own website.
• Integral Ad Science (IAS)coreTechnology or IntegrationPollinate uses Integral Ad Science (IAS) as their ad verification tool to measure brand safety risk, identify invalid traffic, and ensure viewability for client campaigns. IAS provides page-level analysis to dynamically score webpages and determine content risk categories.
• El Programa's UNICAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with El Programa's UNICA program to produce Spanish-language versions of radio and TV ads for Call to Safety campaign, directing to their bilingual crisis line.
• Spectrum CustomizercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpectrum is Pollinate's sister company - a 3D customization platform that allows brands to offer easy, accurate product customization in their own e-commerce environment. Pollinate integrates Spectrum's 3D visualization into client projects like Specialized's Bottle Customizer site, enabling customers to visualize designs in striking 3D before checkout.
• Oregon-based Multicultural PartnersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMulticultural media partners for Oregon Lottery Cash Pop launch campaign to reach diverse audiences across Oregon.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Instrument: Portland-based independent digital agency with comparable full-service capabilities (brand, creative, media, digital product development). Closely matched on geography, scale, and integrated service model, making it the most direct peer for competitive wins in the Pacific Northwest.
• 72andSunny: Independent full-service creative agency with strong brand campaign and integrated production capabilities across film, digital, and experiential. Comparable on independent ownership, creative-led positioning, and emphasis on culture-defining work for consumer brands.
• Huge: Independent digital experience agency with integrated capabilities across brand, media, technology, and product design. Closely comparable on end-to-end creative + digital product + media model and mid-to-large client engagements.
• Mekanism: Independent creative agency blending advertising, brand storytelling, and content production with integrated media planning. Comparable on independent ownership, mid-market positioning, and emphasis on emotionally resonant brand campaigns.
• Firstborn: Independent digital agency offering creative, media, technology, and production services to consumer and lifestyle brands. Comparable on integrated service stack and mid-to-large brand client engagements.

Broad incumbents

• Wieden+Kennedy: Iconic Portland-headquartered independent creative agency serving global brands (Nike, Coca-Cola, etc.) with strong creative, media, and content capabilities. Comparable in heritage and Pacific Northwest base, but operates at substantially larger scale and with broader global footprint.
• R/GA: Global experience and design agency with combined creative, media planning, technology, and consulting capabilities. Comparable to Pollinate's integrated creative + development + media positioning, but operates at much larger scale with offices globally.
• AKQA: Global digital agency within the WPP network offering creative, brand, and technology services. Comparable on the integration of creative, media, and technical development, but part of a larger holding-company infrastructure.
• Merkle: Large performance-marketing and customer experience agency (Dentsu) offering media, analytics, and technology-enabled campaign execution. Comparable on the media buying + analytics + technology development stack targeting enterprise brands.

Regional players

• North Kingdom: Swedish digital experience agency with creative, strategy, and digital production capabilities. Comparable on integrated digital campaign delivery and brand storytelling, though primarily serving European clients rather than competing directly in Pollinate's Pacific Northwest base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pollinate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 Pollinate