Mixtape Marketing

What Mixtape Marketing does

Mixtape Marketing is a full-service marketing and advertising agency headquartered in Austin, TX. Founded in 2009 by Charlie Brown and Ben Steckbeck — University of Texas at Austin alumni who previously worked together at GSD&M Idea City — the firm was originally launched as TETON Austin and rebranded to Mixtape Marketing in October 2010. The agency operates with a deliberately small 7-9 person team and offers nine core service lines: branding, design, website design and development, advertising, media planning and buying, search marketing, content writing, video production, and social media services. There is no proprietary software platform; the underlying technology is the team's combined creative, production, and digital execution capability, supported by standard web development (frontend and backend), CMS, and analytics tooling.

The business model is custom professional services delivered on a project and multi-year retainer basis, with no standardized packages, price list, or tiered offerings. Go-to-market is sales-led but powered predominantly by referrals — including referrals from other agencies — supplemented by community engagement (the Make Fuzzy Tracks music showcase and Pause+Give VTO volunteer initiative), an active blog, and organic social media. The agency rarely responds to RFPs and explicitly avoids "bundling," instead quoting each engagement individually based on the client's needs.

Mixtape's client portfolio spans early-stage startups through Fortune 50 enterprises across a wide range of industries: food and beverage (Chameleon Cold-Brew, which was acquired by Nestlé USA in 2017 following the agency's founding brand work; mmmpanadas; Granddaddy's), technology and semiconductors (Dell, Silicon Labs), energy (National Oilwell Varco, Forum Energy Technologies), insurance (Liberty Mutual), construction (White Construction Company), legal (GBKH LLP), higher education (University of Texas at Austin), hospitality (7A Ranch), healthcare (Kerrville Pediatrics), and senior living technology (Senior Living Reports). The firm is privately held, founder-owned, and has not raised external capital. Notable recognition includes the SMPS Best Firm Brochure MCA (2017), BMA Houston Lantern Award (2015), AAF Silver ADDY (2012), multiple Clutch rankings (2018-2021), and the Texas Exes Longhorn 100 (2025).

Name

Mixtape Marketing

Legal name

Mixtape Marketing LLC

Website

https://mixtapeagency.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Austin, TX-based full-service marketing and advertising agency founded in 2009. Offers branding, design, web development, advertising, media buying, and social media to clients from startups to Fortune 50 companies via a 7-9 person referral-driven team with custom pricing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Marketing and Advertising Services: Custom project-based and retainer-based engagements providing full-service marketing and advertising, including branding, design, web development, advertising, media, search, content, video, and social media services. No standardized pricing or packaged offerings — each engagement is customized to the client's actual needs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Mixtape Marketing is a full-service marketing and advertising agency that provides branding, design, website design and development, advertising, media planning and buying, search marketing, content writing, video production, and social media services. Engagements are delivered as custom, project-based or multi-year retainer work tailored to each client, with no standardized packages or self-service offerings.

Product overview

Mixtape Marketing is an award-winning, full-service marketing and advertising agency based in Austin, TX. Founded in 2009 (originally as TETON Austin), the agency offers a comprehensive suite of creative and digital services organized into nine core offerings: Branding Services, Design Services, Website Design & Development, Advertising Services, Media Planning & Buying, Search Marketing, Content Writing Services, Video Production, and Social Media Services. The agency also runs Make Fuzzy Tracks, an annual music showcase event, and maintains community engagement through its Pause+Give volunteer time off program. The agency serves clients ranging from startups to Fortune 50 companies, with notable projects including branding work for Chameleon Cold-Brew (acquired by Nestle in 2017) and ongoing partnerships with Silicon Labs and the University of Texas at Austin.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Branding Services Comprehensive branding engagements covering brand identity development, re-branding, brand hierarchy, company and product naming, logo design, qualitative research, go-to-market strategy, brand positioning, taglines, brand voice and messaging, brand standards, and style guides for clients ranging from startups to enterprise.
• Design Services
• Website Design and Development
• Advertising Services
• Media Planning and Buying
• Search Marketing
• Content Writing Services
• Video Production
• Social Media Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Chameleon Cold-Brew was acquired by Nestlé USA in 2017 following Mixtape's brand work starting in 2010
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers16 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

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Bearded PonyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBearded Pony co-presented the annual Make Fuzzy Tracks music showcase and party from 2012 to 2016. The partnership was a grassroots community-building collaboration between two Austin creative agencies. Bearded Pony ceased co-presenting after 2015, with Mixtape continuing the event independently.
• Matthew Novelli / Matthew's Kidney SearchminorOthersPro bono social media campaign partnership to help find a living kidney donor for Matthew Novelli. Mixtape created paid social ads and provided strategic consultation, leading to an appearance on FOX 7 Austin. Novelli ultimately received a kidney through a paired donation exchange. This was personally meaningful work rather than a commercial partnership.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• McGarrah Jessee: Austin-based independent creative and advertising agency of comparable size serving a mix of consumer and enterprise clients; competes for the same Austin brand and marketing engagements.
• Walz Tetrick Advertising: Austin-headquartered full-service marketing agency delivering branding, advertising, digital and media services to regional and national clients — directly comparable scope and geography.
• T3 (T-Three): Austin-based full-service advertising and digital agency delivering branding, campaign and media work; similar boutique-to-mid positioning with shared Texas client base.
• Lewis Communications: Mid-sized full-service marketing agency with similar integrated branding, digital and media capabilities for regional and consumer clients — comparable operating model.
• Tombras: Independently owned full-service advertising agency of similar size offering creative, media, branding and digital work; useful comparison for mid-market agency operating economics.
• The Variable: Boutique creative and brand agency emphasizing custom, relationship-led engagements of the kind Mixtape pitches — directly comparable positioning and pricing model.
• Springbox: Austin-based digital marketing agency offering branding, content and web services to mid-market and enterprise clients; similar capabilities and local geography.

Broad incumbents

• GSD&M: One of Austin's largest independent ad agencies and the prior employer of Mixtape's founders; significantly larger but operates in the same Austin creative ecosystem for overlapping brand work.

Emerging players

• Bonebrake Agency: Smaller emerging Austin creative agency with similar branding, web and marketing capabilities competing for the same Austin startup and SMB clients.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mixtapeagency
• YouTubevimeo.com/mixtapeagency
• Facebookfacebook.com/mixtapeagency
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mixtape-marketing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Mixtape Marketing