Drum Creative

What Drum Creative does

Drum Creative is a privately held, full-service creative and digital marketing agency founded in 2003 in Greenville, SC by Joe LaPenna and Tom Stitt. The company operates from a single headquarters at 33 Villa Road, Suite 301, with an integrated in-house photography and video studio featuring a green screen, infinity wall, and professional lighting equipment. Its core product is custom WordPress website design and development, layered with complementary services including brand strategy and visual identity (logo design, StoryBrand-based messaging, graphic design), digital marketing and SEO, video production, and photography. The company also monetizes its studio infrastructure through external rental for video, photography, and podcast production.

The agency's go-to-market is sales-led and regionally focused, targeting small to mid-sized businesses across the Greenville and Upstate South Carolina market, with selective enterprise engagements (e.g., Colas USA across 16 subsidiary sites). Lead generation runs through content marketing (a blog archive dating to 2010, social media across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube), case-study-driven portfolio pages, and a free 30-minute website strategy call that funnels prospects into discovery. The company differentiates on its StoryBrand Certified Guide designation, 20+ years of continuous operation making it the longest-running agency in Greenville, a 200+ website portfolio, and 60+ five-star Google reviews.

The revenue model is professional services, organized around project-based website builds, brand engagements, and ongoing SEO/digital marketing retainers, supplemented by studio rental income. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is quote-based per scope. Drum Creative maintains a horizontal segmentation strategy across SMB, mid-market, and enterprise tiers, and operates without external institutional investment, holding companies, or public listing. The current leadership team includes Joe LaPenna (Founder, CEO & StoryBrand Certified Guide), Bruce Plourde (COO & Client Relations), David Hantz (Director of Client Success), Paul Weathers (Creative Director), and Anthony Reese (Director of Web).

Name

Drum Creative

Legal name

Drum Creative

Website

https://drumcreative.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Drum Creative is a Greenville, SC-based full-service creative agency offering custom WordPress web design, StoryBrand-based branding, SEO, digital marketing, video production, and photography to small and mid-sized businesses across the Upstate South Carolina region, founded in 2003.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative & Digital Marketing Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Creative Concepting & Campaign Development (BPAFAEAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Creative & Brand Campaign Development (BPAFAAAB)

Keywords

• Web design services
• Digital marketing
• Branding services
• Search engine optimization
• Video production

Headquarters

HQ city

Greenville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Web Design & Development Services: Custom WordPress website design and development services for businesses. Includes discovery, design, development, testing, launch, and training phases. Revenue generated through project-based engagements for website creation and redesign.
2. Branding & Creative Services: Logo design, brand messaging, graphic design, and brand strategy services. Includes StoryBrand framework sessions to clarify brand messaging. Revenue from project-based creative engagements.
3. Digital Marketing Services: SEO services, digital marketing campaigns, and ongoing marketing support. Revenue generated through service retainers and project-based engagements.
4. Studio Rental: Video, photography, and podcast studio rental services. Provides professional setting with state-of-the-art equipment for external clients to produce content.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Drum Creative is a creative agency based in Greenville, SC that delivers web design and development on WordPress, branding (logo and graphic design), digital marketing, SEO, video production, photography, studio rental, and StoryBrand brand messaging services to businesses seeking integrated creative and marketing support.

Product overview

Drum Creative is a full-service marketing agency based in Greenville, SC, offering a comprehensive portfolio of creative and digital services. The core offering centers on Website Design & Development built on the WordPress CMS platform, complemented by Branding services (Logo Design, Graphic Design, Stylescapes), Digital Marketing (SEO Services), Video Production, Photography, and Studio Rental. The company also provides StoryBrand Brand Messaging services, which include Website Copy, SEO & Web Content, and Video Script offerings. The services are designed to work together as an integrated marketing solution—strategic brand messaging feeds into website design and development, which is then supported by photography, video, graphic design, and ongoing digital marketing. This is a services-based agency model, not a software product platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Web Design & Development Design and development of business websites built on the WordPress platform, intended for companies seeking an online presence or website refresh.
• Branding (Logo Design & Graphic Design) Logo design and graphic design services that establish brand identity and visual assets for business clients.
• Digital Marketing Digital marketing services for businesses seeking online customer acquisition and engagement.
• SEO Services Search engine optimization services to improve organic search visibility for business clients.
• Video Production Video production services producing branded video content for business marketing and communications.
• Photography Photography services to produce imagery for business branding, marketing, and web content.
• Studio Rental Rental of the agency's studio space for productions or shoots.
• StoryBrand Brand Messaging Brand messaging services using the StoryBrand framework to clarify messaging and positioning for business clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• 60 5-Star Google Reviews
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SmartSites: SmartSites is a digital agency providing web design, SEO, and PPC services primarily to SMB clients, directly comparable in target customer and core offering.
• Digital Silk: Digital Silk is a branding and web design agency that delivers brand strategy, custom websites, and digital marketing services, with a comparable premium creative agency positioning to Drum Creative.
• Blue Fountain Media: Blue Fountain Media is a digital agency offering web design, branding, and digital strategy services to mid-market and enterprise clients, closely matching Drum Creative's full-service creative agency positioning.
• Lounge Lizard: Lounge Lizard is a creative and digital marketing agency providing web design, branding, SEO, and video production services, with a comparable mix of creative and digital offerings to Drum Creative.
• Coalition Technologies: Coalition Technologies is a web design and SEO agency serving SMB and enterprise clients, directly comparable to Drum Creative's web design and SEO core services.
• Disruptive Advertising: Disruptive Advertising is a digital marketing agency offering web design, SEO, PPC, and branding services with an integrated approach comparable to Drum Creative's service stack.
• Thrive Internet Marketing Agency: Thrive is a full-service digital marketing agency offering web design, SEO, branding, and social media services, with a similar integrated services model targeting small and mid-sized businesses.
• WebFX: WebFX is a full-service digital marketing agency offering web design, SEO, and integrated digital marketing services to SMB and mid-market clients, comparable to Drum Creative's core service stack.

Broad incumbents

• HubSpot Solutions Partners (Tilt Metrics): Tilt Metrics is a HubSpot partner agency offering inbound marketing, web design, and branding services, comparable as a methodology-led agency but operating within the broader HubSpot ecosystem.

Regional players

• Big Duck: Big Duck is a branding and communications agency specializing in nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, partially overlapping with Drum Creative's branding and nonprofit segment work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC6ww_QVnR8Mo92CcY-oDqqw
• Facebookfacebook.com/drumcreative
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/drum-creative
• Instagraminstagram.com/drumcreative

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Drum Creative