Parson + Associates

What Parson + Associates does

Parson + Associates (P+A) is a Kansas City, Missouri-based public relations and strategic communications firm organized as an LLC, founded and led by Jason Parson, a disabled U.S. Army and Air Force veteran. The firm operates as a privately held, owner-operated boutique with fewer than 50 employees and offers five integrated service lines: Public Relations (media relations, crisis communications, event planning), Strategic Communications (brand identity, digital content, campaigns, web development), Visual Storytelling (drone photography, videography, graphic design), Governmental Relations (campaign management, press conferences, stakeholder coordination), and Community Outreach & Engagement (consensus building, facilitation, public meetings). P+A holds four certifications — Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE), and Small Local Business Enterprise (SLBE) — that are positioned as procurement advantages on public-sector contracts.

Revenue is generated through project-based professional services engagements, with pricing quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The go-to-market motion is overwhelmingly direct enterprise and government sales: targeted outreach to municipal departments, infrastructure developers, design-build joint ventures, and engineering firms in the Kansas City metro and broader Midwest. Notable clients and engagements include the Kansas City International Airport New Terminal project (2017–2023, valued at over $1.5B at the program level), the KC Streetcar Downtown Starter Line Construction (2013–2016), the Blue River Biosolids Facility transformation (2018–present), J.E. Dunn Construction's East Patrol campus, Edgemoor, Helix Architecture+Design, and multiple City of Kansas City departments (KC Water, Aviation Department, Streetcar Authority).

The firm has no proprietary software, technology platform, or disclosed AI/ML capability; delivery rests on methodology, local civic relationships, and a team largely composed of former Kansas City government and municipal communications staff. Distribution is supplemented by organic social (Facebook, X, LinkedIn), the Parson Playbook email newsletter, case-study-driven website content, and earned media (e.g., Kansas City Star coverage), with milestone events such as groundbreakings and beam signings serving as bottom-of-funnel relationship touchpoints. The company also operates Project MRE, a community initiative founded in 2014 that delivers meals to Kansas City veterans and scaled from 160 served in its inaugural year to 400 in the 2024 tenth-anniversary event.

Name

Parson + Associates

Legal name

Parson + Associates LLC

Website

https://parsonkc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Parson + Associates is a privately held Kansas City public relations and strategic communications firm serving government agencies, infrastructure developers, and design-build contractors. It delivers PR, community engagement, government relations, visual storytelling, and project communications on major civic and infrastructure programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Relations Services

NAICS

Public Relations Agencies (541820), Public Relations Agencies (54182)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Affairs & Government Relations (MPAAADAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Public Sector & Policy Consulting (BPAHACAN)

Keywords

• Public relations services
• Strategic communications
• Community engagement
• Government relations
• Infrastructure outreach

Headquarters

HQ city

Kansas City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Strategic Communications: Project-based consulting engagements for public relations, strategic communications, community engagement, and government relations. Revenue derived from long-term contracts with government agencies and project developers on major infrastructure initiatives.
2. Project Management Services: Strategic project management for transportation, infrastructure, water, and design and construction projects. Services provided throughout project lifecycle from planning through execution.
3. Community Outreach and Engagement: Public involvement services including facilitation, consensus building, community feedback collection, and stakeholder coordination for large-scale civic projects.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Parson + Associates (P+A) is a Kansas City-based public relations and strategic communications firm that delivers five integrated service lines: Public Relations, Strategic Communications, Visual Storytelling, Governmental Relations, and Community Outreach & Engagement. The firm partners with government agencies, municipalities, and infrastructure/construction firms to manage community engagement, stakeholder coordination, media relations, and project communications throughout the lifecycle of major civic, transportation, water, and design-and-build projects.

Product overview

Parson + Associates (P+A) is a public relations and strategic communications firm offering a unified suite of professional services. The core offering consists of five integrated service lines: Public Relations (media relations, crisis communications, event planning), Strategic Communications (digital content, campaigns, website development), Visual Storytelling (aerial photography, videography, graphic design), Governmental Relations (campaign management, press conferences, special events), and Community Outreach & Engagement (consensus building, facilitation, public meetings). These services work together to provide comprehensive communications support for infrastructure, government, and civic projects, particularly in the Kansas City region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Public Relations

Quantifiable outcome

• $90,000+ raised for COVID-19 relief through beam signing event at KCI Airport topping out milestone
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• KC Water (City of Kansas City Water Department)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018P+A has worked alongside KC Water from 2018 to present providing communication support for the Blue River Biosolids Facility transformation. Created and managed dedicated project website, produced construction update newsletter, and coordinated milestone events including Congressional Tour.
• Carollo EngineerscoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2018Engineering firm on Blue River Biosolids Facility project. P+A provided communication support alongside Carollo Engineers for this innovative wastewater treatment facility, the first in the Midwest to employ Thermal Hydraulic Process technology.
• Edgemoor Infrastructure and Real EstateflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Edgemoor served as developer for the Kansas City International Airport New Terminal project, the largest single infrastructure project in Kansas City history. P+A worked with Edgemoor to engage elected officials, coordinate the Speakers Bureau, and build community support for the airport measure. Managing Director Geoff Stricker provided testimonial endorsement of P+A's work.
• Clark | Weitz | Clarkson Joint VentureflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Joint venture served as design-builder for KCI Airport New Terminal. P+A provided community engagement and outreach support, helped shape the Community Benefits Agreement, and provided logistics for the Strategic Partnership Program with Clark Construction which provided small businesses with resources on HR, bonding, and capacity building.
• PeachTree Café'teriaminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2014Local Kansas City restaurant that provided home-cooked meals for the inaugural Project MRE event in 2014, serving 160 veterans and their families. Partnership has expanded over 10 years to deliver hundreds of hot meals annually to Kansas City veterans.
• KC Streetcar Constructors (Herzog Contracting Corp. and Stacey and Witbeck, Inc. Joint Venture)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013P+A provided public relations, communications, and stakeholder coordination services for KC Streetcar Downtown Starter Line Construction (2013-2016). Attended daily contractor meetings and coordinated with project team on construction updates, stakeholder communications, and community engagement.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mercury Public Affairs: Mercury is a global public affairs and strategic communications firm that advises governments, political campaigns, and Fortune 500 clients. Like Parson + Associates, it is built around public-affairs and government-relations work for infrastructure and civic initiatives, making it a direct comparable in mission and service mix.
• Seven Letter: Seven Letter is a strategic communications and public affairs firm focused on public-sector, corporate, and nonprofit clients. Its emphasis on crisis communications, stakeholder engagement, and high-stakes narrative work closely mirrors Parson + Associates' positioning for major civic and infrastructure engagements.
• Strategies 360: Strategies 360 is a public affairs, public relations, and research firm serving government, corporate, and nonprofit clients across the U.S. Its vertical structure of public affairs + communications + research parallels P+A's PR + community engagement + government relations model.
• Hattaway Communications: Hattaway is a strategic communications firm that helps foundations, nonprofits, and public-sector clients tell stories that drive civic impact. Its focus on public-interest narrative and stakeholder engagement is closely analogous to Parson + Associates' community-outreach work for infrastructure projects.
• Vox Global: Vox Global is a public affairs agency that specializes in government relations, crisis communications, and strategic storytelling for corporations and associations. Its blend of government affairs and PR services directly parallels Parson + Associates' core offering.

Broad incumbents

• Edelman: Edelman is the world's largest PR firm with a substantial public-sector and government-affairs practice. While much broader in scale and geography than P+A, it competes in the same public-affairs and infrastructure-stakeholder engagement space and is a benchmark for the upper bound of the category.
• FleishmanHillard: FleishmanHillard is a global public relations and communications agency with a dedicated public affairs practice serving government and infrastructure clients. It overlaps with P+A on government-relations and infrastructure communications but operates at far greater scale and geographic breadth.
• Ketchum: Ketchum is a major global communications consultancy with experience in public-sector and infrastructure clients. As a broad incumbent, it offers overlapping capabilities in stakeholder engagement and government relations but as part of a much wider portfolio of services.
• Burson (BCW): Burson is one of the largest global public relations and public affairs firms, with deep experience in government, infrastructure, and corporate communications. It competes with P+A on large infrastructure and civic engagement work but is a broad incumbent with global scale.

Regional players

• Barkley: Barkley is an independent Kansas City-based creative and marketing agency that serves major regional and national brands. As a fellow KC-rooted firm, it competes for some of the same regional marketing and brand communications talent and clients, but its focus is broader consumer marketing rather than public-affairs PR.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ParsonKC
• Facebookfacebook.com/ParsonAssociates
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/parson-&-associates-llc?trk=prof-0-ovw-curr_pos

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Parson + Associates