What Pilch & Barnet does

Pilch + Barnet is a privately held, full-service destination marketing agency founded in 2001 and headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. The firm serves destination marketing organizations (DMOs), convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs), chambers of commerce, and select retail and hospitality clients, primarily across Wisconsin but with documented reach into 11 states including a 10-state regional engagement for Mississippi River Country. Service offerings span brand development, website design and development, content creation (copywriting, graphic design, video, photography), digital marketing (SEO, e-newsletters, apps), social media management across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest, public relations and earned media, advertising strategy and media buying, and organizational management consulting.

The firm operates a differentiated cooperative marketing program called Wisconsin Travel Best Bets that allows Wisconsin destinations to pool resources for shared campaigns, and develops proprietary digital assets including mobile applications (notably the Map It Vilas County trails app with 60,000 lifetime downloads), custom websites with multi-state content architecture, and GIF-based content distributed through Giphy and Tenor reaching 160 million+ views. Technology integrations include Checkfront booking software for client lodging properties.

Revenue is generated through professional services fees custom-quoted per project scope. The firm employs 11-15 staff led by co-founders Lyn Pilch (25 years of destination marketing experience) and Susanne Thiede-Barnet (nearly 30 years of media planning and PR experience), both of whom serve as managing directors of the Mississippi River Parkway Commission and Mississippi River Country USA, providing industry leadership visibility. The company has operated continuously for over 20 years with no disclosed external funding, no M&A activity, and demonstrated long-term client retention including a nearly 20-year relationship with Vilas County Tourism.

Name

Pilch & Barnet

Legal name

Pilch + Barnet

Website

https://pilchbarnet.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pilch + Barnet is a Madison, Wisconsin-based destination marketing agency founded in 2001 that provides branding, web design, digital marketing, social media, and PR services to DMOs, CVBs, chambers of commerce, and tourism clients across 11 states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Marketing Services: Full-service marketing agency offering brand development, digital marketing, content creation, social media management, website development, and marketing services to destination marketing organizations, CVBs, chambers of commerce, and travel/tourism businesses.
2. Cooperative Marketing Programs: Pilch + Barnet established Wisconsin Travel Best Bets, a cooperative marketing group allowing destinations to pool resources for larger marketing campaigns, photo/video contests, giveaways, and regional mailers.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Pilch + Barnet is a full-service destination marketing agency that provides brand development, website design and development, content creation, social media marketing, digital marketing, mobile app development, and public relations services. The firm specializes in serving destination marketing organizations (DMOs), convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs), chambers of commerce, and tourism-related businesses primarily in Wisconsin and across 11 states. The agency also operates Wisconsin Travel Best Bets, a cooperative marketing program enabling Wisconsin destinations to pool resources for joint campaigns.

Product overview

Pilch + Barnet is a full-service destination marketing agency offering a comprehensive suite of services unified around travel and tourism marketing. The agency's core offerings span Website Design & Development, Brand Development, Content Creation (including copywriting, graphic design, video, photography, and visitor guides), Digital Marketing (SEO, apps, e-newsletters), Social Media Marketing (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, influencer partnerships), Marketing Services (advertising strategy, PR, analytics), App Design & Development, and Organizational Management. The firm also operates Wisconsin Travel Best Bets, a cooperative marketing program allowing Wisconsin destinations to pool resources for expanded marketing reach. Services are tailored for destinations (CVBs, DMOs), shopping centers, event venues, and tourism-related organizations across 11 states.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Website Design & Development Custom website development for travel destinations, including responsive design, SEO optimization, content management, and e-commerce capabilities for bookings.
• Brand Development Strategic branding services including brand strategy, logo design, visual identity systems, and brand messaging for destinations and businesses.
• Content Creation Multi-format content production including copywriting, graphic design, video production, photography, and visitor guide creation for marketing campaigns.
• Digital Marketing Comprehensive digital marketing services including SEO, web design, app development, e-newsletters, contests, and promotions for destination marketing.
• Social Media Marketing Social media management and advertising across Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, including influencer partnerships for destination marketing.
• Marketing Services Strategic marketing services including advertising strategy, budget development, media buying, public relations, reporting, analytics, and training.
• App Design & Development Mobile app development for travel destinations, including trail apps and visitor information apps with GPS, offline functionality, and content sync capabilities.
• Organizational Management Strategic planning, stakeholder coordination, and organizational development services for destination marketing organizations and chambers.
• Wisconsin Travel Best Bets Cooperative marketing group enabling Wisconsin destinations to pool resources for innovative marketing campaigns, photo/video contests, giveaways, and regional outreach.

Named customers10 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

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Mississippi River Parkway Commission / Mississippi River Country USAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLyn Pilch and Susanne Thiede-Barnet both serve as managing directors of MRPC-MRC, a 10-state regional tourism organization. This relationship provides Pilch + Barnet with industry leadership visibility and informs their destination marketing expertise.
• Wisconsin Department of TourismcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted regional branding assessments for clients; provided Joint Effort Marketing Grant funding for Northwoods ATV-UTV campaign. Supports cooperative marketing initiatives.
• Wisconsin Travel Best BetscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperative marketing group established by Pilch + Barnet allowing Wisconsin destination clients to pool resources for larger campaigns including photo contests, giveaways, regional mailers, and Instagram ad campaigns.
• Governor Tony Evers / State of WisconsinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernor recognized May 18th as Hodag Day in Wisconsin, providing official state recognition for Rhinelander's mascot campaign.
• Oneida County, Langlade County, Forest County, Lincoln CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFour-county regional partnership for Northwoods ATV-UTV marketing initiative, aided by Wisconsin Department of Tourism Joint Effort Marketing Grant.

Scale indicators20 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hiebing: Madison, Wisconsin-based integrated marketing agency offering branding, digital, content, and media services. Geographic peer with overlapping service capabilities and competitive overlap for Wisconsin-based clients.
• TwoNil: Digital marketing and creative agency serving tourism, travel, and destination clients with web, content, and digital campaign services. Comparable in services mix and vertical.
• Miles Partnership: Specialist travel and tourism marketing agency working with destinations, CVBs, DMOs, and hospitality brands on strategy, content, and media. Closest direct competitor to Pilch + Barnet in destination marketing depth and client base.
• Development Counsellors International (DCI): Destination marketing and economic development agency with deep DMO/state tourism practice, including branding, digital, and PR services. Comparable in vertical specialization and agency size class.
• HughesLeighty: Destination and tourism marketing agency providing branding, digital, content, and media services to DMOs and tourism entities. Direct peer in niche, services, and client profile.
• Tempest: Tourism marketing agency working with destinations, attractions, and travel brands across digital strategy, content, and media. Comparable vertical focus with similar multi-service offering for DMOs.
• BVK: Full-service agency with a long-standing destination marketing practice serving state tourism offices, DMOs, and travel brands. Comparable in vertical focus, multi-service offering, and long-tenured client relationships.

Regional players

• Planet Propaganda: Madison, Wisconsin-based creative agency offering branding, design, and integrated marketing. Geographic peer competing for regional Wisconsin clients, though broader than tourism-specific.

Broad incumbents

• Mower (formerly Eric Mower + Associates): Large integrated marketing agency network with a destination/tourism practice among broader industry verticals. Larger and broader than Pilch + Barnet, but competes for similar destination marketing RFPs.
• Lewis Communications: Full-service agency with destination, tourism, and economic development practices. Larger and more diversified, but competes in the same DMO/CVB space with similar full-service offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/pilchbarnet
• Facebookfacebook.com/PilchBarnet
• Instagraminstagram.com/pilchbarnet
• Xx.com/pilchbarnet

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 Pilch & Barnet