POD Marketing
POD Marketing is a Calgary-based B2B digital marketing agency that delivers web design, SEO, PPC, social media, and consulting services through four specialized healthcare-adjacent verticals serving SMB optometry, dental, and senior living clients across North America.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersCalgary, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What POD Marketing does
POD Marketing Inc. is a privately held, Calgary-based B2B digital marketing agency founded in 2014 by CEO Kevin Wilhelm and CFO Karim Ali. The company operates as the parent of four specialized healthcare-adjacent verticals: Marketing4ECPs (eye care, serving 1,000+ practices across North America), CITIZEN (senior living communities, launched 2021), SmileShop Dental Marketing (dental practices and DSOs), and Cleinman Performance Partners (optometry business consulting, acquired January 2025). An additional eye care brand, Innexus Marketing, was acquired in June 2021. The full-time team stood at 130+ employees as of 2024.
POD delivers end-to-end digital marketing services including web design and development, SEO, pay-per-click advertising, organic and paid social media management, content creation, graphic design, and marketing automation. It is a Google Premier Partner with certified Google Ads expertise, and supports execution with custom marketing dashboards built by in-house "marketing scientists." The Cleinman division extends the offering into higher-margin professional services including business development consulting, HR services, peer-to-peer networks, and practice transition support for larger optometry practices.
Revenue is generated primarily through the Client Approved Program (CAP), a monthly subscription model that bills clients for an ongoing bundle of marketing services with 24-month minimum terms on websites and 90-day minimums on enhanced services, plus a separate Launch Program for onboarding. Go-to-market is sales-led with dedicated account managers and a structured intake process, distributed through direct sales, website contact forms, and industry networking. No external funding rounds have been disclosed; growth has been organic and acquisition-led, including the Full Contact Marketing, Innexus, and Cleinman deals.
POD Marketing firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- POD Marketing
- Legal name
- POD Marketing Inc.
- Website
- https://podmarketinginc.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- POD Marketing is a Calgary-based B2B digital marketing agency that delivers web design, SEO, PPC, social media, and consulting services through four specialized healthcare-adjacent verticals serving SMB optometry, dental, and senior living clients across North America.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
POD Marketing industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Marketing Services
- NAICS
- Other Services Related to Advertising (541890), Media Buying Agencies (541830)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Product & Brand PR (Consumer & B2B) (BPAFADAH)
Keywords
Where POD Marketing is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Calgary
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
POD Marketing business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Client Approved Program (CAP) Subscription: Monthly subscription model for advertising and marketing services under the Client Approved Program (CAP). Clients receive ongoing marketing services including web design, SEO, pay-per-click, social media, and digital advertising. Pricing subject to annual increases with 14 days notice. Minimum terms: 24 months for websites, 90 days for enhanced services.
- Launch Program Services: Marketing and advertising services under the Launch Program with flexible terms. Includes onboarding, strategy development, and implementation of marketing campaigns.
- Strategic Business Consulting: Through Cleinman Performance Partners, provides business development consulting, HR services, peer-to-peer networks, and practice transition services to optometry practices.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Custom monthly subscription based on client needs and scope of services |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
POD Marketing product offering
Product offeringCore offering
POD Marketing is a B2B digital marketing agency that delivers complete end-to-end marketing services—including web design, SEO, pay-per-click advertising, social media management, content creation, graphic design, and marketing automation—through four specialized healthcare-adjacent vertical brands: Marketing4ECPs (eye care), CITIZEN (senior living), SmileShop Dental Marketing (dental), and Cleinman Performance Partners (optometry practice consulting). Services are sold primarily as monthly recurring subscriptions under the Client Approved Program (CAP) and Launch Program, with a Google Premier Partner status enabling expert Google Ads delivery.
Product overview
POD Marketing is a parent company operating four specialized marketing verticals plus optometry consulting services. The core marketing verticals include Marketing4ECPs (eye care), CITIZEN (senior living), SmileShop Dental Marketing (dental), and Cleinman Performance Partners (optometry practice consulting). Each vertical operates under its own brand with dedicated websites while sharing centralized POD Marketing services including marketing strategy, content creation, graphic design, web development, PPC, SEO, and automation. The company also operates an acquired brand, Innexus Marketing (eye care, founded 2003). Google Premier Partner status enables expert Google Ads services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Marketing4ECPs: Digital marketing services for eye care professionals including ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians.
- CITIZEN
- SmileShop Dental Marketing
- Cleinman Performance Partners
Products and services
- Marketing4ECPs
- CITIZEN Marketing services specifically designed for senior living communities, providing transparent and cost-effective marketing strategies including brand development, website development, lead generation campaigns, digital advertising, SEO, and marketing automation.
- SmileShop Dental Marketing Digital marketing services for dental practices, offering compliance-focused marketing strategies that navigate strict regulations and bylaws while differentiating practices for independent operations or Dental Service Organizations (DSOs).
- Cleinman Performance Partners Business development consultancy for optometry practices offering personalized consulting, HR services, data-driven insights, peer-to-peer networks, and comprehensive practice transition services for larger private optometry practices across North America.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 1,000 eye care practices served across North America
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use POD Marketing
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
POD Marketing technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
POD Marketing partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Cleinman Performance PartnerscorePOD Marketing acquired Cleinman Performance Partners, North America's premier business development consultancy for larger private optometry practices, effective January 1, 2025. Founded in 1989, Cleinman has facilitated thousands of strategic initiatives. Founder Alan Cleinman will continue in an active role focusing on optometric transactions, writing, and speaking. Tim Aiken continues as President overseeing daily operations. The partnership combines Cleinman's consulting expertise with Marketing4ECPs' marketing capabilities.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights4 records
POD Marketing competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Ignite Visibility: Full-service digital marketing agency with strong SEO, paid media, and email marketing capabilities serving SMB and mid-market clients. A close directional peer to POD Marketing given similar service mix, North American footprint, and SMB-to-mid-market focus.
- Cardinal Digital Marketing: Healthcare-specialist digital marketing agency providing SEO, PPC, social media, and web design to multi-location healthcare practices across the US. Closely comparable to POD Marketing's Marketing4ECPs and SmileShop verticals given its identical healthcare-vertical play and service mix.
- Disruptive Advertising: PPC and digital marketing agency focused on paid media, SEO, and conversion optimization for SMBs and mid-market clients, including healthcare-adjacent verticals. Highly comparable to POD Marketing given its emphasis on paid acquisition and recurring retainer model.
- SmartBug Media: Inbound marketing and digital agency with strong HubSpot and marketing automation expertise serving B2B healthcare and SaaS clients. Comparable to POD Marketing through shared emphasis on marketing automation, recurring retainers, and vertical-focused go-to-market.
- PatientPop (legacy brand, now Tebra): Healthcare practice marketing and patient acquisition platform offering website design, SEO, and reputation management to medical practices. Highly comparable to POD Marketing's Marketing4ECPs business given shared healthcare-vertical focus and overlap in service capabilities.
- Intrepy Healthcare Marketing: Healthcare-specialized digital marketing agency focused on private medical practices, with strength in specialty verticals such as optometry, med spa, and dental. Closely comparable to POD Marketing's verticalized healthcare agency model and target SMB private practice customer base.
- Thrive Internet Marketing Agency: Full-service digital marketing agency offering SEO, PPC, social media, web design, and marketing automation to SMB and mid-market clients across North America. Closely aligned with POD Marketing's core service stack and mid-market SMB target customer profile.
Broad incumbents
- WebFX: Larger, established full-service digital marketing agency offering SEO, PPC, web design, and marketing automation across many industries. Provides a comparable offering but at significantly greater scale and with broader (less healthcare-vertical-specific) positioning than POD Marketing.
- Demandforce (Intuit): Marketing and patient communication platform acquired by Intuit that provides automated marketing, reputation management, and recall messaging to dental, optometry, and other healthcare practices. Comparable to POD Marketing's eye care and dental verticals with healthcare-specific SaaS-plus-marketing positioning.
Emerging players
- Tebra (formerly PatientPop): Healthcare practice growth platform offering marketing automation, patient engagement, and practice management software bundled with digital marketing services. Comparable to POD Marketing through overlapping healthcare-vertical marketing and practice-acquisition use cases, though delivered as a software-plus-services platform.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
POD Marketing social profiles
Digital presencePOD Marketing compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
POD Marketing financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
POD Marketing leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
POD Marketing subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries5 records
POD Marketing funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
POD Marketing M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about POD Marketing
What does POD Marketing do?
POD Marketing is a B2B digital marketing agency that delivers complete end-to-end marketing services—including web design, SEO, pay-per-click advertising, social media management, content creation, graphic design, and marketing automation—through four specialized healthcare-adjacent vertical brands: Marketing4ECPs (eye care), CITIZEN (senior living), SmileShop Dental Marketing (dental), and Cleinman Performance Partners (optometry practice consulting). Services are sold primarily as monthly recurring subscriptions under the Client Approved Program (CAP) and Launch Program, with a Google Premier Partner status enabling expert Google Ads delivery.
Is POD Marketing a public or private company?
POD Marketing is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was POD Marketing founded?
POD Marketing was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is POD Marketing based?
POD Marketing is headquartered in Calgary, Canada, in the North America region.
How does POD Marketing make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Client Approved Program (CAP) Subscription is the primary driver. The others are launch Program Services and strategic Business Consulting.
Who are POD Marketing's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Ignite Visibility, Cardinal Digital Marketing, Disruptive Advertising, SmartBug Media, PatientPop (legacy brand, now Tebra), Intrepy Healthcare Marketing and Thrive Internet Marketing Agency. Broad incumbents are WebFX and Demandforce (Intuit). Tebra (formerly PatientPop) is listed as an emerging player.
Does POD Marketing have an API?
No public API is recorded for POD Marketing.
What industry is POD Marketing in?
POD Marketing's product category is Digital Marketing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFADAH, Product & Brand PR (Consumer & B2B). Its NAICS code is 541890 and its SIC code is 7311.