Lightning Bug Public Relations

What Lightning Bug Public Relations does

Lightning Bug Public Relations is a founder-owned boutique public relations and communications agency headquartered at 136 Main Street in Augusta, Montana. Founded in 2018 by CEO Tia Troy — a Montana native with 20+ years of marketing and PR experience including prior in-house roles at Glacier Country Tourism (~8 years) and Wyoming Office of Tourism (2017-2018) — the firm operates with a stated staff of two (Troy and Account Manager Kezia Allen, who joined in January 2019). The agency serves a client base concentrated in Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota, with primary vertical depth in tourism destination marketing organizations (DMOs), secondary work for chambers of commerce and small retail or family-owned businesses.

The firm's core offerings span eight integrated service lines: media relations, copywriting, social media marketing, brand building, event planning, crisis communication, business-to-business marketing outreach, and website development and management. There is no proprietary technology platform; delivery is human-led, built on the founder's media relationships, regional expertise, and personal storytelling approach. Notable past engagements include crisis communications work for the Augusta Area Chamber of Commerce during the 2018 floods and quantified outcomes from Tia Troy's prior in-house tenures, including $91M in editorial value at Glacier Country Tourism and 210M in circulation/readership reach at Wyoming Office of Tourism.

Lightning Bug Public Relations generates revenue through professional services fees, structured as project-based engagements and ongoing retainer arrangements, with pricing quoted on inquiry rather than publicly disclosed. The firm is privately held with no institutional funding, no parent company, and no disclosed revenue. Distribution is regional and relationship-driven, relying on direct outreach, referrals, an organic social presence (notably Tia Troy's Instagram), and a hybrid retail/coffee boutique storefront in Augusta that doubles as a community-visibility channel. There is no evidence of AI tooling, APIs, mobile applications, patents, awards, formal partnerships, or acquisitions.

Name

Lightning Bug Public Relations

Legal name

Lightning Bug Public Relations

Website

https://lightningbugpublicrelations.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lightning Bug Public Relations is a founder-owned, two-person boutique PR firm in Augusta, Montana, delivering media relations, social media, crisis communication, copywriting, event planning, and website development to tourism DMOs and small businesses across Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Relations Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Product & Brand PR (Consumer & B2B) (BPAFADAH)

Keywords

• Public relations services
• Media relations
• Social media marketing
• Crisis communication
• Tourism marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Augusta

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Relations Services: Professional PR services including media relations, copywriting, social media marketing, brand building, event planning, crisis communication, business-to-business marketing outreach, and website development. Revenue is generated through project-based fees and ongoing retainer arrangements with clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Lightning Bug Public Relations is a boutique PR firm delivering media relations, copywriting, social media marketing, brand building, event planning, crisis communication, B2B marketing outreach, and website development services to clients in Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota. The firm primarily serves tourism destinations, chambers of commerce, and small retail/family-owned businesses, earning revenue through project-based fees and ongoing retainer arrangements.

Product overview

Lightning Bug Public Relations is a traditional public relations and communication services firm offering a unified suite of PR and marketing services. The company provides Media Relations, Copywriting, Social Media Marketing, Brand Building, Event Planning, Crisis Communication, Business-to-Business Marketing Outreach, and Website Development and Management as integrated service offerings under one agency.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Media Relations Media pitching, news release writing and distribution, press trips, and influencer trips to raise awareness and deliver coverage for clients in local, regional, national, and international publications.
• Copywriting Writing services including travel guides, websites, consumer-facing and B2B newsletters, blogs, op-eds, and letters to the editor.
• Social Media Marketing Creating an engaging brand voice with compelling content to raise awareness and connect with audiences on social media platforms.
• Brand Building Strategic marketing and public relations efforts to generate brand recognition and help companies stand out through marketing clutter.
• Event Planning Planning events suited to meet client goals, including community outreach, product launches, and media events in key markets.
• Crisis Communication Crisis communication plans, public-facing messaging, social media content, staff training, and media response guidance based on real-world experience with wildfires, flooding, and other regional crises.
• Business-to-Business Marketing Outreach Integrated B2B outreach plans including social media marketing, newsletters, trade shows, and trade familiarization (FAM) tours.
• Website Development and Management Website design, development, SEO optimization, and copywriting from start to finish, including connecting sites to Google.

Quantifiable outcome

• Secured $91 million in editorial value during tenure at Glacier Country Tourism
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Lewis (Global): A global communications agency with strong travel, tourism, and hospitality PR practices. Comparable to Lightning Bug in serving destination and travel clients via media relations and integrated marketing communications.
• Lou Hammond Group: A boutique PR firm specializing in travel, tourism, hospitality, and lifestyle brands with a strong earned-media focus. Comparable to Lightning Bug in vertical specialization and PR-led storytelling for destination and hospitality clients.
• Miles Partnership: A travel and tourism marketing agency that serves state and regional destination marketing organizations (DMOs), national park partners, and tourism authorities. It is the closest scaled specialist comparable to Lightning Bug's tourism-DMO focus and regional model.
• J. Walcher Communications: A boutique PR agency with a long-standing tourism, hospitality, and consumer focus, serving destinations and travel brands. Comparable as a similarly sized boutique operating in the destination and lifestyle PR segment where Lightning Bug competes.

Broad incumbents

• Weber Shandwick: One of the world's largest PR networks with a dedicated travel and lifestyle practice. Comparable as an incumbent that tourism and lifestyle brands often engage instead of regional boutiques, anchoring the upper bound of the PR competitive set.
• MMGY Global: A large integrated marketing firm dedicated to the travel, tourism, and hospitality industry. It is a scaled tourism-marketing incumbent that DMOs frequently engage, providing a useful ceiling benchmark for what a tourism-specialist PR firm can grow into.
• Evoke Kyne: A global PR and communications agency with notable experience in travel, tourism, and destination marketing. Comparable as a broader incumbent that DMOs may hire, illustrating the competitive set Lightning Bug may encounter on larger RFPs.
• MMGY Media + Communications: The PR and earned-media arm of MMGY Global, focused on tourism boards, hospitality, and travel brands. Comparable as an incumbent specialist in destination PR that Lightning Bug would face for state and regional DMO RFPs.

Emerging players

• Evoke MKD: A boutique PR firm focused on travel, tourism, outdoor recreation, and lifestyle brands. Closely comparable given the overlap with Lightning Bug on adventure/outdoor storytelling, regional clients, and integrated social media services.

Regional players

• Fahlgrene Hiner: A Montana-based marketing, advertising, and PR agency serving clients across the Mountain West. Strongly comparable given Lightning Bug's home state, similarly sized regional focus, and overlapping creative/PR/marketing services.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/montanatia
• Facebookfacebook.com/LightningBugPublicRelations
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lightningbugpublicrelations

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Lightning Bug Public Relations