What Backbone Group does

Backbone Group, LLC is a privately held integrated marketing agency founded in 1997 and headquartered in Carbondale, Colorado, with 51-100 employees. The firm specializes in serving outdoor and active lifestyle brands through an eight-service integrated offering: Paid Media, Search Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Public Relations, Creative & Content, Social Media, Influencer Marketing, and Strategy. Its customer roster spans enterprise outdoor brands (Yeti, Black Diamond, Smartwool, Merrell, Dickies, Gerber, AG1, Ooni), mid-market lifestyle brands (Tincup Mountain Whiskey, Turtle Fur, Selkirk, Toad&Co), and government/tourism clients (Ski Utah).

The agency operates a sales-led go-to-market targeting mid-market and enterprise outdoor, lifestyle, and adventure brands, acquiring clients through industry events, referrals, and direct outreach. Revenue is generated via professional services engagements, likely project-based or retainer arrangements typical of integrated marketing agencies; pricing is not publicly disclosed and is quote-based given the customized nature of the work. Backbone maintains certified technology partnerships with Google, Meta, The Trade Desk, Tableau, and Feedonomics, and has strategic alliances with outdoor advocacy organizations The Conservation Alliance and Protect Our Winters, reinforcing its category-specialist positioning.

The firm's value proposition is the convergence of "Community, Brand, and Performance" — combining authentic outdoor community influence with brand-scale paid, earned, and owned media capabilities. No proprietary technology platform, software product, or AI/ML capability is disclosed; the offering is fundamentally a services business. No institutional investors, funding rounds, M&A activity, or leadership changes are disclosed in the source data, and the firm appears to be founder/member-owned under an LLC structure.

Name

Backbone Group

Legal name

Backbone Group, LLC

Website

https://backbonemedia.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Backbone Group is a privately held integrated marketing agency founded in 1997 and based in Carbondale, Colorado, serving outdoor and active lifestyle brands with paid media, search, affiliate, PR, creative, social, influencer, and strategy services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Carbondale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Marketing Agency Services: Backbone generates revenue through professional marketing services including Paid Media, Search Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Public Relations, Creative & Content, Social Media, Influencer Marketing, and Strategy. Revenue is derived from client engagements which are likely project-based or retainer arrangements typical of integrated marketing agencies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Backbone Group is an integrated marketing agency that delivers eight core services — Paid Media, Search Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Public Relations, Creative & Content, Social Media, Influencer Marketing, and Strategy — to outdoor, active lifestyle, and adventure brands. Engagements combine community influence, brand-scale paid/earned/owned execution, and performance-driven strategy to move consumers toward conversion.

Product overview

Backbone Group is an integrated marketing agency that offers a unified suite of marketing services rather than a discrete software product. The agency provides eight core service offerings: Paid Media, Search Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Public Relations, Creative & Content, Social Media, Influencer Marketing, and Strategy. These services are delivered by a unified team and are designed to work together, combining community influence, brand impact, and performance marketing to drive business goals for clients in the outdoor and active lifestyle sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Paid Media Paid media advertising services that create broad brand impact through paid channels, provided to outdoor and active lifestyle brand clients.
• Search Marketing Search engine marketing services including SEO and paid search to drive visibility and traffic for outdoor and active lifestyle brands.
• Affiliate Marketing Partnership-based marketing programs that drive performance through affiliate networks, provided to outdoor and active lifestyle brands.
• Public Relations PR services including media events, desksides, and pitching to generate earned media coverage for outdoor, active lifestyle, and tourism clients.
• Creative & Content Creative development and content production services that engage target audiences for outdoor and active lifestyle brand clients.
• Social Media Social media strategy and management across platforms to build community engagement for outdoor and active lifestyle brands.
• Influencer Marketing Programs that connect brands with influencers to reach outdoor and active lifestyle communities through authentic partnerships.
• Strategy Marketing strategy development that uses community and brand insights to guide consumers toward conversion for outdoor and active lifestyle brands.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully launched Ooni's first-ever all-electric indoor-outdoor pizza oven through integrated PR, Affiliate, and Paid Media services

Named customers13 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• GooglecoreTechnology or IntegrationBackbone is a Google Partner agency, indicating certified expertise in Google advertising platforms and products.
• Meta Business PartnercoreTechnology or IntegrationBackbone is a Meta Business Partner, demonstrating certified capabilities in Facebook/Instagram advertising andMeta marketing solutions.
• The Trade DeskcoreTechnology or IntegrationBackbone partners with The Trade Desk for programmatic advertising capabilities and platform access.
• The Conservation AlliancecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerBackbone partners with The Conservation Alliance, an organization of outdoor brands working to protect wild places and outdoor recreation access. This partnership aligns with Backbone's focus on the outdoor industry.
• Protect Our Winters (POW)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerBackbone partners with Protect Our Winters (POW), a climate advocacy organization for the outdoor industry. This partnership supports their outdoor brand community focus.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Rise Interactive: Performance-driven digital marketing agency focused on media, search, and analytics for mid-market and enterprise consumer brands. Comparable to Backbone in performance-led B2B agency services for consumer-facing clients.
• T3: Independent integrated marketing agency offering creative, media, and technology services to consumer brands. Comparable to Backbone's full-service B2B agency model serving mid-market and enterprise consumer clients.
• Adpearance: Digital marketing agency that has historically served outdoor, powersports, and active-lifestyle brands with paid media, SEO, and web platforms. Most directly comparable to Backbone's outdoor vertical specialization and integrated service model.
• AMP Agency: Integrated marketing agency offering media, creative, and content services to consumer and lifestyle brands. Comparable to Backbone in independent integrated-agency positioning and full-funnel service scope.
• MKG: Experiential and integrated marketing agency with strengths in brand experiences, influencer, and social for lifestyle and consumer brands. Comparable to Backbone in integrated service mix targeting lifestyle-oriented consumer clients.
• GALE: Independent integrated marketing agency combining brand, creative, media, and analytics for consumer brands. Comparable to Backbone in independent integrated-agency model and B2B sales-led GTM targeting mid-market and enterprise clients.
• Mekanism: Independent creative and media agency with integrated paid, earned, and owned capabilities serving consumer brands. Comparable to Backbone in independent integrated-agency positioning and full-funnel service offering.
• Preacher: Independent creative and media agency with integrated brand strategy, paid media, and content capabilities for consumer brands. Comparable to Backbone in independent creative-led integrated agency positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Merkle: Large data-driven marketing agency (Dentsu subsidiary) offering CRM, media, analytics, and technology solutions across verticals. Comparable to Backbone in service breadth but operates at significantly larger scale as part of a global holding company.
• PMG: Large independent media and marketing agency with deep paid-media, search, and analytics capabilities across verticals. Comparable to Backbone in service breadth (paid, search, creative) but operates at much larger scale across multiple categories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/BackboneMediaColorado
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/back-bone-media
• Instagraminstagram.com/backbonemedia
• TikToktiktok.com/@backbone_media?_t=8br0yzxyUdK&_r=1

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 Backbone Group