STRATEGY | CREATIVE | EXECUTION

A small but mighty marketing
and advertising company.

Hi, I’m Matt McGowan. After 20+ years building brands and campaigns,
I started Tugboat to bring big-agency thinking to smaller businesses. I personally lead every project and bring in trusted collaborators when the work calls for it.

How can we help?

Let's skip the agency song and dance, and get right down to it, shall we?

Your brand needs clarity
Positioning, messaging, and identity that
give everything else a foundation.

Fix what isn’t working

Stalled growth. A fuzzy story.

Creative that isn’t landing.

You’re launching something new
A product, a company, or a big initiative
that needs a strong start.

Your marketing feels scattered
Web, social, and content that should feel
like one coherent system.

Just looking for experienced leadership
Someone who’s been through this before
and can guide the work.

You need the right team
Pulling together designers, writers, filmmakers,
and developers for all budget sizes.

You just need a nudge
Sometimes you don’t need an agency, but an experienced partner to get you moving in the right direction.

Or something else
Titles, roles, and responsibilities have never been
blurrier. There’s a good chance I’ve done it.

LET'S TALK

I spent over two decades
working in advertising.

The equivalent of 173 dog years. Along the way, I learned from some of the most creative problem solvers in the business. I worked at creative powerhouses like Arnold and Mullen, and most recently at Colossus, twice named AdAge Small Agency of the Year. My digital roots run deep from time working at tech-forward agencies Digitas and SapientNitro.

Unlike most Creative Directors, I’ve also been the “suit,” serving as Executive Director of Marketing at a local college. That experience gives me a perspective that blends creativity with practicality. I know how to develop big ideas and make them work in a world of fixed budgets, tight timelines, and clear business goals.

Also, I can drive bus, and you probably can't. But more on that later.