What is your hourly rate?

We charge a flat rate of $95 per hour for all services.

Do you add markups or take commissions?

No. Clients pay only for actual costs, which helps save money on purchases such as media buying, printing, and distribution.

Do you require retainers or long-term contracts?

No. We work on a project basis and do not lock clients into restrictive agreements.

Who completes the work?

More than 95% of our work is done in-house by full-time U.S.-based employees, rather than contractors.

How long do client relationships last?

Many client relationships extend for decades. We continue to work with clients who started with us in our first year.

How do you bill clients?

We bill monthly for the work performed in the previous month.

How detailed are your invoices?

Invoices include line-item details of hours worked and any outside expenses.

Do you work with clients’ existing vendors?

Yes. Because we do not take commissions or markups, we are unbiased and will work with clients’ existing vendors.

What industries do you serve?

We focus on a limited number of verticals where we have established expertise, working with both large and small clients.

How do you approach client relationships?

We build long-term relationships by meeting or exceeding client expectations for service, knowledge, creativity, quality, consistency, efficiency, and value.

How do you demonstrate reliability?

We commit to showing up, completing our work to the best of our abilities, meeting deadlines, and honoring our commitments.

How do you define integrity in your work?

We act with honesty, fairness, and ethics. We can be trusted to do what is right, even when it is not the easiest option or when no one is watching.

What does leadership mean to you?

We take initiative to explore new ideas, accept new challenges, and help others succeed by sharing knowledge and guidance.

How do you practice kindness?

We treat others as we would want to be treated. This includes celebrating achievements, showing compassion during difficult times, and being respectful when things are not going well.

Why is positivity important?

We believe that how we respond to challenges shapes our character, and maintaining a positive attitude supports success.

What do you do for clients?

We help clients reach their business goals by providing guidance based on experience across multiple industries and regions. We focus on avoiding common mistakes and identifying opportunities to improve brand value and promote products or services.

How flexible are your services?

Clients can choose how to work with us. Some make us their primary agency, others bring us in for specific channels or programs. Engagements may expand or scale back over time, depending on client needs.

Do you work with in-house teams?

Yes. We often support in-house teams by providing skills they may not have or by adding capacity when workload or timelines require it.

How do clients start working with you?

A project can begin with a call or an email. Each client is assigned a project manager as the main contact, with access to specialists as needed.

What is your pricing structure?

We charge a flat hourly rate that is lower than the national average. We do not require retainers or contracts, and we do not add markups or commissions.

Profile

Lightstream is a full-service marketing and advertising agency headquartered near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We specialize in highly regulated industries, including banking, credit unions, healthcare systems, insurance, and life sciences, providing expertise in strategy, branding, creative development, website design, campaign management, and media buying.

At-A-Glance

Founded

2008

Headquarters

We service clients across the U.S. from our main office in suburban Philadelphia.

Classification

Woman-owned (WBENC certified)

Employees

+/- 40

Industries Served

Banking, insurance, health systems, and life sciences.

Core Services

Marketing strategy, branding, advertising, website development, sales enablement, content development, media buying, and related agency services.

Typical Clients

Medium- to Fortune 500-sized businesses across the U.S.

Business Model

Low hourly rate

We charge a flat $95/hour rate for all the services we provide.

Zero markups or commissions

We save our clients thousands on large-ticket purchases such as media buying, printing, and distribution.

No retainers

We prize long-term relationships, but we never lock clients into restrictive agreements.

Experienced U.S. employees

Unlike agencies that rely on contractors, more than 95% of our work is completed in-house by our talented team of full-time professionals.

Long-term client engagements

We measure our client relationships not in months or even years, but in decades. We still work with clients we began working with in our first year in business.

Monthly billing

We typically bill monthly for the work performed the previous month.

Transparency

Our invoices provide line-item detail, listing the hours worked and the outside expenses.

Client-first approach

Because we don’t take commissions or markups, we have no biases or hidden agendas. We will gladly work with clients’ existing vendors.

Industry expertise for both large & small clients

Our clients are limited to a few verticals where we can offer expertise.

Expertise

Strategy & Management

Marketing plans, omnichannel campaign planning, brand development, project management, campaign management, outsourced program management, media buying, optimization, analytics, and reporting.

Content & Creative

Research, copywriting, content writing, editing, proofreading, brand refreshes, UI/digital design, TV spots, videos, social content, and print collateral.

Branding & Design

Brand and competitive research, naming, trademarking, logo development, visual framework, brand voice, brand guides and sites, and culture training (for staff).

Web & App Development

UX/front-end development, SEO and AI searchability, WordPress expertise, database-driven applications, AI-powered chatbots, WCAG 2.2 AA, multi-level security, hosting management, and website maintenance.

Vision, Mission & Values

We strive to be the best business partner our clients have ever worked with. Period.

To achieve our vision, we have assembled a team of smart, friendly, and talented professionals who are committed to living out our six core values:

Client Focus

We will cultivate relationships with clients by exceeding their expectations for service, knowledge, creativity, quality, consistency, efficiency, and value.

Reliability

We can be counted on to show up, complete our work to the best of our abilities, meet deadlines, and live up to the commitments we’ve made.

Integrity

We are honest, ethical, and fair. We can be trusted to do what’s right – even when there are easier options and no
one else is looking.

Leadership

We take the initiative to explore new ideas, have the courage to take on new challenges, and demonstrate the willingness to show others how to be successful.

Kindness

We treat others as we would want to be treated: celebrating their accomplishments, showing compassion in tough times, and being gracious when things aren’t going well.

Positivity

We understand that our reaction to circumstances determines our character, and a positive attitude is necessary for success.

Points of Pride

We guide our clients to their objectives.

Every business day, our team supports clients in each of our verticals. We work with clients in every section of the U.S. This breadth and depth give us the experience and expertise to know what works and what doesn’t. We help clients achieve their business goals, by avoiding money-wasting pitfalls and maximizing opportunities to increase brand value and promote their products and services.

We provide our clients with maximum flexibility.

For some clients, we are their agency of record. Others use us for our expertise in a particular channel, while some have us manage a specific program. Some engagements start small and grow bigger over time, while others shrink when needs change. We are happy to support clients in whatever ways they need and prove ourselves with each project.

We support in-house teams.

Many of our clients, especially the larger ones, have in-house teams that manage some of their marketing needs. We support these teams by handling projects that require skills their team may not have, or we provide extra capacity when workloads get too large or timelines get too tight.

We make it easy to work with us.

All it takes is a phone call or an email to start a project. We are professional yet casual and adapt to how our clients prefer to work. Each client is assigned a project manager who serves as their main point of contact and directs their projects from start to finish, but we also provide our clients with access to all of our specialists whenever needed.

We provide great value.

Our flat hourly rate is significantly lower than the national average, and we don’t require minimums based on retainers or contracts. Furthermore, we do not charge markups or commissions. This adds up to serious savings for our clients.

Company by the Numbers

Over 17 years in business

More than 95% of agency services completed in-house

Clients by the Numbers

More than 50 current clients in 37 states

Largest
client

$40.7 B

in annual revenue

Largest healthcare
client

$7.7 B

in annual revenue

Longest tenured
client

17 YEARS

Longest client
relationship

29 YEARS

predates founding of company

Team by the Numbers

The average team tenure is 6 years and 10 months

Collective experience

Over 250 websites launched
Over 1,000 campaigns launched & managed
Over 18,000 marketing projects managed
Over $250 million in media managed/bought
Over 2 billion pieces printed and mailed

Activity over 12 months*

4 rebrands and brand refreshes
13 websites launched
Over 50 campaigns launched
Over 100 videos created
Over 400 blog posts written
Over 600 social posts created
Over 1,000 separate projects completed
*Approximates for 12-month period ending 9/1/25.