About
We build marketing systems designed for growth.
A small senior studio that takes your growth as seriously as you do and treats culture with the specificity it deserves. Strategy, media, brand, web, and data under one roof.
Daniel Montelongo, founder
The founder
The entrepreneur behind the studio.
Daniel Montelongo spent ten years leading campaigns before this studio existed, with roles at Apple, Dentsu, and Ann Inc. and multimillion dollar programs for Macy’s, Nordstrom, and Virgin America. He founded The Gaygency in 2022 because queer-owned businesses were being overlooked, underserved, or priced out of that caliber of work. Since then the studio’s work has driven more than $15 million in revenue across the businesses on its roster: jewelry makers, travel companies, pro sports partnerships, films, clinics, and solo founders getting their first real brand.
He is also the founder of Gaydar, a dating app for the LGBTQ+ community that The Gaygency designed, built, and shipped to the Apple App Store and Google Play, then grew with its own paid acquisition system. It is the studio’s standing proof: we launch products of our own, so we know what yours will take.
Daniel leads every engagement. Behind him sits a senior team and the production systems the studio built for itself, which is how a small crew ships the volume of a large one without the overhead a large one bills you for.
2022
Founded, no outside capital
$15M+
Client revenue driven since
1M+
Verified LGBTQ+ consumers in our dataset
Origin
Why this studio exists.
We started The Gaygency because we were tired of watching our community get treated like a marketing segment. Queer-owned businesses were overlooked, underserved, or priced out of real agency support, and the firms that did show up mostly arrived in June and left in July. We are the community we market to. We know what these businesses are worth because we have built them ourselves. So we made the agency we could never find: every discipline under one roof, honest numbers, and a partner that stays.
Principles
How we work.
Systems and campaigns.
A campaign gets you noticed. A system turns that attention into growth that keeps compounding after the campaign ends. We build both, and we keep them running for you.
Strategy is a load-bearing wall.
Creative work only holds up if the strategy behind it does. We do the strategy first, every time, even when the timeline would rather we skip it.
Culture is specific.
Marketing to LGBTQ+ audiences works when it knows exactly who it is talking to. Not decoration, not generalities, not last year’s references recycled into this year’s deck.
Measurement matters. So does intent.
We track what works and we act on what the numbers say. We also remember why the work started in the first place.
Authority, not ego.
We make recommendations because we know what we are doing. We listen because we know what we do not.
The team
The Gaygency runs lean on purpose: a senior team across strategy, creative, and media, multiplied by the studio’s own production systems. No account pyramids, no interns learning on your budget. The people in the pitch are the people in the work.
And we are the community we serve: 100 percent LGBTQIA+ owned, with a team that is a mix of gay, queer, trans, and allies. Certified LGBT Business Enterprise by the NGLCC and a certified Minority Business Enterprise with New York City Small Business Services.
View our NGLCC certificateCertified LGBTBE (opens the official PDF)The family of logos
Brands that trust us with their name.
and more.
Recognition
Industry recognized.
Independent rankings from Clutch, the leading B2B review platform.
Love from our clients
Five stars, in their words.
Every review below is public, on Google and Clutch, written by the people who pay us. We did not edit them.
“I had an excellent experience with Daniel and everyone at the Gaygency. They created a powerful website, were very easy to collaborate with and delivered beyond my expectations!”
“Daniel has been great for us! He's very responsive and has our best interest in mind! Highly recommend and will continue to use them!”
“I have nothing but great things to say. They are thorough, speedy and deliver great work. They built a new website for me in less than 10 days! Highly recommended.”
“The Gaygency just gets it. Lots of agencies can talk the talk when it comes to marketing to the queer community, but Dan Montelongo and his team walk the walk. Highly recommended!”
David LautersteinCEO, Nasty PigGoogle review“Such an excellent experience to work with the Gaygency! They are so thoughtful and talented and really work with their clients to meet objectives and goals. They brought such a great vibe and energy to my business’s marketing.”
Ana HartnettFounder and CEO, Family Room WineGoogle review“The Gaygency is an ally to all in the war against the hate that LGBTQ people in this world endure. There is no one I would rather go into the fight with for our community, way of life, and very existence than The Gaygency.”
“The Gaygency did a great job on my Yoga Studio's website. Very grateful for their work, their skills and their support.”
“Nothing but good things to say! I would highly recommend Daniel and his team. Very reliable and professional.”
“We have experienced nearly a 60% increase on our e-commerce business the year we began working together and our seven year old retail business increased over 30% with the help of their local advertising prowess.”
Adam SingerFounder, Adam's NestGoogle review“I was impressed with how they ran everything.”