About Us

Spider McKnight is the owner of Six Pony Hitch in Missoula, Montana. She moved to Missoula from New York City where she worked at some of the world’s largest agencies including J. Walter Thompson and BBDO. As an award-winning storyteller and Creative Director, Spider oversaw creative development for numerous national and international accounts. It was also in New York that she fell in love with strategy and spent numerous hours tailing account planners, researchers, and other strategists to inform her creative work. Spider also took some time during those years to work with groups across the country working on social justice and equality. Here she developed her skills in community organizing and policy change.

Spider started Six Pony Hitch in 2010 to bring her varied experience and skills to bear for clients who are making a difference in the world. She added Design Thinking to her range of capabilities as well as business strategy through the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program and the Surge and Grow program through Scale Smarter Partners.

Spider and her team produce strong, effective, results-driven work for the agency’s clients. They work with clients to solve challenging strategic issues and use the power of empathy to make deep, lasting connections with target audiences. 1n 2019, Spider developed an innovative modular, workshop-based model to develop an interactive brand process that allows clients to have more ownership in their branding process.

Spider has won numerous awards and citations from prestigious institutions including the Cannes Film Festival, Clio Awards, Art Director’s Club and the International Film and  Television Awards and has been featured in major advertising publications around the world, including Archive Magazine, Communication Arts, Adweek, and Advertising Age.

Travis has a degree in graphic design from Oregon State University, where he studied under experts from Yale and Rhode Island School of Design. He is a brand strategist and senior graphic designer specializing in identity, packaging, website, and environmental design. He brought his insightful design approach to Six Pony Hitch in 2013 and has been a foundational member of the company. Travis has worked for clients across a range of industries including beverage, nonprofit, consumer goods and package, luxury, finance, and healthcare. He brings a unique perspective and an endless well of talent to all projects.

Melanie is our superstar copywriter. She came to Six Pony Hitch with a diverse background including Marketing Director and Program Director for a non-profit, Lead Copywriter for an online retailer, and Account Manager at an advertising agency. Her experience with strategic planning, and strong knowledge of branding and positioning on the client side informs her work as a copywriter, where she consistently delivers work that is both strategic and creative. And, yes, she does also write romance novels.