10 Marketing Consulting Firms in the San Francisco Bay Area

The author Seth Godin once stated, “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.” Within our fast-paced tech age, marketing has evolved into something very different from what it was decades ago. Long gone are the days when roadside signage captured the American imagination or a funny quip was enough to sell a product to the masses. For today’s brands, telling their story entails tugging at people’s heartstrings and eliciting an emotional response strong enough to compel them to buy whatever idea or product they’re selling.

While we all have stories to tell, we don’t all have the imagination to bring them to life. In terms of brands telling their own stories, it is often necessary to enlist the help of marketing experts who can transform their singular ideas into full-blown campaigns. Throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, there are several marketing consulting firms that are designed to help companies reach their marketing goals.

These 10 marketing consulting firms in San Francisco couple an eye for marketing with consulting expertise to help each client craft their dream marketing plan. 

 

Location: Richmond District / Presidio Heights

Focus: Home Improvement, Pet Care, Mental Health Services, Child Care Services, Art

What they do: Brennan Brand is a marketing consulting firm that specializes in brand strategy and web design and aims to help clients work smarter and more efficiently to grow their businesses. The company helps clients with a wide range of marketing strategies, including pricing, positioning, email marketing and social media marketing. When working with clients on web design, the firm helps them choose the right platform, map out their website pages and take back control of their brands’ online presence.

Who they work with: Thomas Benjamin Architectural Flooring, Boo Boo’s Best, Loryn Barbeau, Women on a Mission and Genuine Nannies. 

 

Location: China Basin

Focus: Financial Services, Real Estate, Insurance, Financial Services, Tech, Food + Beverage, Healthcare, Education, Fashion + Apparel, Nonprofits

What they do: Chromium is a brand consultancy dedicated to leveraging the intersection of brand and culture. The firm provides a variety of services that encompass strategy, expression and stewardship, which includes custom avatar development, brand architecture, brand identity, touchpoint mapping, video and animation, content development, media training and brand culture workshops. Chromium works with clients from a wide range of industries, including real estate, insurance, financial services, technology, education and healthcare.

Who they work with: DERIVE Systems, Capital One, NuHerbs, Arrowhead Insurance, Yokayo Wine Company and Fannie Mae. 

 

Location: Redwood City, Greater San Francisco Bay Area

Focus: Ridesharing Services, Search Engines, File Hosting Services, Biotech, Online Learning Platforms, Retail, Freelancing Platforms, Recruiting Firms

What they do: EM Marketing is a marketing consulting firm that provides marketing strategies and execution services for companies of varying sizes from a wide range of industries. The firm offers a variety of services, such as brand positioning strategy, product and project management, creative concepting, marketing content audit and strategy, acquisition strategy, accounting and bookkeeping, data engineering and financial and business analysis.

Who they work with: Lyft, Google, Dropbox, Coursera, 23andMe, Upwork, Stella & Dot, Pivotal Labs and Wollborg Michelson Recruiting. 

 

Location: Vallejo, Greater San Francisco Bay Area

Focus: Medical Services, Beauty, Retail, Entertainment, Nonprofits, Pet Care, Educational Institutions, Law, Hospitality, Professional Services

What they do: Lamb Consulting is a marketing consulting firm that specializes in small business and B2B marketing. Their services include project management, social media marketing, advertising sales marketing, copywriting, public relations, graphic design, online outreach, website development and event management.

Who they work with: Axelrode Orthodontics, San Francisco Family Therapy, Studio Soothe Day Spa and Coldwell Banker.

 

Location: Presidio

Focus: Automotive, Retail, Financial Services, Healthcare, Media, Tech, Travel

What they do: Phoenix Marketing International is a marketing research and consultancy organization that helps clients elevate their brands, refine their communications and optimize their customer experience. The company offers a variety of marketing consulting services, such as creative and copy testing, concept and product development, customer segmentation and targeting, advanced analytics, customer experience and target marketing.

Who they work with: National insurance providers, broadcasting companies, consumer tech products and global health brands. 

 

Location: Oakland, Greater San Francisco Bay Area

Focus: Law, Food + Beverage, Professional Services, Retail, Hospitality, Luxury Goods, Fitness

What they do: Piedmont Avenue Consulting is a business development and marketing consulting firm designed to create brand awareness, strengthen customer loyalty and increase lead generation by leveraging new technologies and streamlining business processes. Their services include brand awareness, lead generation, customer loyalty, event marketing, business bookkeeping and social media promotion.

Who they work with: Academy of Digital Science, Andrew Mark Construction, Ben & Jerry’s, Euro Hotel and Salt Creek Capital. 

 

Location: East Bay

Focus: Healthcare, Home Services, Wellness, Automotive, Food + Beverage, Repair Services, E-commerce

What they do: RevLocal is a digital marketing consultancy that offers personalized digital marketing solutions for local businesses and franchise networks. With several offices across the country, the company specializes in local search marketing, review and reputation management, paid advertising and social media.

Who they work with: FranNet, Postal Annex, Dee Miller Insurance, Ablak Holdings, Altius Restaurant and HB Wellness. 

 

Location: Chinatown / Jackson Square

Focus: Television Networks, Education Publishing Services, Educational Institutions, Electronics, Retail

What they do: RSO Consulting provides full-service, data-driven online digital marketing consultation services for both small companies and enterprise-level corporations. Specializing in SEO, paid search management, social media optimization and web analytics consulting, the firm offers a wide range of services, including site audits, audience and platform discovery, content strategy and creation, website analysis, Google Ads and UX consulting. RSO Consulting also offers training on all Google Marketing platforms. 

Who they work with: Discovery Channel, Pearson, Chrome Industries, University of San Francisco and HP. 

 

Location: SoMa

Focus: Video Streaming Services, Governments, Retail, Aviation, Tech, IT Equipment, Media + Entertainment, Management Services

What they do: Saffron Brand Consultants is a global, independent brand consultancy that works with global companies and institutions across a wide range of sectors. The company specializes in a variety of different insights, such as helping clients build on-brand products, set up successful brand portfolio strategies, incorporating AI, establishing disruptive branding and implementing radical personalization. Whether clients are repositioning their offer, reinvigorating their internal culture or launching something new, Saffron helps them navigate their challenges through creative thinking combined with brand strategy, expression, innovation and experience.

Who they work with: YouTube, City of London, Flying Tiger Copenhagen, Gulf Air, Siemens, Fujitsu, Warner Music and Sodexo. 

 

Location: South San Francisco

Focus: Pharmaceuticals + Biotech, Tech, Travel + Transportation, Tourism, Private Equity, Energy, Media, Telecommunications, Financial Services

What they do: With more than 20 offices around the globe, ZS is a professional services firm that specializes in marketing consulting, working with companies to develop and deliver products that drive customer value and company results. The company’s marketing consulting services encompass business development and licensing, customer experience, forecasting, pipeline strategy and value proposition.

Who they work with: Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, Zebra Technologies, Tourism New Zealand and Merrimack.