The novelist William Saroyan once stated, “If you’re not alive, San Francisco will bring you to life.” It could be said that the City by the Bay is a place defined by new beginnings and fueled by fresh insights. It’s a place where fledgling ideas are cultivated into broad dreams, fostered by the city’s community of artists and changemakers. In short, San Francisco is a breeding ground for creativity, breathing life into the empty spaces that surround us, unearthing vibrant new worlds to discover.
For some, these vibrant worlds can be so lofty that they’re hard to reach. Particularly for companies, harnessing these wild ambitions is not always an easy endeavor. But when it comes to presenting a brand to the world, there should be no shortage of creative ingenuity in tow, helping a company reach its fullest potential. Throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, there are talented teams of professionals dedicated to bringing brands’ dreams to life.
Top Creative Branding Agencies in the Bay Area
- Brainchild Creative
- Citizen Group
- Gold Front
- Hatch
- Iron Creative
These creative branding agencies are there to help guide any company through the creative process, taking each businesses' artistic game to new heights.
Location: Financial District
Focus: Media + Entertainment, Oil, Energy, Sports, Healthcare, Politics
What they do: Established in 2000, Brainchild Creative is a strategic branding agency dedicated to building teams, which create content that maximizes brand value. The company specializes in navigating the colliding worlds of attention-deficit consumers, aggressive competitors, complex analytics, political reality and marketplace unpredictability. Their services include rebranding, analytics, brand and targeted video, innovative mobile-first marketing, retail engagement and artificial intelligence.
Who they work with: Hearst Corporation, PG&E, Chevron, Minnetonka PeeWee Hockey, Yale New Haven Health and VoteWatch.
Location: Mission District
Focus: Tech, Hospitality Tech, Consumer Electronics, File Sharing Services, Software, Online Payments Systems, Subscription Services, VR Tech, Retail
What they do: Chapter SF is a creative studio dedicated to rethinking products and communications and the way they work together to bring brands to life in more meaningful and human-friendly ways. With an emphasis on cultivating brand rigor, human empathy and multidisciplinary design, the company works with clients on producing experiences, products, campaigns, systems, environments, events, documentaries and more.
Who they work with: Google, Airbnb, Sonos, Dropbox, Domo, Kodak, PayPal, Target, Pillpack and Oculus.
Location: Financial District
Focus: Non-profits, Non-government Organizations, Food + Beverage, TV Networks, Retail
What they do: Citizen Group is a pro-social marketing, design and brand management agency that seeks to build brands for companies and organizations that are ready to live their purpose and lead with their values. With an emphasis on people, planet, profit and passion, the company works with clients to shape brand strategies, develop effective marketing programs and 360 brand experiences, engage audiences through creative communication and design and enhance reputations for socially-minded companies and organizations. Their services include competitive analysis, content architecture, audience mapping, web development and event design.
Who they work with: Amnesty International, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Pabst Brewing Companies and USA Network.
Location: Financial District
Focus: Government Programs, Retail, Banking, Food + Beverage, Online Ticket Exchange Companies, Gaming, Healthcare
What they do: Duncan Channon is a creative advertising agency that works with organizations to create truly unique experiences. With a focus on traditional, digital, UX, social and experiential, the company offers a wide range of services, such as brand strategy, influencer campaigns, design, media planning and buying, TV and video, analytics and social media promotion.
Who they work with: California Tobacco Control Program (CTCP), Gap, Citibank, Kettle Brand, StubHub, Nintendo and John Muir Health.
Location: Mid-Market
Focus: Tech, Food + Beverage, Cloud-based Messaging Platforms, Internet Services, Customer Data Platforms, Software, Travel Tech
What they do: Founded in 2013, Gold Front is an independent creative studio committed to capitalizing on the way brands and culture work today. Specializing in campaigns, branding, film, websites and product launches, the company offers a variety of services, including social content, positioning, copywriting, identity design, packaging and category design.
Who they work with: Sir Kensington’s, Plume, Slack, Google, Treasure Data, Zendesk, Nanit and Uber.
Location: The East Cut
Focus: Beauty Products, Home Appliances + Goods, Food + Beverage, Hospitality, Tech, Entertainment, Professional Services
What they do: Hatch is a creative advertising agency dedicated to crafting brands that move people to affection, helping companies grow by appealing to people on an unguarded, emotional and lasting level. The company focuses on brand strategy, advertising, communications, brand development, digital, packaging, innovation and environments, which includes activations, sales materials, visual identity, logo messaging development and retail packaging systems.
Who they work with: Benefit Cosmetics, Pottery Barn, Dang Foods, New Belgium Brewery, Hilton Hotels and Google.
Location: The East Cut
Focus: Health + Fitness, Cloud Companies, Retail, Luxury Goods, Home Appliances + Goods, Banking, Education
What they do: Iron Creative is a multidisciplinary digital agency dedicated to building stronger brands, specializing in supercharging content marketing for B2B technology businesses and optimizing the digital retail presence of fashion and lifestyle brands. When working with clients, the company often focuses on UX / UI development and design, graphic design, campaigns, integrated content, content strategy, course materials, websites and newsletters.
Who they work with: Salesforce, Levi’s, FitBit, TRX, Leisure Sports, Purcell Murray and Patelco Credit Union.
Location: Financial District
Focus: Retail, Visual Media, Entertainment, Tech, Video Streaming Services, Delivery Services, E-commerce, Finance, Energy
What they do: Established in 1999, LaunchSquad is a public relations, content marketing and creative agency that works with consumer-facing and B2B clients to grow their services and become market leaders. With clients from a wide range of industries, including retail, finance and e-commerce, the company offers a variety of services, including media and influencer relations, content strategy and creation, copywriting and scripting, custom animation and motion graphics and analysis for campaign optimization.
Who they work with: American Giant, Bonobos, Getty Images, IBM, Netflix, Poshmark and iHeartMedia.
Location: South Park / South Beach
Focus: Aviation, Video Streaming Services, Health + Wellness, Non-profits, Food + Beverage, Retail, File Hosting Services, Finance + Banking
What they do: Mekanism is a creative advertising agency that lives at the intersection of design, technology, culture and brand stories, helping brands build loyalty, authenticity and love. Working with clients from a wide range of industries, the company develops social media campaigns and video content. Some of their most notable projects include creating a fan-made intro for Beyonce’s Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show and a video campaign on behalf of the “It’s On Us” sexual assault awareness movement.
Who they work with: Alaska Airlines, Sling, Peloton, Ben & Jerry’s, Dropbox, Zola, Under Armour and Silicon Valley Bank.
Location: Chinatown
Focus: Food Delivery Services, Beauty Products, Databases, Healthcare, Entertainment
What they do: Mortar is a creative advertising agency committed to delivering a powerful brand strategy to its clients. With a focus on strategic decisions and creative solutions, the company offers a wide range of services, including identity and branding, creative development, marketing and communications strategy, strategic messaging and positioning, media planning and buying and research, measurement and analytics.
Who they work with: Eat24, Tyra, Couchbase, Bolton Medical, Coast Casinos and Westport Innovations.
Location: The East Cut
Focus: E-commerce, Health + Wellness, Real Estate, Coaching + Training Firms, Travel + Hospitality, Media
What they do: Persius is a design, development and marketing agency that combines the fundamentals of marketing and design with effective strategy and a continuous understanding of the web. With an emphasis on understanding target audiences to ensure measurable outcomes, the company’s team of artists, designers, web developers and marketing experts work with clients to empower their brands, engage their audiences and help grow their businesses. Their services include website development and design, brand strategy, content strategy, digital publication, email marketing and social media marketing.
Who they work with: Pivot Incorporated, Be Hive Center, Metro Properties, Vital Changes and Town & Country RV Resort.
Location: Marina District
Focus: Food + Beverage, Hospitality, Media + Entertainment, Retail
What they do: Reach Agency is a creative studio that offers digital video development, helping brands engage with a social generation. Backed by a team of social-first creators, publishers and media innovators, the company specializes in vertically integrated marketing services for video, encompassing strategy, creative and production as well as influencers and channel management.
Who they work with: Hallmark, Nestle, Purina, Stella Artois, Haagen-Dazs, Marriott, Bud Light and Skinny Cow.
Location: Mission District
Focus: Banking, Tech, Telecommunications, Media + Entertainment, Outdoor Goods, File Hosting Services, Social Media
What they do: Superfly is a brand experience company that works with clients to activate and amplify communities around common passions, helping brands connect to culture while creating the future of live entertainment. Specializing in large-scale brand experiences, social and influencer amplification, brand experience strategy and experiential marketing, the company offers a wide range of services, including audience and sector insights, business modeling and revenue strategy, event operations, social strategy development, industrial design and social footprint auditing.
Who they work with: Citibank, Google, Verizon, Comedy Central, Dropbox, Facebook and Hearst.
Location: Embarcadero
Focus: Hospitality Tech, Health Tech, Cybersecurity, Education, Health + Wellness, Home Goods, Aviation, Athletic Retail, Beauty Products
What they do: Boasting a team of strategists, photographers, sculptors and other fine artists, XYZ is a creative production studio that works with brands from a wide variety of industries. The company specializes in motion, retouch, render and photo advertising techniques, some of which include writing scripts, editing video footage, Photoshop editing, modeling products and shooting content in their in-house studio. Past work includes print advertising, brand films and integrated campaigns.
Who they work with: Morphe, Airbnb, Lunr Sleep, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Lenovo, PerimeterX, Alaska Airlines and Nike.
