California’s booming Silicon Valley is home to some of the leading technology startups in the world. These rising companies are raising funds and collecting investments back to back. With millions of dollars to spend in their pockets, they only have one thing on their minds – growth.
With any business hub, especially those made of rapidly growing emerging industries, comes the crucial need for marketing and advertising to help achieve the level of growth that will take a startup and transform it into a thriving, world-known brand.
Whether you are a Silicon start-up or a local San Francisco entrepreneur, selecting a California-based advertising agency that’s a great fit for your business can be a challenging task.
In order to help you find the perfect fit, we’re uncovering 20 of San Francisco’s top marketing and advertising agencies. Utilizing our very own database to deliver you the best of the best, our list is compiled of agencies who have a client media spend of at least $1 million and have a minimum of 50 employees.
Check out our picks for San Francisco’s Top 20 agencies:
1. AKQA
Recently named a leader in Gartner’s 2019 Magic Quadrant, AKQA is a digital agency that specializes in creating digital services and products using the imaginative application of art and science. Though the San Francisco branch has a few hundred employees, AKQA has 23 studios across the word and over 2,000 employees total.
Discipline: Digital
Total Client Media Spend: ~662.91 M
Employees: ~322
Main Phone: (415) 645-9400
Address: 360 Third Street, Fifth Floor San Francisco, CA 94107 USA
Top Clients: Coca-Cola, Apple, Visa, Audi of America, Gap, Hidden Valley Ranch, Clorox Clean Up
2. Archetype (Formerly Known as Bite Communications)
The newly created Archetype was created in 2018 when Bite Communications and Text100 came together to create not only a new agency but a new kind of agency. This agency intends to set the standard for the next generation of global agencies- where marketing and communications have converged, where every company is a tech company, and where global means finely tuned to individual markets.
Discipline: Public Relations
Total Client Media Spend: ~3.48 M
Employees: ~70
Main Phone: (415) 593-8400
Address: 100 Montgomery Street Suite 1103, San Francisco, CA 94104 USA
Top Clients: Autodesk, Juniper Networks, Hitachi Data Systems, Applied Materials, Sybase
3. Butler, Shine, Stern, & Partners
BSSP is one of the largest independent agencies on the West Coast, known for providing highly creative, fully accountable marketing solutions. The agency was named by Adweek as Small Agency of the Decade, one of the best places to work by AdAge, and was recognized by Outside magazine five years in a row as one of the Best Places to Work in America.
Discipline: Advertising
Total Client Media Spend: ~$79.72 M
Employees: ~97
Main Phone: (415) 331-6049
Address: 20 Liberty Ship Way, Sausalito, CA 94965 USA
Top Clients: Krave Jerky, Redfin Corporation, Blue Shield of California, Mitsubishi Motors, Greyhound Bus Lines
4. DDB San Fransisco
DDB Worldwide is one of the world’s largest and most influential advertising and marketing networks. It’s known worldwide for introducing an approach to marketing that relies on insight into human nature, respect for the consumer, and the power of creativity. The international organization is owned by Omnicom Group, one of the largest advertising holding companies.
Discipline: Advertising
Total Client Media Spend: ~$20.6 M
Employees: ~175
Main Phone: (415) 732-3600
Address: 600 California Street Seventh Floor, San Francisco, CA 94108 USA
Top Clients: LifeLock, Symantec Corporation, BJ’s Restaurants, PAM, Norton AntiVirus
5. Digitas
Digitas operates in over 25 countries across six continents and is part of Publicis Media. Digitas is committed to helping brands better connect with people through the truth with roughly 10,000 employees across the globe. For the fourth year in a row, Gartner named Digitas a leader in their 2019 Magic Quadrant for Global Marketing Agencies.
Discipline: Digital
Total Client Media Spend: ~$126 M
Employees: ~90
Main Phone: (415) 293-2001
Address: 350 Bush Street 18th Floor San Francisco, CA 94104 USA
Top Clients: Lyft, Starz!, Pandora Media, Kaiser Permanente Northern California Region
6. Epsilon
Epsilon is an all-encompassing global marketing innovator. Epsilon employs over 8,000 associates in 70 offices worldwide. Providing unrivaled data intelligence and customer insights, Epsilon brings personalized marketing to consumers across offline and online channels. Epsilon was recently named the #1 Largest U.S, CRM/Direct Marketing Networks via AdAge and as a leader in customer loyalty solutions for large organizations via Forrester.
Discipline: Direct/ Relationship
Total Client Media Spend: ~$99.04 M
Employees: ~150
Main Phone: (415) 367-6300
Address: 100 Montgomery Street Suite 1500 San Francisco, CA 94104 USA
Top Clients: Dell Technologies
7. FCB West
FCB West is the global strategic and creative partner to some of the most iconic brands in America. Their focus is driving consistent and sustainable growth for industry-leading brands by focusing on delivering the next new customer.
Discipline: Advertising
Total Client Media Spend: ~$195.24 M
Employees: ~125
Main Phone: (415) 820-8000
Address: 1160 Battery Street Suite 450 San Francisco, CA 94111-1909 USA
Top Clients: Clorox Liquid Bleach, Levi’s, EA Games, Hotwire, Dockers, Pine-Sol, Ghirardelli Chocolate
8. FleishmanHillard
FleishmanHillard is a global PR & digital marketing agency focused on crisis communications, brand marketing and paid & organic social media to maintain a positive image. FleishmanHillard is part of the Omnicom Public Relations Group and has more than 80 offices in 20 countries. Awards include 2019 PRWeek U.S. Outstanding Large Agency, and Top Companies for Executive Women ten years running.
Discipline: Public Relations
Total Client Media Spend: ~$7.68 M
Employees: ~85
Main Phone: (415) 318-4000
Address: 720 California Street Sixth Floor San Francisco, CA 94108 USA
Top Clients: Fitbit, Women’s Tennis Association
9. Frog Design, Inc.
Frog is a global design and strategy firm that transforms businesses at scale by creating systems of brands, products, and services that deliver a distinctly better experience. They work with an emphasis on evoking emotion in the consumer to result in experiences people love.
Discipline: Design
Total Client Media Spend: ~$57.41 M
Employees: ~60
Main Phone: (415) 442-4804
Address: 1130 Howard Street Fourth Floor San Francisco, CA 94103 USA
Top Clients: General Electric
10. Goodby, Silverstein & Partners
Goodby, Silverstein & Partners is a creative company that puts people at their center. They work to create experiences that reach millions but seem to only speak to the individual, creating a mass intimacy effect. You likely saw some of their work for Pepsi in this year’s super bowl ads.
Discipline: Advertising
Total Client Media Spend: ~$1.77 B
Employees: ~320
Main Phone: (415) 392-0669
Address: 720 California Street San Francisco, CA 94108-2404 USA
Top Clients: Xfinity TV, Liberty Mutual Insurance, PepsiCo, Comcast Corporation, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, General Electric, Sonic Corporation
11. Grey West
Grey West is an ideas company on a mission to make the world’s most ambitious brands play a meaningful role in culture. Grey ranks among the world’s top advertising and marketing organizations, serving one-fifth of the Fortune 500 in 96 countries.
Discipline: Advertising
Total Client Media Spend: ~$18.81 M
Employees: ~150
Main Phone: (415) 403-8000
Address: 303 Second Street Suite 300 San Francisco, CA 94107 USA
Top Clients: Nestle, Hasbro, FX Networks, Fitbit, Marvel Entertainment, Western Digital Corporation, McAfee
12. H&L Partners
H&L Partners is a fully-integrated agency, handling everything from creative, strategy, media, insights, production, digital. PR and social. For over 33 years, H&L has led global marketers to success in driving more business.
Discipline: Advertising
Total Client Media Spend: ~ $109.27 M
Employees: ~65
Main Phone: (415) 434-8500
Address: 100 Webster Street Oakland, CA 94607 USA
Top Clients: Toyota Motor Sales
13. Havas Worldwide San Fransisco
Havas Worldwide is an award-winning, fully integrated global advertising company, specializing in marketing, design, advertising, and corporate communications. The agency works on a mission to make a meaningful difference to brands, businesses, and people.
Discipline: Integrated
Total Client Media Spend: ~$3.59 M
Employees: ~55
Main Phone: (415) 345-7700
Address: 1725 Montgomery Street Third Floor San Francisco, CA 94111 USA
Top Clients: Genentech, Method Products, Seagate Technology, Roche Diagnostics Corporation, wine.com
14. Landor
A global leader in brand consulting and design, Landor helps clients build agile brands that thrive in today’s dynamic, disruptive marketplace. Landor has 26 offices in 19 countries, working with a broad spectrum of world-famous brands. With smart tools and global resources, they examine the implications of every brand choice, create new experiences, and open doors to opportunity.
Discipline: Branding
Total Client Media Spend: ~24.83 M
Employees: ~209
Main Phone: (415) 365-1700
Address: 1001 Front Street San Francisco, CA 94111-1424 USA
Top Clients: Frito-Lay, It’s Y!ou
15. Organic, Inc
Organic is an interactive advertising agency that uses information, data science, strategy, engineering, and creativity to communicate messages to consumers. It is their mission to truly understand the customer and their journey because that is how they find opportunities to make a genuine impact. The digital pioneer company has a heritage in building interactive solutions for Fortune 500 clients.
Discipline: Digital
Total Client Media Spend: ~$62.42 M
Employees: ~70
Main Phone: (415) 581-5300
Address: 600 California Street Eighth Floor San Francisco, CA 94108 USA
Top Clients: Poise, Depend, Sephora, Kotex
16. Publicis Sapient
Publicis Sapient was named a leader among global digital business transformation accelerators via Forrester. As digital pioneers with 20,000 people and 53 offices around the globe, their experience spans technology, data sciences, and consulting. Publicis Sapient unlocks value through a start-up mindset and modern methods.
Discipline: Digital
Total Client Media Spend: ~$175.06 M
Employees: ~100
Main Phone: (415) 369-6300
Address: 2001 The Embarcadero San Francisco, CA 94133-5200 USA
Top Clients: Intel, Yahoo! Inc, The New York Times, CNN.com
17. QuinStreet, Inc
QuinStreet is one of the largest and most successful online performance marketing companies in the world. It matches high-intent consumers in one of the nation’s largest media networks to the right solution and the right client. Their industry-leading segmentation and matching technology platform allows marketing clients to target and reach “research & compare” customer prospects.
Discipline: Direct/ Relationship
Total Client Media Spend: ~$29.46 M
Employees: ~200
Main Phone: (650) 578-7700
Address: 950 Tower Lane Sixth Floor Foster City, CA 94404 USA
Top Clients: Bosley Medical Institute
18. The Outcast Agency
The Outcast Agency is a communications and marketing firm made up of a team of strategists and creatives who have a hyper-growth mindset to drive change and create value for transformative companies at all stages. Offices span across San Francisco, New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Seattle, and London.
Discipline: Public Relations
Total Client Media Spend: ~$276.01 M
Employees: ~55
Main Phone: (415) 392-8282
Address: 100 Montgomery Street Suite 1201 San Francisco, CA 94014 USA
Top Clients: TurboTax Consumer, Facebook, Yahoo! Inc, Quicken
19. Venables Bell & Partners
Venables Bell & Partners is an internationally recognized independent San Francisco advertising agency founded on good intentions. With profitable growth every year since their beginning in 2001, their approach has attracted blue-chip brands.
Discipline: Advertising
Total Client Media Spend: ~$204.33 M
Employees: ~70
Main Phone: (415) 288-3300
Address: 201 Post Street Suite 200 San Francisco, CA 94108 USA
Top Clients: Audi of America, Chipotle, Trulia, Westin Hotels & Resorts, Command, Celebrity Cruises, A&E Networks
20. VMLY&R
VMLY&R is a global full-service marketing agency that harnesses creativity, technology, and culture to create connected brands. The agency is made up of nearly 7,000 employees worldwide using data and insights to reimagine the entire connected consumer experience.
Discipline: Advertising
Total Client Media Spend: ~$20.62 M
Employees: ~100
Main Phone: (415) 882-0600
Address:303 Second Street North Tower Third Floor San Francisco, CA 94107 USA
Top Clients: Chevron, Round Table Pizza Corporation, Advanced Micro Devices, Heavenly Mountain Resort
