Branding Companies

To curate the above list, we applied a multifactor analysis. It’s important to note that the company evaluation is done manually, with a particular focus on social aspects like user satisfaction, project management style, as well as their communication and transparency. Furthermore, we looked into the success of each company and the value for money they provide. As you will see below, we didn’t only scratch the surface, but we dug deep to ensure you get an unprecedented list of the truly best branding companies.

Filters
Company Size

Company Size

Freelancer

2-9

10-24

25-49

50-99

100-249

250+

Undisclosed

Hourly Rate

Hourly Rate

$0-$24

$25-$49

$50-$99

$100-$149

$150-$199

$200+

Undisclosed

Min. Project Size

Min. Project Size

Undisclosed

$1.000

$5.000

$10.000

$25.000

$50.000

$100.000

$500.000

16 Top Branding Agencies

Adrenaline

The brand development studio for people ready to reject the ordinary. See profile
Service focus

Branding

Brand Development

Brand Identity Design

Brand Strategy

Key features

$ 5,000

$ 100-149

10-24

United Kingdom

C42D

C42D is NYC’s best branding agency for 2019. Driven by creativity, the team of visionaries creates unforgettable brands with a strong brand identity for B2B, early stage, and technology firms. Their goal is to build audiences, boost sales, and ensure positive ROI. See profile
Service focus

Brand Strategy

Brand Identity Design

Web & Digital Design

Key features

$ 50,000

$ 150-199

2-9

United States, New York, New York City

Tenet Partners

Tenet Partners stands out as an agency that uses innovative measures to break new ground. With a number of offices around the country, they work closely with clients, offering fresh insight into the industry and flawless execution. See profile
Service focus

Branding

Digital Strategy

Key features

$ 100,000

$ 200+

25-49

United States, New York, New York City

Gohan Concepts

Gohan is a digital-first strategic agency that specializes in developing brand strategies and marketing processes which reflect the client's highest value. The team combines creative thinking with strategy into innovative and meaningful designs, turning the skill into revenue. See profile
Service focus

Branding

Brand Strategy

Brand Consulting

Identity Design

Key features

$ 5,000

$ 100-149

25-49

Philippines, Bonifacio Global City

Madison Taylor Marketing

Madison Taylor Marketing is a full-service digital marketing agency that embraces growth-driven design and account-based marketing. The team of innovative thinkers and boundary-pushers aims to deliver high-level strategy paired with enterprise-level tools and technologies to help clients accomplish their goals and improve their bottom line. See profile
Service focus

Content Marketing

Advertising

Branding

Creative

Key features

$ 5,000

$ 150-199

25-49

United States, Colorado, Greenwood Village

Deal Design

While at its core Deal Design delivers robust logo and packaging design services, it’s also a reputable branding and marketing agency. The team creates innovative, memorable logos that align with the brand’s identity. They make sure to get to know the client and maintain a superb level of communication. See profile
Service focus

Packaging Design

Logo

Branding

Key features

$ 5,000

$ 100-149

25-49

United States, California, San Diego

Bastion Elevate

Bastion Elevate offers a full range of marketing services including PR, social media, influencer marketing, and content production — all aimed at taking the client’s brand to the next level. The team of professionals works relentlessly to help clients boost brand awareness, expand their digital sales, and strategically capture market share. See profile
Service focus

Digital Marketing

Social Media Management

Facebook Advertising

Influencer Marketing

Key features

$ 1,000

$ 150-199

25-49

United States, California, Newport Beach

Disrupvation Digital Private Limited

Recognized among the Top 10 Marketing Startups by Silicon India, the Go-To Guy! Is a brand under Disrupvation Digital Pvt. Ltd. Over the past 5 years, they’ve built brand identities and activated consumer engagement for 100+ clients across 20+ industries; from startups to MNCs across the US, Europe, India, and the Middle East. See profile
Service focus

Brand Identity Design

Website Design & Development

Digital Marketing

Social Media

Key features

$ 1,000

$ 25-49

25-49

India, Hyderabad

BrandLume Inc.

Powering 6,400 clients and over 400 agencies globally, BrandLume is a global online shop for all your digital marketing, branding, and website development needs. They offer all-inclusive services with up-front wholesale pricing and no long-term contracts. See profile
Service focus

Digital Marketing

Branding

Web Development

Advertising

Key features

$ 1,000

$ 50-99

100-249

Canada, Toronto

Branding by Garden

Branding by Garden is a top branding firm that helps new and existing brands become industry leaders. Thanks to the unique blend of innovative thinking, experience, and creativity, the agency creates compelling, consumer-centric brands and brand identities that make the world a more interesting place to be. See profile
Service focus

Brand Strategy

Brand Creation

Packaging Design

Web Design

Key features

$ 5,000

$ 50-99

2-9

United Kingdom, London

Electric Pen

Electric Pen is a top branding company with a 10-person creative team that solves business challenges by offering strategic design and marketing solutions. They put clients at the center of everything they do and take a data-driven approach ensuring measurable and memorable solutions. See profile
Service focus

Branding

Web Design

Graphic Design

Social Media Marketing

Key features

Undisclosed

$ 100-149

10-24

United States, Washington, Seattle

McLean Design

Understanding our clients markets, unique needs, and most importantly, their consumers’ subconscious desires is what allows McLean Designs to identify and create truly compelling brands and packaging solutions that are engineered to penetrate and enrich consumers’ lives. McLean Design has driven over $60 Billion in revenue with businesses of all sizes, from start-ups to global heavyweights. They are a team of highly-trained specialists united by the common compulsion to create triumphant brands. See profile
Service focus

Packaging Design

Brand Vision & Platform

Naming & Nomenclature

Brand Identity

Key features

$ 10,000

Undisclosed

10-24

United States, California, Walnut Creek

Surgyy Design Labs Private Limited

Surgyy Design is a dedicated product & UX design studio. Delivering the best in the class design practices & UX consultation. Surgyy conveys business & tech wisdom, alongside design; which helps them be the agent of change & innovation to solve your business challenges. Their services Include ideation workshops, MVP design & managed development, strategic branding, product redesign / UX concepts, UX strategy and process audit. See profile
Service focus

Product Design

UX Research

Branding

Web Design

Key features

$ 1,000

$ 25-49

2-9

India, Bengaluru

NinjaPromo

NinjaPromo drives all aspects of SMM strategies by setting up disruptive techniques through outstanding content production, effective community management, paid social advertising, influencer marketing, and more. See profile
Service focus

Social Media Management

Influencer Marketing

Video Production

Branding

Key features

$ 1,000

Undisclosed

25-49

United States, New York, New York City

Deksia

Effective marketing and the right marketing partner is needed to succeed and get the customers you deserve. For the last 15 years, Deksia has been the partner our clients can rely on. Deksia creates marketing that has helped hundreds of clients in dozens of industries—from B2B to B2C, wholesale to retail, online off—transform their businesses, earn eye-popping ROIs, and achieve their goals for their businesses. Visit the website and learn how they make it happen. See profile
Service focus

Marketing Strategy

Branding

Websites

Photo & Video

Key features

$ 10,000

$ 150-199

25-49

United States, Michigan, Grand Rapids

Crowdspring

Crowdspring has helped over 100,000 businesses, agencies, and nonprofits grow their businesses through high-quality custom design and naming. A 100% money-back guarantee, 7-day customer support, and strong privacy protection ensures you get a great design. Chose to work one-on-one with a creative or launch a group project and get dozens of designs or names submitted to each project. See profile
Service focus

Logo

Logo Designing

Packaging Design

Product Design

Key features

Undisclosed

$ 0-24

2-9

United States

The Evaluation Methodology We Used to Help You Find the Top Branding Companies

To curate the above list, we applied a multifactor analysis. It’s important to note that the company evaluation is done manually, with a particular focus on social aspects like user satisfaction, project management style, as well as their communication and transparency. Furthermore, we looked into the success of each brand development firm and the value for money they provide.

As you will see below, we didn’t only scratch the surface, but we dug deep to ensure you get an unprecedented list of the truly best branding firms.

Step 1: The First Stage of Filtering

During our first stage of filtering, we uncover whether the analyzed companies are exclusively dedicated to branding or are digital marketing agencies that include branding as one of their many services.

A dedicated branding agency will provide a team focused on developing a cohesive image for your company that would raise brand awareness and create brand equity.

On the other hand, a branding and marketing agency already offers a set of services based on researching, creating interest, and promoting products and services. Think SEO, web design and development, PPC, and SMM. This means they wouldn’t be able to provide the level of dedication needed for branding.

However, top branding companies should have cross-industry experience. In other words, they should focus on branding but also have marketing and technical expertise in SEO, PPC, content, and social media promotion. Branding and marketing techniques need to work in synergy for optimal results since branding is a long game which creates the value that marketing is supposed to extract.

Step 2:  The Type of Branding Agency

The next step is to check if the branding agencies in question are good at increasing overall brand awareness or just digital branding. Both general and digital branding have the same goal: to boost brand awareness and build a positive perception that encourages loyalty and advocacy.

The difference here is that digital branding is focused on developing a brand presence in the digital space, while overall branding involves activities outside the digital, including print ads, management of sponsorships and partnerships, packaging, and even pricing. If you haven’t already considered hiring a packaging design firm, a graphic design outfit, or a dedicated product design specialist, the latter will be a better choice for you.

Once we determine the type of creative branding company, we go on to examine their scope. Different branding firms offer different kinds of strategies based on industry, customer preferences, etc. That being said, knowing the type of branding the agency provides is very important. We examine the services they offer and study how they build brand awareness.

Here are the most common types of business branding based on industry focus:

  • Personal brands
  • Product brands
  • Service brands
  • Corporate brands
  • Non-Profit brands

Step 3: The Company’s Reputation

Checking the company’s reputation provides us with a decent picture of its business policy and quality. Here’s how we evaluate it:

  • We carefully go through all reviews to determine the level of customer satisfaction. The first step here is to prove the authenticity of the reviews and then take notice of the areas in which the agency excels.
  • We check the social media presence of each branding agent and consult Google and other trusted directories to ensure the depth of experience the company has.
  • Finally, we look for potential issues and problems that seem to repeat.

Of course, we also take into consideration the accolades and certifications of the brand agencies, as well as any peer recommendations it has received. However, to provide an unbiased picture, we check how these acknowledgments measure against their success rates.

Step 4: The Agency’s Team

Evaluating the team and the account manager who leads the projects is among the top priorities when choosing the best branding firm.

To begin with, we want to ensure first-hand that the brand marketing agency doesn’t wholly outsource the work to contract employees who don’t want to invest themselves in projects. Of course, we don’t write off all companies that outsource their work. There are some of them who have an in-house team in place but also use a contracted workforce to implement the strategies. It’s vital that we prove the expertise and experience of the people accountable for the clients’ success.

Once we establish who is in charge of the branding projects, we try to interview the members and evaluate their leadership. Branding agencies that are willing to lead the client through challenges and issues with creative suggestions and innovative strategies rank on top of our list.

Another important team aspect we look for is the level of flexibility they offer. They need to be able to listen to the client’s feedback and make the required changes promptly. An experienced brand agency can also adapt to the changing industry trends and the unique needs of the audience.

Last but not least, we check the happiness of the employees. Why? Because their work environment can influence their productivity. So, the agencies that enable employees to learn and innovate were ranked higher on our list.

Step 5: Case Studies and Portfolio Analysis

Case studies give an insight into the work of branding organizations, as well as their own brand identity and creativity. They also help in defining their expertise, brand strategy and techniques used, as well as their knowledge in providing said services. Problem and solution-centric case studies show the company’s approach to a particular issue, producing essential takeaways.

Here is what we look at when reviewing a branding company’s portfolio:

The Artistic Brand Identity and Creativity

We take special notice of how the agency captured the uniqueness of past clients. We check whether they can customize their work, and we stay away from brand identity design agencies whose portfolios are full of similar styles of design. Moreover, we look at their creative process, what techniques they employed, and how they resonated with the target audience once the final product was launched.

The Digital Branding Strategies

Implementing a top-notch digital branding strategy is more than needed in this internet era we live in. You want your website visitors to understand your business, what makes it different, and why they need it in their life. So, one of the main points we consider when analyzing the brand marketing companies is their agility in website promotion, social media, PPC for branding, email, and other forms of digital marketing.

How Good They Are in Customizing Branding Services

Customization is pivotal for a successful collaboration between brands and brand management agencies. You wouldn’t want some generic solutions that don’t fit your brand vision. That’s why we carefully examine the portfolios and case studies of the agencies and compare their strategic and creative processes.

The Scale of Projects

The final step is looking at the businesses that the company has usually worked with. Specifically, we check whether they work mainly with small businesses, personal brands, or corporations.

Step 6: Project Management Methods

Effective brand management is a crucial success factor. To choose the top brand management companies, we evaluate the creative stages of the agency; how much they invest in market and user research, how they handle the visual elements of the brand, what’s involved in the process of logo creation, etc.

We uncover all these things by doing extensive interviews with the agencies. Also, we check in with previous clients to ensure they have put their well-defined process into practice. Companies that take a strategic approach to maximize the brand reach and enhance the brand’s positioning rank high on our list.

Here are some of the questions we try to answer when creating our shortlist of the top brand strategy agencies:

  • How cutting edge is their work? Do they execute plans accordingly; are they agile?
  • Do they have a well-defined process?
  • How do they conduct the research process?
  • Are the websites they’ve developed mobile responsive and intuitive to use?
  • Does the logo capture the true essence of the brand? Is it likable?
  • Does the copy and writing on the site match the brand and the design?
  • Do they plan timelines?

Step 7: Transparency and Reporting

How the brand building companies manage communication and collaboration is the next aspect we examine. Clients want - and should! - have insights into the process. On the other hand, the brand identity agency should be able to set realistic deadlines, evaluate the outcomes, report the results in comprehensive terms, and offer continuous optimization.

We present ourselves as a potential client to examine:

  • How often they communicate with clients;
  • How good is customer support;
  • Their reporting system and frequency of reporting;
  • What they include in their reports.

Branding studios with established processes to manage communication and collaboration indicate a high level of expertise.

Step 8: Pricing and Value for Money

Before you dive into a partnership with a branding firm, you need to know how much it will cost you. The price depends on several different factors like the scope of work, the size of the company or products that are being branded, and the agency’s size.

Estimations are that branding services can cost you anywhere between $20,000 and $200,000. That being said, we tried to provide some average numbers to help you make a better-informed final decision. It’s important to note that we didn’t choose the most affordable branding design firms as best nor the most pricey ones. Instead, we looked for the ones that are most cost-effective and tick the rest of the boxes of our evaluation criteria.

Tips on How to Choose the Best Branding Agency

What to Consider Before Hiring a Brand Building Agency?

Recognize Your Strengths and Weaknesses

The first step before you dive into searching for the best brand agency for your business is to get to know your strong and weak points. SWOT Analysis can help figure that out. Recognize what makes you unique and think about how you can capitalize on that. Also, decide what you want your brand image to be. You will want to build a consistent and impactful brand image.

Define Your Branding Goals (Good Brand Development Companies Can Help You With This)

Take time to set specific business goals. Are you trying to reach a new audience or build a stronger brand image? Once you have the goals set, a top branding agency should be able to help you define the objectives you need to reach them.

Consider the following:

  • What’s your branding essence?
  • What’s your brand mission?
  • What’s your brand voice?
  • What’s your brand personality?
  • How do you differentiate from the competition?

Know Your Target Audience

Determining your target audience might be time-consuming; however, it’s essential because it helps you refine your goals and define how you can address consumer needs. Careful market research will enable you to create a buyer persona, which will help you present your brand as the best response to their needs, thus making your branding campaign more effective.

Once you are aware of all of the above and have it well-defined, it’s time for you to determine which agencies match your business, culture, and niche. Observing the following aspects will help you narrow down your list of brand design firms even further and, ultimately, choose the best one for your goals.

More Things to Consider Before Partnering Up With a Branding Company

Is the Branding Firm in Cultural Alignment with You and Your Company?

Once you are clear about your brand voice and personality, it is your agency's responsibility to take it to the customers. So, cultural alignment between you and the company you are hiring is crucial. Moreover, favor the agencies that are proactive, collaborative, and innovative. Finally, take time to consider which agency feels right.

Does the Branding Consultant Company Have Experience in Your Niche?

As said earlier, there are different types of branding, and not all companies share the same expertise. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for branding. Check how experienced the top brand consulting firms are in working with businesses like yours before choosing one. Go for the branding agency that can recognize the unique elements of your business and is able to convey your specific points through their work.

Is the Branding Company Strategic?

The strategic plan the agency intends to implement needs to be aligned with the nature of your brand and the market you target. Of course, it’s not realistic to expect the agency to provide you with an original plan during your first interview, but a professional team should at least have an idea of it. This is highly beneficial in terms of understanding the results they can derive.

To get an idea of all the above things regarding the top brand consulting firms you want to shortlist, you need to ask them a few questions, as listed below.

Things You Should Ask Your Branding Firm Before Locking Up the Deal

  1. Based on my goals, what branding services do you provide and suggest for my company/product?
  2. What objectives will you work on to reach my goals?
  3. Are you one of the marketing and branding companies that offers digital branding services along with integrated branding?
  4. What are the deliverables?
  5. How can you calculate ROI, and what KPIs are you suggesting?
  6. What can I expect in terms of building brand awareness; what’s your take on it, and how do you plan on improving it?
  7. How do you plan to improve brand loyalty and advocacy?
  8. What is your digital branding strategy?
  9. What are the experiences of people that will work on my project?
  10. How many employees do you have, and how many projects are you working on at the moment?
  11. How many hours a week will you dedicate to my project?
  12. How do you conduct brand competitor research, and how do you plan to differentiate my brand from the competition?
  13. What is your policy on delays?
  14. What tools and resources do you use?
  15. How do you collaborate with a client’s team?
  16. Do you perform A/B testing for performance measurement?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is branding?

By definition, branding is the process of creating a unique image, name, design, or symbol for a product or service in the consumers’ mind. Creative branding companies aim to establish a differentiated presence in the market that target audiences will easily recognize and memorize. Simply put, it’s a way of distinguishing your company from the competition while clarifying the benefits of your brand.

What does a brand creation agency do?

Brand consulting firms establish how your customers perceive your position in the marketplace by developing a brand that emphasizes your voice and uniqueness. Thinking that a branding agency will only design a logo is completely out of place. Even if you’ve already hired a logo design agency, you might need branding services. A professional branding design agency will not only create a killer logo, but they will also write a compelling copy, a strategic headline, or create a unique ad campaign. The agency is your partner in every step you take as a brand.

What are brand strategy and positioning?

Brand strategy companies define the guidelines on how, when, where, and to whom you will communicate your brand message. A well-defined strategy is directly connected to the target consumer and leads to a consistent brand message and higher brand equity. Brand positioning, on the other hand, is directly related to the reason why consumers would prefer your brand over others. Essentially, it refers to the concept you want the consumers to have when they think of your brand. An effective positioning emphasizes distinctiveness and maximizes brand value.

What is the difference between branding and brand management?

Branding focuses on establishing a brand image and forming a personality for a product, service, or company. It is all about the impression the brand leaves in the niche market. On the other hand, brand management companies deal with the management of brand personality. It involves quality and consistency monitoring to ensure the established brand image won’t get hurt.

Branding vs. marketing company: what’s the difference?

Marketing companies focus on aligning the ad strategy with the needs of the target audience to attract more traffic. Branding companies, on the other hand, help you connect with your target customers, creating trusting and consistent relationships.