Company lists · Data refreshed September 2026

Top 25 Media planning and buying firms based in San Francisco, United States

RevenueBase identified 89 media planning and buying firms headquartered in San Francisco, United States as of September 2026 and tracks 2,630 professional contacts across them, including 459 with verified work emails. New York is the largest hub.

This list covers media planning and buying firms headquartered in San Francisco, United States, matched on what each company actually does as described in its own words. Ranked by team size, largest first. Every row shows the company's own description, its RevenueBase Smart Search rating, and when it was last checked. Data refreshed September 20, 2026.

Published by RevenueBase, a B2B data infrastructure company. This list was built with RevenueBase Smart Search, the natural-language company search RevenueBase customers use to build their own targeted lists and unlock verified emails and direct dials at the companies on them. How these lists are built and judged.

How to read this list HQ checked on every row RevenueBase Smart Search rating on every row Refreshed Sep 20, 2026 86% judged on-target in blind review
89Companies
2,630Contacts tracked
459Verified emails
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The 25 largest media planning and buying firms based in San Francisco, United States

Ranked by team size
Top 25 of 89 media planning and buying firms based in San Francisco, United States, ranked by team size, largest first. Data refreshed Sep 20, 2026. RevenueBase Smart Search rates how each company's information relates to media planning and buying firms: strong evidence (its own description names it), partial (names part of it), indirect (matched on the rest of its profile rather than the description shown). Click a contact count to view that company's people.
#CompanyRevenueBase Smart SearchHeadquartersEmployeesContacts
1Indirect evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 20261,001-5,000782 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Formerly Essence, we are now EssenceMediacom.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
2Partial evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 202651-200290 contacts →

Partial evidence

“Merkle | DWA is a global media and marketing agency for technology companies.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
3Indirect evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 202651-200263 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“We are a fiercely entrepreneurial agency that blends creativity and performance to build great brands.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
4Indirect evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 2026n/a209 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Note: Grand no longer exists.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
5Indirect evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 2026n/a103 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Hi, we're Tractor, a San Francisco based agency that doesn't shy away from big challenges.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
6Indirect evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 202651-20071 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“A four-time Ad Age Small Agency of the Year, Duncan Channon is a full-service creative shop with a 360º offering including social, experiential and influencer.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
7Indirect evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 202651-20070 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Eleven develops category-defining ideas that are unconstrained by medium.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
8Indirect evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 2026501-1,00068 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Nativex is a leading digital marketing agency committed to helping brands and apps achieve cross-regional growth.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
9Indirect evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 202611-5038 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“At Cutwater, we hone and sharpen a brand into something more distinctive so it has a better chance of cutting through, being heard, and standing apart.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
10Indirect evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 202611-5036 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“We're the biggest small agency in the world.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
11Strong evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 202611-5036 contacts →

Strong evidence

“Our services include Consumer Insights, Research, Brand Strategy, Creative, and Global Media Planning & Buying (where we leverage our long-term partner Initiative Media’s $40…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
12Indirect evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 202611-5035 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Bonfire Labs is a creative studio moving brands further faster.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
13Indirect evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 202611-5034 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Demand Local empowers Advertising & Marketing agencies in the Automotive, Legal, Financial, & CPG industries to scale and grow their businesses.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
14Indirect evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 202611-5030 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“We're a creatively driven, strategically whip smart ad agency headquartered in San Francisco’s Presidio and Chicago.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
15Indirect evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 202611-5028 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“If a small-ish agency is to be truly adept at integrated marketing, that means they'd have to hire creatives that can work in all mediums.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
16Indirect evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 202651-20023 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Havas San Francisco is one of the fastest growing full-service agencies on the West Coast.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
17Partial evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 202611-5017 contacts →

Partial evidence

“We built the media agency that brands actually need.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
18Indirect evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 202611-5014 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“At Next Steps Marketing, we solve audience-building challenges in a creative and customized way.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
19Indirect evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 202611-5011 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“With nearly four decades of experience, Palmer is a seasoned, trusted advertising and marketing agency that partners with companies to build brand stories, create impactful…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
20Indirect evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 20261-1010 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Brainchild is a next generation agile ad agency founded to meet the needs of companies and clients who are curious about new ways to win.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
21Indirect evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 20261-1010 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Award Winning Creative Communications The M-Line is a full-service marketing communications agency in San Francisco, California.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
22Indirect evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 202611-508 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Tungsten Advertising is a full-service advertising agency based in San Francisco.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
23Indirect evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 202611-506 contacts →

Indirect evidence

“Yates Advertising is a full-service advertising agency.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
24Partial evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 20261-105 contacts →

Partial evidence

“Closing Media is a small agency based out of Chicago, Illinois focused on generating marketing pipeline and closed revenue from paid social & paid search channels (which usually…”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026
25Strong evidenceSan Francisco, CA, United StatesHQ checked Sep 20, 20261-104 contacts →

Strong evidence

“Concept, camera, campaign, ad creative, media buying.”

Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 20, 2026

Showing 25 of 89 media planning and buying firms based in San Francisco, United States

See the full list, filter by size, metro and specialty, and get verified emails and direct dials for all 459 reachable decision-makers.

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Media planning and buying firms based in San Francisco, United States at a glance

As of Sep 20, 2026
17.5%Verified-email coverage
29.6Average contacts per company
1-10Median size (employees)
558.4%Largest-city concentration · New York
Sep 20, 2026Page data refreshed

Companies by employee count

1-10
46
11-50
27
51-200
12
201-500
1
501-1,000
1
1,001-5,000
1
5,001-10,000
1

Email recency for this list is measured across the whole United States list rather than for San Francisco, so it is reported there. Company counts and contact totals on this page are exact for San Francisco, over 89 companies.

How this list was built

Company categories are rarely black and white. RevenueBase reads each company's own description of its business to decide whether it belongs among media planning and buying firms, so some rows will be adjacent to the category rather than pure plays. The description and RevenueBase Smart Search rating on every row are there so you can check each match yourself.

Source
The RevenueBase company graph: 60 million companies and 398.9 million professional contacts resolved from primary sources, queried with RevenueBase Smart Search, the natural-language company search available to every RevenueBase user.
What qualifies
Companies headquartered in San Francisco, United States whose own description of what they do matches “media planning and buying firms”. Matching reads each company's description, not its industry code or its name.
RevenueBase Smart Search
RevenueBase Smart Search is how this list is assembled and how each row is rated. RevenueBase's data engine and AI assess a company's LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website and other publicly available information, then relate it to a category defined in a user's own words. Each row is rated strong evidence (its own description names media planning and buying firms), partial evidence (it names part of the category) or indirect evidence (the description shown names none of it and the match rests on the rest of the company's profile). The description supporting each rating is quoted on the row.
What we exclude
Companies whose own description does not clearly place them among media planning and buying firms, and records with no verified work email. Companies headquartered outside San Francisco are excluded even when they keep an office there.
Match quality
In blind human judging of this matching method, 86% of matched companies were on target. Expect roughly 1 in 7 rows to be adjacent to the category rather than a pure play. Every row shows the company's own description and its RevenueBase Smart Search rating so you can judge each match yourself. Read the full methodology: how the lists are built, how the judging worked, and what the figure means.
Ranking
Team size, largest first: companies are ordered by the number of professionals RevenueBase tracks at each one. Employee ranges shown are reported bands, for context.
Verification
Every listed company carries at least one verified work email, 459 across the full list. Contacts re-verify on a rolling cadence, and each contact's own verification date is shown inside RevenueBase.
Refresh
This page's figures were pulled from the company graph on September 20, 2026. Lists refresh periodically as the graph is re-checked.
Corrections
Wrong category, wrong headquarters, or a company that has closed? Use “Report an issue” on any row. Reports go to the RevenueBase Data Team and feed back into the company graph.

Media planning and buying firms by metro in the United States

Frequently asked

What is RevenueBase Smart Search?

RevenueBase Smart Search is how RevenueBase decides which companies belong on this list and how strongly each one fits. Its data engine and AI assess a company's LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website and other publicly available information, then relate it to the category the list is about. Each row is rated strong evidence when the company's own description names media planning and buying firms, partial evidence when it names part of the category, and indirect evidence when the description shown names none of it and the match rests on the rest of the company's profile.

How many media planning and buying firms are there based in San Francisco, United States?

RevenueBase identified 89 media planning and buying firms headquartered in San Francisco, United States as of September 2026, matched on each company's own description of what it does rather than its industry code.

What is the largest company on this list?

Essence, headquartered in San Francisco, tops this list with the largest team on record.

Which city has the most media planning and buying firms?

New York leads with 497 headquartered companies, followed by Los Angeles (307) and Chicago (169).

How do I get contact information for these companies?

A free RevenueBase account lets you run this exact search and work the top results, verified emails and direct dials included. Upgrading unlocks all 459 verified decision-maker contacts tracked across these 89 companies.

How current is this list?

The list refreshes periodically as the company graph is re-checked. This page's figures were pulled on September 20, 2026.

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About this data

RevenueBase is a B2B data infrastructure company. Its company graph covers 60 million companies and 398.9 million professional contacts, with emails verified on a rolling cadence rather than scraped once and left to decay. These company lists are generated directly from that graph with RevenueBase Smart Search, the same natural-language company search every RevenueBase user has: describe a market in plain words, get the companies that match, and add verified emails and direct dials for the people at them. It is the same data that powers RevenueBase's B2B data products, and a free account includes 500 credits to start. How these lists are built and judged.