Oberland

What Oberland does

Oberland is a privately held, purpose-driven advertising agency founded in 2014 in New York City by Bill Oberlander and Drew Train. The firm operates as a full-service creative agency providing brand strategy, marketing, design, storytelling, public relations, advertising, and digital marketing services to a dual client base of Fortune 500 brands and large non-profit organizations. Its stated positioning is that purpose-driven marketing functions as a financial multiplier rather than a tradeoff, and the agency's portfolio emphasizes campaigns tied to social causes including gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, gun safety, mental health, climate, and civil liberties.

The agency's service portfolio is organized into two integrated offerings: Strategy (brand planning, community engagement, content strategy, media planning, research, measurement and analytics) and Storytelling (advertising, brand identity, content, digital, video, social media, experiential, public relations, packaging). It does not operate a proprietary technology platform; its core asset is creative talent and campaign IP. Notable client engagements include e.l.f. Beauty (Cannes Silver Lion winner for 'So Many Dicks'), Michaels (2025 national rebrand), The Nature Conservancy ($382 million raised across OBERLAND partnerships), ACLU, Brady United, Thinx, March of Dimes, Uber, and Tytocare. The agency is led by co-founders Bill Oberlander (Creative Chairman) and Drew Train (CEO), with Lisa Topol as Managing Partner and Chief Creative Officer and Frank Scheuer as COO.

The business operates on a professional-services model with project-based and retainer-based fee arrangements negotiated directly with enterprise and non-profit clients. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales, targeting CMOs and brand leads at large organizations through direct outreach, industry reputation, and award credibility rather than performance or volume marketing. The firm maintains a single NYC headquarters and reports 11–50 employees with no disclosed subsidiaries, funding rounds, or institutional investors. Revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Oberland

Legal name

OBERLAND INC.

Website

https://thisisoberland.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Oberland is a New York-based, purpose-driven creative agency founded in 2014 that provides brand strategy, advertising, storytelling, and digital marketing services to Fortune 500 companies and major non-profit organizations, anchored by Cannes Lions-winning work for clients including e.l.f. Beauty and Michaels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advertising Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising Agencies (54181)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Packaging & Brand Identity Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Brand Architecture & Portfolio Strategy (BPAFAEAE)

Keywords

• Advertising agency services
• Brand strategy consulting
• Purpose-driven marketing
• Creative campaign development
• Marketing communications

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Advertising and Marketing Services: Project-based and retainer-based fee arrangements for brand strategy, marketing, design, storytelling, and campaign development services. The agency works with both for-profit brands and non-profit organizations on purpose-driven campaigns.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Oberland is a full-service, purpose-driven advertising agency that partners with Fortune 500 brands and non-profit organizations to develop brand strategy, integrated creative campaigns, and storytelling across digital, video, social, experiential, public relations, and packaging channels. The agency delivers end-to-end services spanning research, brand planning, media planning, content production, brand identity, and reputation management, anchored in the thesis that purpose-led creative drives both cultural impact and commercial growth.

Product overview

Oberland is a purpose-driven advertising agency offering a unified suite of creative and strategic marketing services. The agency operates as a single integrated offering combining strategy services (brand planning, research, media planning, targeting) with storytelling services (advertising, content, digital, video, social media, experiential marketing). Their approach centers on purpose-led brand positioning and cause marketing, helping Fortune 500 companies and non-profits grow through authentic social advocacy and creative campaigns that drive both impact and business results.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategy Services Strategic consulting services including Brand Planning, Community Engagement, Content Strategy, Database Marketing, Measurement & Analytics, Media Planning, Research, Strategic Consulting, Sponsorship, and Targeting to help brands develop purpose-driven positioning. Targeted at enterprise clients and mission-led organizations.
• Storytelling Services Full-service creative production including Advertising, Brand Identity, Collateral, Content, Data Visualization, Digital, Experiential, Integrated Production, Packaging and Labels, Public Relations, Reputation Management, Social Media, Video, and Websites. Targeted at enterprise clients and mission-led organizations.
• Campaign Services Purpose-driven marketing campaigns that integrate brand strategy with creative storytelling, including cause marketing, CSR initiatives, and social advocacy campaigns for clients across various sectors such as beauty, retail, healthcare, financial services, non-profit, and consumer products.

Quantifiable outcome

• e.l.f. 'So Many Dicks' campaign won Cannes Silver Lion, The One Show Fusion Pencil, Effie Silver, ANDY Gold
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers25 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Plan AminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 April 2022OBERLAND partnered with greentech company Plan A to calculate agency GHG emissions, set policies to mitigate carbon footprint, and move towards becoming a carbon-positive agency by 2023.
• No MoreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOBERLAND helped Uber launch partnership with No More, a non-profit committed to preventing sexual assault. The 'Stand Up, Don't Stand By' campaign launched in Las Vegas and Los Angeles and scaled globally. OBERLAND created the campaign concept and creative assets.
• DoublespaceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOBERLAND worked with branding firm Doublespace to develop the Union Savings Bank FutureTrack campaign, combining OBERLAND's advertising expertise with Doublespace's branding capabilities.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Droga5: Droga5 is an independent, award-winning creative agency known for purpose-driven, culturally resonant campaigns for brands like Nike, Google, and The New York Times. Like Oberland, it competes for Fortune 500 enterprise accounts on the basis of creative pedigree and social impact work.
• Mother New York: Mother New York is an independent creative agency with a similar boutique scale and focus on culturally progressive, award-winning work for brands like Target, Google, and Samsung. Its independent, ideas-led culture is comparable to Oberland's.
• Mekanism: Mekanism is an independent creative agency purpose-built around 'Soul & Science' for brands like Ben & Jerry's, Nike, and the Ad Council. Its purpose-driven positioning and similar mid-sized independent profile make it a close peer.
• StrawberryFrog: StrawberryFrog is a small, independent creative agency explicitly built around 'movement marketing' and purpose-driven brand transformation for clients like Pampers, Google, and Emirates. Its size, independence, and category positioning make it one of the closest direct peers to Oberland.
• Anomaly: Anomaly is an independent creative agency that combines advertising, brand strategy, and content production for Fortune 500 clients like Budweiser, Converse, and Coca-Cola. Its integrated model and independent structure parallel Oberland's.
• 72andSunny: 72andSunny is an independent creative agency recognized for purpose-led work for brands like Patagonia, Google, and Adidas. Its positioning around cultural relevance and brand activism directly overlaps with Oberland's purpose-driven thesis.

Broad incumbents

• R/GA: R/GA is a large independent agency combining advertising, design, and technology for brands like Nike, Google, and Samsung. It competes for integrated, purpose-driven brand work and offers broader digital and product capabilities than Oberland.
• Deutsch New York: Deutsch is a major independent creative agency with deep enterprise clients like Taco Bell, Dr Pepper, and PNC Bank. Jasmine Farooq of Oberland came from Deutsch LA, indicating direct talent overlap and competitive positioning for cause-marketing and CPG clients.
• Wieden+Kennedy: Wieden+Kennedy is a large, award-winning independent creative agency famous for Nike campaigns and major Cannes Lions wins. Several Oberland leaders (Lisa Topol, David Orton, Jeff Prince) are W+K alumni, and W+K competes for the same Fortune 500 creative mandates at greater scale.
• Goodby Silverstein & Partners: Goodby Silverstein is an Omnicom-owned creative agency known for iconic purpose-driven work (Got Milk, Cheetos Museum) and major Cannes wins. It is a scaled incumbent that competes directly with Oberland for Fortune 500 creative mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/THISISOBERLAND
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCn4Kn8Gk0B5iNi1xZKxNq8w
• Facebookfacebook.com/thisisoberland
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thisisoberland
• Instagraminstagram.com/thisisoberland

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Oberland