Think Tank

What Think Tank does

Think Tank PR + Marketing is a full-service, founder-led marketing and advertising agency headquartered at 2745 Locust Street in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, founded in 2006 by CEO Trish Cheatham. The firm operates under the DBA Think Tank PR + Marketing and offers an in-house suite spanning branding, graphic design, social media management, public relations, search engine optimization, generative engine optimization (GEO), web design and development, video production, and commercial photography. A sister company, White Buffalo Film Studios, extends video production capacity and provides an internship pipeline drawing from Webster University and other regional schools. There is no proprietary software platform; the technology stack consists of standard creative tools (Adobe Creative Suite), video production equipment, and SEO tooling, with all work executed in-house.

The company serves a mix of SMB and enterprise clients across at least eight verticals, with food & beverage as the primary vertical. Named customers include Kräftig (William K. Busch Brewing Company), Arcobasso Foods, Dogtown Pizza, Katie's Pizza & Pasta, The Lifestyle Center, North Cannabis Dispensary, Chaumette Vineyard & Winery, Ferguson Roofing, McKendree University, and Church on the Rock. Revenue mechanics are based on professional services fees billed on project or retainer terms; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Distribution is primarily regional (Missouri), driven by direct client engagement, a formalized Referral Program, and a long-tenured reputation reinforced by 14 consecutive years as St. Louis's Best Marketing Firm and 11 consecutive years as Best PR Firm.

Think Tank is a private, woman-owned business with no disclosed external investors, funding rounds, or parent company. The firm reports 16+ team members on its website and has tripled headcount and quadrupled office space over the prior year, indicating a scaling but still sub-50-person operation concentrated in a single metro. Community engagement through the CreateAthon pro bono program has delivered over $650,000 in services to 70+ nonprofits across 9+ years, functioning as both a goodwill engine and a referral pipeline.

Name

Think Tank

Legal name

Think Tank

Website

https://thinktankprm.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Think Tank is a founder-led, full-service marketing and PR agency in St. Louis offering in-house branding, digital, video, SEO, and GEO services to SMB and enterprise clients across food & beverage, healthcare, education, and other regional verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

St Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Marketing and PR Services: Full-service marketing and advertising agency providing branding, graphic design, social media, public relations, SEO, video production, photography, and web design services on a project or retainer basis.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Think Tank is a full-service marketing, advertising, and public relations agency delivering customized strategies spanning branding, graphic design, social media, PR, SEO, GEO, web design and development, video production, and commercial photography. All services are executed in-house under a project or retainer model for clients ranging from small local businesses to Fortune 500 enterprises.

Product overview

Think Tank is an award-winning, full-service marketing and advertising agency based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company operates as a unified service-based firm offering a comprehensive suite of marketing services including Branding, Graphic Design, Social Media Management, Public Relations Strategies, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), Web Design & Development, Video Production, and Commercial Photography. The agency also maintains a sister company, White Buffalo Film Studios, for specialized video production services. Think Tank delivers customized marketing strategies built around each client's unique goals, offering a soup-to-nuts approach from traditional PR and media relations to digital marketing, video production, branding, and design—all executed in-house with quality and cost control as core commitments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Branding Brand identity strategy and messaging services that help businesses build emotional connections with customers and differentiate in competitive markets.
• Graphic Design
• Social Media
• Public Relations Strategies
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
• Web Design + Development
• Video Production
• Commercial Photography

Quantifiable outcome

• Social media following increased by more than 200% for Dogtown Pizza
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CreateAthoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThink Tank has been a proud participant in the national CreateAthon event for over 9 years. This 24-hour creative design blitz provides pro bono marketing services to nonprofits. The company has donated over $650,000 in services and helped 70+ nonprofits.
• White Buffalo Film StudioscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister company providing video production services. Interns work closely with White Buffalo Film Studios crew for on-location and in-studio client work.
• Webster UniversityminorOthersAcademic partner for internships; video internship program works with students from Webster University

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• HLK: St. Louis-based creative and content agency of similar size serving consumer, agriculture, and B2B clients. Overlapping mid-market creative positioning and regional Midwest presence.
• Marlin Network: St. Louis integrated marketing agency offering branding, digital, and PR services to consumer brands. Closely comparable regional full-service competitor in the same city.
• Tension Creative: St. Louis creative agency delivering branding, design, and integrated marketing for regional and national clients. Comparable full-service creative model with similar geographic focus.
• Atomic Dust: St. Louis-based design and digital marketing agency of comparable size, offering branding, web design, and digital strategy to B2B and consumer clients. Most directly comparable mid-market creative competitor in the same metro.
• Paradowski: St. Louis creative + strategy agency serving consumer and lifestyle brands with branding, design, and content services. Similar boutique size, in-house creative model, and regional Midwest client base.

Broad incumbents

• VML: Global marketing, advertising, and brand experience agency formed from the merger of VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson. Overlapping full-service creative, digital, and branding offerings at enterprise scale.
• Ketchum: Global public relations and communications agency (now part of Omnicom). Directly comparable PR and integrated communications services but at much larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• Ogilvy: Global advertising and marketing network offering branding, advertising, PR, and digital strategy. Overlaps in advertising, PR, and creative services but at vastly larger scale and global footprint.
• FleishmanHillard: St. Louis-headquartered global PR firm (part of Omnicom) operating at vastly larger scale. Directly comparable PR service line and St. Louis roots, but competes primarily at enterprise/ global level.

Regional players

• Walker Sands: Chicago-based integrated B2B marketing agency offering PR, content, branding, and digital services. Similar mid-market full-service positioning but anchored in Chicago rather than St. Louis.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thinktankninjas
• Facebookfacebook.com/thinktankninjas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Think Tank