School of Thought

What School of Thought does

School of Thought is a privately held, full-service creative agency founded in 2009 and headquartered in Oakland, California, with a team of 1-10 employees. The firm combines behavioral science research with creative production to design campaigns that drive measurable behavior change, with a primary specialization in sustainability, electrification, and clean energy marketing for cities, community choice aggregations, utilities, and government agencies. Service offerings span media planning and buying, video production, content and website development, branding, and experiential activations, delivered under multi-year retainer and project-based contracts.

The agency's core technical differentiator is its behavioral science-driven methodology, which applies social movement principles and humor-based engagement frameworks to overcome low public engagement with sustainability topics. Landmark work includes the 'Switch Is On' statewide electrification campaign executed in six languages that achieved 44% awareness in California within two years from a zero baseline, and the Cisco WebEx activation at Mobile World Congress that generated 2 million organic engagements. The firm has worked with over 100 brands spanning Fortune 50 enterprise clients (PG&E, Cisco, Red Bull, iShares), government agencies (San Francisco Department of the Environment, Sonoma Clean Power, Silicon Valley Clean Energy, Clean Power Alliance), and education institutions (Stanford).

The business operates as a sales-led, relationship-driven boutique with no disclosed external funding, no parent company, and no M&A history. Revenue is generated through professional service fees on custom project work and long-duration retainer engagements, with client relationships spanning 10-14 years at the longest-tenured accounts. Geographic focus is concentrated in California, with no global footprint claimed. The firm has no disclosed pricing tiers, no patents, no formal certifications, and operates without disclosed institutional ownership or leadership team information beyond founder-level signals.

Name

School of Thought

Legal name

School of Thought

Website

https://schoolofthought.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

School of Thought is an Oakland-based creative agency founded in 2009 that combines behavioral science with creative production to design sustainability and electrification campaigns for cities, utilities, and enterprise brands, operating as a 1-10 person boutique with retainer and project-based engagements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Marketing Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Reputation & Thought Leadership (MPAAAOAF)

Keywords

• Sustainability marketing
• Creative agency services
• Behavioral science advertising
• Media planning buying
• Video production services

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Creative Agency Services: Full-service creative agency providing media planning/buying, video production, content/site development, branding, and experiential marketing activations. Revenue derived from professional service fees for campaign development and execution.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

School of Thought is a full-service creative agency that combines applied behavioral science with creative production to drive measurable behavior change, primarily for sustainability and electrification campaigns. It sells integrated creative services including media planning and buying, video production, content and site development, branding, and experiential stunts and activations to cities, utilities, government agencies, and Fortune 50 enterprise brands across sustainability, clean energy, and broader consumer marketing categories.

Product overview

School of Thought is a creative sustainability marketing agency that combines behavioral science and creativity to inspire action on sustainability and other campaigns. The agency offers integrated marketing services organized into four main product categories: Campaigns (Switch Is On, SFE, CPA), Content & Video (SVCE, Red Bull), Digital, and Activations (Cisco). Founded in 2009 as a creative boutique, the company has expanded to offer media planning and buying, video production, content and sites, branding, and stunts and activations. The company has worked with over 100 brands including cities, utilities, and Fortune 500 companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Media Planning and Buying Full paid-media planning and buying service covering digital, out-of-home, social, video, and content media channels for sustainability, electrification, and consumer brand campaigns. Built into the agency's integrated offering after clients asked the agency to take on media beyond creative work.
• Video Production Video production service delivering ads, content videos, and event videos for utilities, clean energy programs, and enterprise brands, including six-year SVCE partnership producing hundreds of ads and videos.
• Content and Site Development Content creation and website development service covering landing pages, registration flows, and integrated content campaigns, exemplified by Red Bulletin landing-page optimization that increased subscription rates by 35%.
• Branding Services Brand strategy and creative development services for clients such as Clean Power Alliance, iShares, and other utilities and enterprise brands, addressing low brand awareness through cohesive identity work.
• Experiential Stunts and Activations Experiential marketing activations including tradeshow activations (Cisco WebEx at Mobile World Congress and CeBit generating 2 million organic engagements) and environmental pop-up events (SFE recycled-box installation).
• Behavioral Science-Driven Campaign Strategy Strategy and creative development grounded in behavioral science principles (social movement framing, humor-based engagement) to inspire behavior change, particularly on sustainability, electrification, and recycling/compositing campaigns. A Stanford PhD in behavioral science has publicly endorsed the campaign work as among the most effective seen.

Quantifiable outcome

• Switch Is On campaign achieved 44% awareness in California within two years starting from zero, with 1/30th of competitor budget ($20MM benchmark)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers12 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

Feature3 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hub Strategy & Communication: San Francisco-based independent creative and communications agency with work for Kaiser Permanente, Sephora, and Lyft. Comparable in scale and Bay Area focus, competing for similar mission-driven and consumer brand engagements.
• 72andSunny: Los Angeles-headquartered creative agency with campaigns for Google, Nike, and Twitch emphasizing culture-driven, integrated creative work. Comparable as a full-service creative competitor for Fortune 500 brands with strong entertainment and experiential capabilities.
• Mekanism: San Francisco creative agency known for blending content, media, and purpose-driven storytelling with sustainability and social-impact clients (e.g., Patagonia, Seventh Generation). Comparable in size, geography, and emphasis on behavior-change creative for sustainability categories.
• Duncan Channon: Independent San Francisco creative agency with purpose-driven and sustainability work for clients like Levi's and CSAA Insurance Group. Comparable boutique scale and Bay Area footprint, serving similarly minded enterprise and consumer brands.
• Movement Strategy: Los Angeles-based social creative agency working with Netflix, Amazon, and HBO on purpose-driven campaigns blending content, social, and experiential. Comparable as a creative-led shop competing for Fortune 500 social and integrated mandates.
• Red Antler: Brooklyn-based brand and creative agency known for launching and rebranding consumer companies (Allbirds, Casper, Calendly). Comparable as an independent creative shop combining brand strategy, creative, and integrated campaign execution for high-growth clients.
• Mother Design: Independent creative network with offices in New York, Los Angeles, and London producing campaigns for Google, Target, and Uber. Comparable as an independent creative shop combining brand strategy, content, and experiential work for ambitious clients.
• Goodby Silverstein & Partners: San Francisco-based creative agency with a long track record in sustainability and behavior-change campaigns, including work for the California Milk Processor Board and energy clients. Directly comparable as a full-service creative shop competing for similar utility and government mandates.

Broad incumbents

• Edelman: Global communications firm with a dedicated sustainability and climate practice serving corporations, NGOs, and utilities. Comparable for behavior-change and sustainability campaigns (e.g., Purpose-driven work), though substantially larger and PR-led rather than creative-led.
• Wieden+Kennedy: Globally recognized independent creative agency (Nike, Coca-Cola, Levi's) with deep integrated capabilities across media, content, and activations. Comparable in full-service offering and category-leading creative reputation, though substantially larger.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SchoolOThought
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCNNyskfSINIqXW8G0h01ZDg
• Facebookfacebook.com/schoolofthoughtsf
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/schoolofthought
• Instagraminstagram.com/schoolofthought
• Pinterestpinterest.com/schoolofthoughtideas/work

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 School of Thought