Brand Oath

What Brand Oath does

Brand Oath is an Edinburgh-based branding, design and communications agency operating since 2011 from a 1-10 person team led by Managing Director Bernie Shaw-Binns. The firm delivers three integrated service pillars — Brand Strategy (insight, positioning, messaging), Brand Creation (visual and verbal identity, brand campaigns, look and feel), and Brand Implementation (digital, print and environmental design) — plus a specialised Major Event Bids offering covering bid book design, stakeholder presentations, motion graphics, film and campaign themes. Service delivery relies on human creative judgment rather than proprietary technology, with no AI, software products or platform assets disclosed.

The company serves public and private sector organisations across four primary segments: public sector bodies, elite sports properties, social enterprises, and entrepreneurial businesses. Sports clients are the dominant vertical, with named engagements including Scottish Cycling, the UCI World Championships Glasgow 2023, the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 2024, Team Scotland, British Rowing, England Rowing, Basketball Scotland, the Ryder Cup, UEFA Euros and the Special Olympics. Bid work has extended to London 2012, Baku 2020, Istanbul 2020, Krakow 2022 and Budapest 2024 Olympic and major event bids. Diversification signals include healthcare (Vannin Healthcare), technology services (Appetite), tourism (Visit Falkirk), events advisory (Trivandi), and environmental partnerships (World Rowing and WWF Healthy Waters).

Brand Oath operates a project-based professional services model with no publicly disclosed pricing. Revenue is generated through brand strategy, creation and implementation engagements acquired primarily via the firm's website portfolio, case studies and relationship-based business development. Geographic reach is described as Edinburgh-headquartered with work delivered across the UK and internationally. A notable channel is the working relationship with The Sports Consultancy, which routes projects on behalf of UCI and World Rugby into Brand Oath. The firm is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds, parent company or ownership structure beyond independent operation.

Name

Brand Oath

Legal name

Brand Oath

Website

https://brandoath.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Brand Oath is an Edinburgh-based branding, design, and communications agency serving public sector organisations, elite sports properties, social enterprises, and entrepreneurial businesses through brand strategy, creation, and implementation services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Brand Consulting Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (54181)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Brand Strategy & Positioning (BPAFAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Brand Consulting, Audits & Research (Brand Health, Equity, Competitive) (BPAFAEAJ), Brand Strategy & Identity Systems (MPAAAEAA)

Keywords

• Brand strategy services
• Visual identity design
• Brand implementation
• Creative communications agency
• Sports branding

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Branding and Design Services: Professional services revenue from brand strategy, brand creation, and brand implementation projects. Work appears to be project-based engagements with clients across sports, social enterprises, and public sector organisations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Brand Oath is an Edinburgh-based branding, design, and communications agency that delivers three interconnected service pillars: brand strategy (insight, positioning, messaging), brand creation (brand identity, brand campaigns, look and feel), and brand implementation across digital, print, and environmental channels. The firm also specialises in major event bid branding for elite sporting properties.

Product overview

Brand Oath is a branding, design, and communications agency offering a unified suite of professional services. The core offering consists of three interconnected service pillars: Brand Strategy (insight, positioning, and messaging), Brand Creation (brand identity, campaigns, and visual frameworks), and Brand Implementation (digital, print, and environmental design). The company specialises in serving public and private sector organisations, elite sports properties, social enterprises, and entrepreneurial businesses, particularly in Scotland and the UK.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brand Strategy Services Unlocking what makes organisations different and articulating why this matters to audiences, developing a core idea that is the foundation from which all communication follows. Includes insight exploration, positioning, and messaging services for public and private sector organisations.
• Brand Creation Services Translating brand strategy into inspiring and engaging visual and verbal frameworks to give clients a distinct look and feel. Includes brand identity design, brand campaigns, and look and feel development for organisations seeking differentiation.
• Brand Implementation Services Implementing creative brand ideas across digital (website, motion, social), print (printed collateral), and environmental (exhibition, interiors, city and venue dressing) design channels for clients across multiple sectors.
• Major Event Bids Branding Strategy, identities, brand guidelines, bid book design and production, stakeholder presentations, motion graphics, film, and campaign themes for bidding on major global sporting events such as Olympic Games and World Championships.

Quantifiable outcome

• Scottish Cycling won National Governing Body of the Year at Scottish Sports Awards 2023 with significant increase in funding and commercial income
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers17 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

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• World Rowing and WWFcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Since 2011, World Rowing and WWF have partnered in promoting clean water campaigns. Brand Oath was engaged to rebrand the campaign-based partnership, reflecting a shift to focus on healthy water ecosystems with a new name, 'Healthy Waters'. Created a library of identities and visual framework.
• ImpsportminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerImpsport produced the Scottish Cycling team kit for the 2026 Commonwealth Games that Brand Oath designed. Impsport is described as having done an amazing job with the production of the kit.
• UCIcoreOthersBrand Oath continues to work closely with The Sports Consultancy delivering key projects on behalf of UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale), the world governing body for cycling sports.
• World RugbycoreOthersBrand Oath delivers key projects on behalf of World Rugby through their partnership with The Sports Consultancy.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SomeOne: Award-winning London brand strategy and design agency working across public, cultural and sporting sectors. Comparable boutique brand consultancy model with similar brand strategy, identity, and implementation services.
• Elmwood: Brand strategy and design agency working across sports, retail and consumer clients. Direct peer offering the same strategy-to-implementation service pillars with comparable boutique scale.
• Without: Purpose-driven brand and design studio focused on organisations tackling social and environmental challenges. Highly comparable positioning to Brand Oath's "Find your good" narrative and similar niche, non-profit / purpose-led client base.
• Mechanica: Boutique UK brand and creative agency serving public, cultural, and purpose-led clients with strategy, identity and campaigns. Comparable in scale, service pillars, and emphasis on socially-minded brand work.
• Pentagram: Independent brand strategy and design consultancy producing visual identity systems and brand strategies for major cultural, sports and public-sector clients. Directly comparable as a multidisciplinary brand agency with a similar service model across strategy, identity, and implementation.
• Reckless (formerly Carter Wong) London studio-style peers: Boutique brand strategy and identity agencies offering the same brand strategy, creation, and implementation service pillars for public and private sector clients in the UK. Closely comparable in size and offering to Brand Oath.

Emerging players

• Unilever Studios / Spaceagency (sport-specific peer): Sport-sector focused brand and creative agencies serving federations, events and clubs with strategy, identity and campaigns. Comparable specialist focus on the sports-governing-body and major-event category where Brand Oath operates.

Broad incumbents

• Landor & Fitch: Global brand transformation and design consultancy with sports and public-sector work. Comparable offering across strategy, identity and environmental design, though operating as a large incumbent rather than a specialist boutique.
• Wolff Olins: Global brand consultancy within Omnicom delivering brand strategy and identity for major sporting events and public-sector clients. Comparable services in sport and public-sector branding but at much larger scale and broader geographic reach than Brand Oath.

Others

• The Sports Consultancy: Sports advisory firm that Brand Oath works closely with to deliver brand projects for UCI and World Rugby. Not a direct competitor but a strategic channel partner whose client roster signals the addressable market for sports-specialist brand agencies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 Brand Oath