Column Five vs. 97th Floor

Picking the right B2B marketing agency isn’t something you want to rush. The options can look similar at a glance, but little differences matter. Column Five and 97th Floor both work with brands who’ve got scale, though each takes a pretty different tack. Column Five made its name turning numbers and tricky topics into visuals for SaaS and tech folks. 97th Floor, on the other hand, calls itself a performance agency—it likes to play in the world of SEO, paid ads, and hitting those measurable pipeline targets.

This side-by-side invites a closer look. It shows what each agency does best, calls out what you won’t find, and helps you see which fits where you want to go. If you’re caught weighing creative brand work against chasing measurable results, these details help you see where your own dollars might make the most impact.

Company Background: Column Five

Column Five showed up in 2009 when Ross Crooks, Josh Ritchie, and Jason Lankow teamed up. They saw value in explaining data through infographics and kept building from there. Fast forward, and now you’ll find them running full content and brand campaigns for companies in B2B tech, SaaS, cybersecurity, and fintech spaces.

Based out of Costa Mesa, California, but working with people everywhere, Column Five keeps things tightly knit. They stay nimble, focusing on practical strategy and creative work.

Some clients might ring a bell: Microsoft, Adobe, Dropbox, Salesforce, Instacart, and J.P. Morgan all make the list. Column Five aims at helping mid-market and larger companies who want creative campaigns and need help telling their story. Visuals are front and center.

What Column Five Does

Column Five runs a blend of brand strategy, content planning, and creative production. The approach goes in three steps:

They look at where you are now.
They map out a plan for your messaging.
They roll up their sleeves and start producing work. That might mean videos, motion graphics, infographics, annual reports, ebooks, or simplified explainers.

Brand projects cover positioning, messaging frameworks, and design systems. Content can be anything from explainer videos to sales tools. If you’re curious about AI, they’ve started mixing in AI-powered content tools for quicker turnaround and workflow help.

As for payment, most clients use retainers or book dedicated teams. The Iris AI retainer focuses on boosting SEO visibility at $15,000 a month, while the Brand Studio sits at $10,000 to get rolling. Full programs tend to live in the middle-to-high five-figure range per month.

Where Column Five Shines

Column Five does their best work when they’re making tough topics simple and memorable through visuals. That’s the foundation—breaking down the hard parts and turning them into graphics, videos, or motion. You’ll see it in the details of an infographic or the polish in a piece of motion content.

Self-assessments put them at 5/5 for brand and creative work, and 4.9/5 for content output.
They’re not the only ones who think so—industry awards from Content Marketing Institute, Webby, and Tellys confirm the creative chops.
One example: a creative strategy pushed Dropbox’s brand perception up by 19%. A campaign for VideoAmp saw qualified leads jump by 850% in just one month.
They know how to get people to understand complicated software and security products. For example, they helped HackerOne reshape its image for big-company buyers, and Blend boosted web traffic by 183% with their help.

What to Keep in Mind

Column Five’s services don’t come cheap. Minimum monthly retainers kick off at $10,000 and quickly jump to $15,000 for broader programs. This rules out a lot of early-stage startups. The agency cares about quality over sheer volume, so if you want hundreds of blog posts every month or a giant global blitz, this probably isn’t the place to start.

They focus on creative work first—not technical SEO at huge scale or heavy-duty paid ad buys. If you want instant feedback on ads or need someone to dig deep into technical SEO problems, they’ll be upfront that they’re not running digital ad buying or massive paid campaigns.

Who Column Five Works Best With

Column Five clicks with tech and SaaS companies chasing standout content. Their sweet spot is series B or later-stage companies who already have a significant budget and want a built-from-scratch, integrated content and brand push.

Security or fintech companies that want to make technical topics easy get a lot out of their data visualization skills. They also work well with large companies who want creative teams as partners, not just task-takers, and who like building relationships over time.

Their portfolio features the big tech names: Adobe, Amazon, Google, HubSpot, LinkedIn, Netflix, Oracle, SAP, Snowflake, Spotify, Uber, Zendesk. They also have projects with financial giants like J.P. Morgan, Charles Schwab, and Intuit.

Instacart calls the team “the gold standard for being an extension of our team.”
Vercel says they have “a unique superpower for taking your ideas and making them 50x better.”
Zendesk highlights quick responses and fast project delivery.

You’ll find a 4.8/5 rating on Clutch and recognition from the Content Marketing Institute and Inc. 500 list. The 2025 Maya Breakthrough Culture Award recently went to Column Five, reflecting both client satisfaction and a healthy internal team culture.

Company Background: 97th Floor

97th Floor got its start in 2005 and still runs as an independent agency out of Lehi, Utah. With about 100 to 112 people and revenue somewhere between $27 and $34 million, they’ve got scale and seem to like working with B2B clients in more technical or regulated spaces: cybersecurity, finance, industrial, insurance, software, health.

Their identity centers on digital marketing that pairs content, SEO, advertising, and design. They’re the go-to for companies who want strategy tied to real numbers—measurable pipeline and revenue instead of just clicks or visits.

Some of the companies they’ve worked with include Dell, LG, Capital One, Amazon, and Qualtrics. They stick to mid-market and large brands—firms with growth in mind who want every channel dialed in and measured.

What 97th Floor Offers

97th Floor is all about the “four pillars”:

Content
SEO
Advertising
Design

They have a reputation for being technical aces in SEO, especially in newer areas like optimizing for answer engines and voice search. The team creates content meant to support organic growth and bring in leads—tying those efforts all the way to tracked revenue.

They handle paid media–PPC, social, and programmatic ads. They also know their way around conversion optimization, analytics, and account-based marketing. HubSpot is a specialty, too—they partner up for implementation and development needs.

Most client agreements live in the $10,000 to $15,000-a-month range.
Projects can run from $25,000 up into six-figure territory for complex campaigns.
Results get checked across the sales cycle so marketing isn’t just an activity—it’s mapped directly to new business.

Where 97th Floor Excels

97th Floor’s reputation is built on technical SEO—for the companies with a lot going on, websites with complex structures, or who want to connect the dots between organic search and revenue. The agency is at home with:

Architecting or cleaning up big sites
Optimizing for crawling and visibility
Doing the technical groundwork for voice or AI searches
Measuring impact in a way that makes sense to sales leaders

Industry lists often mention 97th Floor as a prime choice for companies that want both scope and clear results. For example, one brand saw a 50% lift in leads from managed channels after working with the team. They also put serious effort into learning where search is heading—publishing practical guides on AI-driven search trends before others started talking about it.

What to Watch For

97th Floor doesn’t try to serve every company. Budgets under $10,000 each month are usually too small. They thrive on enterprise-level SEO and campaigns where tracking and attribution matter most. Some projects go into six figures, so expect serious planning and involvement.

While they offer design, it isn’t the main reason people choose them. Data visualization and award-winning creative work isn’t their headline service, especially compared to specialists like Column Five.

Best-fit Clients for 97th Floor

If a company needs measurable ROI—and a clear sense of what’s driving results—then 97th Floor is a smart fit. Industries range from tech and finance to industrial and healthcare. They’re perfect for brands wanting technical SEO, integrated paid campaigns, and precise revenue tracking.

Most success stories come from companies who want marketing to feed directly into revenue, connect funnels, and show clear conversion improvements. Businesses who want brand refresh or storytelling as the star might look elsewhere, unless they also care deeply about analytics.

The agency’s client list stretches from major tech firms like Dell, LG, Capital One, Amazon, Qualtrics, Google to home services and B2B companies. Reviews often mention jumps in conversions, more-inbound leads, and stronger numbers in reporting.

One third-party rating pointed out a 50% increase in leads driven by their campaigns.
Industry awards, including the 2014 American Business Awards’ Agency of the Year, add weight to their experience.
Consistently listed among the big names for enterprise-level SEO and performance-driven marketing.

Comparing What Matters

Company Size and Story

Both Column Five and 97th Floor run as private, founder-driven agencies, but they’re different in scale and longevity. Column Five opened in 2009 as a tight team focused on visuals, growing to 50 or fewer people. 97th Floor started four years earlier and has grown to over 100 employees.

Both have offices beyond their headquarters, with Column Five showing more international work.
Client bases sit mostly in North America for both, but there’s evidence of Column Five taking on campaigns abroad.

Specialties and Process

Column Five specializes in branding, content strategy, and full creative work. The process looks like this: audit, roadmap, produce. Their legacy in data visuals drives each piece, so every campaign feels connected and on-message.

97th Floor drills into technical SEO, paid ads, and measurable outcomes. Their process combines four main areas to deliver numbers the sales team will care about. If the goal is to tie marketing spend straight to new revenue, their process helps make it clear where to invest.

Column Five leads with brand and content, supporting SEO along the way.
97th Floor leads with SEO and paid campaigns, bringing in creative and content when it serves the purpose.

The Standout Moves

Column Five stands apart on creative. They turn brand ideas into memorable visuals and stories. Some highlights:

Top scores and awards in creative and brand strategy.
Measurable jumps like Dropbox’s 19% brand lift.
More qualified leads—like the 850% boost for VideoAmp—thanks to creative storytelling and clear campaigns.

97th Floor’s superpower is measurable impact. They’re well-known for leading on technical details and connecting every campaign to revenue. For example, working with large tech and financial brands to build sophisticated, multi-channel campaigns that deliver real sales.

Column Five is where companies go for creative and brand that earns attention.
97th Floor is usually chosen for data-driven performance marketing and ROI tracking.

Limitations to Note

Column Five’s $10,000-$15,000 monthly minimums price out smaller businesses. The focus stays on quality and creative over volume, so brands who need a steady stream of articles or huge paid campaigns may look elsewhere.
97th Floor’s thresholds look similar, with retainers also kicking off at $10,000-$15,000 per month and projects growing quickly. If you want a boutique creative experience or highly customized brand visuals, this isn’t their target strength.
Neither is built for companies with small budgets or those searching for one-off, task-based projects.

Who They Serve Best (and Budgets Needed)

Column Five caters to B2B SaaS, cybersecurity, and fintech brands who want to differentiate in the market through standout visuals and strong content. Most clients are already mid-to-late-stage, with marketing spend between $10,000 and $15,000 at minimum each month.
97th Floor works with scaling technology, finance, manufacturing, and healthcare companies. The draw is measurable impact for organizations ready to invest, generally with budgets at or above $10,000 monthly. Full-funnel tracking is the top priority.

The real difference? Column Five runs with brand and creative, while 97th Floor makes performance and pipeline the goal.

Reputation and Proof

Column Five’s list features Microsoft, Adobe, Dropbox, Salesforce, Instacart, J.P. Morgan, and more.
The company boasts a 4.8/5 score on Clutch and trophies from Content Marketing Institute, Webby Awards, and Tellys. Clients praise not just the work, but also responsiveness and a proactive approach.
97th Floor matches up with its own list of recognizable brands, including Dell, LG, Capital One, Amazon, and Qualtrics. They’ve landed on top industry lists and brought home Agency of the Year awards for clear, performance-based outcomes.

Both agencies are recognized leaders in their corners—creative and content for Column Five, performance and measurement for 97th Floor.

Which Agency Should You Choose?

Column Five is right when the goal is building a memorable brand with visuals that stand out. Their sweet spot lies in data visualization, smart video, and content-powered branding for SaaS, security, and fintech companies. If budgets start at $10,000 to $15,000 monthly, and a business wants everything under one roof—strategy, content, creative—this approach fits well.

The value shows up when companies want meaningful creative work, need to make products easy to understand, or are setting out to own their story from day one. With more than a decade of results for major tech brands, Column Five knows how to help companies get their brand across in crowded spaces.

97th Floor works well when measurable results drive the decision. They are the performance experts—skilled at enterprise SEO, attribution, and combined paid and organic programs. For companies who tie marketing to clear sales figures and are ready to invest at a similar $10,000-$15,000 monthly pace, this is a great place to start.

Think about priorities. If brand, visual storytelling, and creative partnership matter most, Column Five brings a track record worth considering. For companies that want every activity to map directly to revenue and want technical SEO and paid work covered, 97th Floor may feel like the natural match. Both options lift brands in their own way. The best fit comes when the ambition of the company lines up with what the agency does best—storytelling for those who want it, measurable growth for those who demand it.