Three-way agency comparison · Minnesota

Brandography vs Gearbox Functional Creative vs Swim Creative: Minnesota marketing agency comparison

Founded · Brandography: 2008; Founded · Brandography
Founded · Gearbox Functional Creative: 2010; Founded · Gearbox Functional Creative
Founded · Swim Creative: 2006; Founded · Swim Creative

Brandography is a St. Louis Park, Minnesota agency that lists branding, content, AI search (GEO) and 3 more. Gearbox Functional Creative is a St. Cloud, Minnesota agency that lists branding, web design and advertising. Swim Creative is a Duluth, Minnesota agency that lists branding, web design and advertising.

Last updated October 16, 2026

Brandography, Gearbox Functional Creative and Swim Creative: the agencies

Brandography (St. Louis Park, founded 2008): Twin Cities digital agency covering strategy, content, design/development and marketing, with its own set of AI-search tools.
Full profile
Gearbox Functional Creative (founded 2010): St. Cloud creative marketing agency doing brand identity, website development and campaign work for regional clients.
Full profile
Swim Creative (founded 2006): Duluth branding, advertising and web design agency that also builds events and interactive experiences.
Full profile

Brandography vs Gearbox Functional Creative vs Swim Creative: side by side

Each value for Brandography, Gearbox Functional Creative and Swim Creative comes from the agency's listing, its company facts or the platform named under it. Data as of October 16, 2026. No score or rank here; see the full ranking on the agencies page.

Brandography vs Gearbox Functional Creative vs Swim Creative, side by side
Field	Brandography	Gearbox Functional Creative	Swim Creative
City and region	St. Louis Park · Twin Cities	St. Cloud · Greater Minnesota	Duluth · Duluth area
Headquarters	1000 Shelard Parkway, Suite 450, St. Louis Park, 55426Source: brandography.com	412 37th Ave N, St. Cloud, 56303Source: gearboxfc.com	310 East Superior Street, Suite 130, Duluth, 55802Source: osd.umn.edu
Employees	11-50Source: brandography.com	1-10Source: outsorcy.com	1-10Source: swimcreative.com
Founded	2008Source: clutch.co	2010Source: g2.com	2006Source: clutch.co
Services	Branding, Content, AI search (GEO), PPC / paid search, SEO, Web designListing sources: clutch.co, brandography.com, glassdoor.com	Branding, Web design, AdvertisingListing sources: gearboxfc.com, gearboxfc.com, gearboxfc.com, gearboxfc.com	Branding, Web design, AdvertisingListing sources: swimcreative.com, swimcreative.com
Industries	Retail & e-commerce, Healthcare, B2B techListing sources: clutch.co, brandography.com, glassdoor.com	Not published	Not published
Google rating	5.0 ★ (61 reviews)via Google · fetched October 12, 2026View on Google	5.0 ★ (29 reviews)via Google · fetched October 12, 2026View on Google	4.7 ★ (7 reviews)via Google · fetched October 12, 2026View on Google
Clutch rating	5.0 ★ (7 reviews)via Clutch	Not published	Not published
Yelp rating	5.0 ★ (1 review)via Yelp · fetched October 12, 2026View on Yelp	5.0 ★ (1 review)via Yelp · fetched October 18, 2026View on Yelp	Not published
Minimum project	$5,000+Listing sources: clutch.co, brandography.com, glassdoor.com	Not published	Not published
Hourly band	$150-199/hrListing sources: clutch.co, brandography.com, glassdoor.com	Not published	Not published
Publishes pricing	NoListing sources: clutch.co, brandography.com, glassdoor.com	NoListing sources: gearboxfc.com, gearboxfc.com, gearboxfc.com, gearboxfc.com	NoListing sources: swimcreative.com, swimcreative.com
Partner programs	3 programs Shopify (Premier)shopify.com Google Partnerbrandography.com Shopifyshopify.com	Not published	Not published
Awards	3 awardsCompany-stated Netty Awards: Best PPC Campaign (Startup)clutch.co 10 Best Digital Marketing Agencies in Minneapolisclutch.co Top 7 London Ecommerce SEO Agenciesclutch.co	3 awardsCompany-stated AAF Central Minnesota Judge's Choice (3 consecutive years)gearboxfc.com AAF Central Minnesota Judge's Choice: Coborn'sgearboxfc.com AAF Central Minnesota Judge's Choice: BCI Constructiongearboxfc.com	3 awardsCompany-stated AMCP Platinum: Long Form Video - Environmental Issuehowiehanson.com AMCP Gold: Web Element - Landing Pagehowiehanson.com AMCP Gold: Content Marketing - E-mail Campaignhowiehanson.com
Notable clients	12+ named clients on record ACP (The Associated Clinic of Psychology) (case study)brandography.com PDU Cables (EPCO) (case study)brandography.com CIVCO (case study)brandography.com Best Care (case study)brandography.com Via Coquina (case study)brandography.com	4 named clients on record Great River Children's Museum (testimonial)gearboxfc.com Full Circle Water (testimonial)gearboxfc.com Avon Hills Folk School (testimonial)gearboxfc.com BCI Construction (testimonial)gearboxfc.com	6 named clients on record Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway (testimonial)swimcreative.com Mike & Jen's Cocoa (case study)swimcreative.com Vision Companies (case study)swimcreative.com Royal Credit Union (case study)swimcreative.com Whitefish Area Lodging Association (case study)swimcreative.com
Leadership	Jason Dailey (CEO / owner (per third-party data site only))prospeo.io	Not published	Patrice Bradley (CEO / Creative Director)swimcreative.com
Certifications	Google Partner	Not published	Not published
Case studies	4 (2 with stated results)Source: brandography.com	4 (0 with stated results)Source: gearboxfc.com	3 (0 with stated results)Source: swimcreative.com
AI-assistant mention rate	Named in 14 of 431 answered runs (3.3%); 95% interval 1.9%–5.4%How AI visibility is measured	Named in 5 of 431 answered runs (1.2%); 95% interval 0.5%–2.7%How AI visibility is measured	Named in 11 of 431 answered runs (2.5%); 95% interval 1.4%–4.5%How AI visibility is measured

Not published by any of the three agencies: Ownership.

Brandography listing sources

Gearbox Functional Creative listing sources

Swim Creative listing sources

See how every listed agency is ranked

Brandography vs Gearbox Functional Creative vs Swim Creative: where they differ

Location: Brandography in St. Louis Park, Gearbox Functional Creative in St. Cloud and Swim Creative in Duluth.
Founded: Brandography 2008, Gearbox Functional Creative 2010 and Swim Creative 2006.
Employees: Brandography lists 11-50, Gearbox Functional Creative lists 1-10 and Swim Creative lists 1-10.
Only Brandography lists Content, AI search (GEO), PPC / paid search and SEO among its services.
Google: Brandography 5.0 from 61 reviews, Gearbox Functional Creative 5.0 from 29 reviews and Swim Creative 4.7 from 7 reviews.
Case studies on record: Brandography 4, Gearbox Functional Creative 4 and Swim Creative 3.
AI mentions: Brandography 3.3%, Gearbox Functional Creative 1.2% and Swim Creative 2.5% (within the margin of error).

Brandography vs Gearbox Functional Creative vs Swim Creative: where they overlap

What Brandography, Gearbox Functional Creative and Swim Creative have in common as Minnesota agencies, from their listings and company facts:

Brandography, Gearbox Functional Creative and Swim Creative all list branding and web design.

Brandography vs Gearbox Functional Creative vs Swim Creative: AI visibility by assistant

In MN Agency Index's tests of 38 Minnesota buyer questions across 7 AI assistants (Oct 12–16, 2026; 431 answers), Brandography was named in 14 answers (3.3%; 95% interval 1.9%–5.4%), Gearbox Functional Creative was named in 5 answers (1.2%; 95% interval 0.5%–2.7%) and Swim Creative was named in 11 answers (2.5%; 95% interval 1.4%–4.5%); the differences are within the margin of error.Below: share of each assistant’s answers that named each agency. 2 test runs pooled, Oct 12–16, 2026; repeated quarterly. Compare questions are excluded. Runs are correlated, so read each interval as a stability range. How AI visibility is measured.

ChatGPT
Brandography
ChatGPT named Brandography in 4 of 119 answers (3.4%).
Gearbox Functional Creative
ChatGPT named Gearbox Functional Creative in 1 of 119 answers (0.8%).
Swim Creative
ChatGPT named Swim Creative in 5 of 119 answers (4.2%).
Gemini
Brandography
Gemini named Brandography in 5 of 119 answers (4.2%).
Gearbox Functional Creative
Gemini named Gearbox Functional Creative in 2 of 119 answers (1.7%).
Swim Creative
Gemini named Swim Creative in 5 of 119 answers (4.2%).
Google AI Mode
Brandography
Google AI Mode named Brandography in 3 of 119 answers (2.5%).
Gearbox Functional Creative
Google AI Mode named Gearbox Functional Creative in 1 of 119 answers (0.8%).
Swim Creative
Google AI Mode named Swim Creative in 1 of 119 answers (0.8%).
Google AI Overview
Brandography
Google AI Overview named Brandography in 0 of 21 answers (0.0%).
Gearbox Functional Creative
Google AI Overview named Gearbox Functional Creative in 0 of 21 answers (0.0%).
Swim Creative
Google AI Overview named Swim Creative in 0 of 21 answers (0.0%).
Microsoft Copilot
Brandography
Microsoft Copilot named Brandography in 2 of 43 answers (4.7%).
Gearbox Functional Creative
Microsoft Copilot named Gearbox Functional Creative in 1 of 43 answers (2.3%).
Swim Creative
Microsoft Copilot named Swim Creative in 0 of 43 answers (0.0%).
Perplexity (Sonar API)
BrandographyToo few answers for a rate
Perplexity (Sonar API) named Brandography in 0 of 5 answers.
Gearbox Functional CreativeToo few answers for a rate
Perplexity (Sonar API) named Gearbox Functional Creative in 0 of 5 answers.
Swim CreativeToo few answers for a rate
Perplexity (Sonar API) named Swim Creative in 0 of 5 answers.
Gemini API (grounded)
BrandographyToo few answers for a rate
Gemini API (grounded) named Brandography in 0 of 5 answers.
Gearbox Functional CreativeToo few answers for a rate
Gemini API (grounded) named Gearbox Functional Creative in 0 of 5 answers.
Swim CreativeToo few answers for a rate
Gemini API (grounded) named Swim Creative in 0 of 5 answers.

Bar = share of that assistant’s answers naming the agency; whisker = 95% interval.

Brandography vs Gearbox Functional Creative vs Swim Creative: common questions

How do Brandography, Gearbox Functional Creative and Swim Creative compare for branding in Minnesota?

Brandography, Gearbox Functional Creative and Swim Creative all list branding. Brandography is based in St. Louis Park, Gearbox Functional Creative is based in St. Cloud and Swim Creative is based in Duluth. Brandography was founded in 2008, Gearbox Functional Creative was founded in 2010 and Swim Creative was founded in 2006.

Which services does only Brandography list?

Brandography lists Content, AI search (GEO), PPC / paid search and SEO; Gearbox Functional Creative and Swim Creative do not.

Which of Brandography, Gearbox Functional Creative or Swim Creative has been operating the longest?

Swim Creative, founded in 2006. Brandography was founded in 2008 and Gearbox Functional Creative was founded in 2010.

How many Google reviews do Brandography, Gearbox Functional Creative and Swim Creative have?

Brandography has 61 reviews (5.0 average), Gearbox Functional Creative has 29 reviews (5.0 average) and Swim Creative has 7 reviews (4.7 average). Review count isn't a quality measure.

Do Brandography, Gearbox Functional Creative and Swim Creative publish pricing on their own sites?

No. None of Brandography, Gearbox Functional Creative and Swim Creative publishes pricing on its own site.

Which clients do Brandography, Gearbox Functional Creative and Swim Creative name publicly?

Brandography names ACP (The Associated Clinic of Psychology), PDU Cables (EPCO) and CIVCO (case studies); Gearbox Functional Creative names Great River Children's Museum, Full Circle Water and Avon Hills Folk School (testimonials); Swim Creative names Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway (testimonial), Mike & Jen's Cocoa (case study) and Vision Companies (case study).

What awards do Brandography, Gearbox Functional Creative and Swim Creative list?

As stated by each company: Brandography lists 3 awards, Gearbox Functional Creative lists 3 awards and Swim Creative lists 3 awards.

How many employees do Brandography, Gearbox Functional Creative and Swim Creative list?

Brandography lists 11-50, Gearbox Functional Creative lists 1-10 and Swim Creative lists 1-10.

How comparisons are chosen and every field is sourced: methodology.

Brandography vs Gearbox Functional Creative vs Swim Creative: each pair

Brandography vs Gearbox Functional Creative vs Swim Creative: related Minnesota pages

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