Longest running branding, sustainability and design firm in St. Louis continues a tradition of meeting the ever-changing needs of companies and their brands
ST. LOUIS, MO – (4/17/2023) OBATA, a creative agency specializing in corporate branding, ESG and sustainability reports, is celebrating its 75th year of serving clients throughout North America and around the world.
From its humble beginnings in 1948 along the Mississippi River front to the present-day studio in Maplewood, the firm has adapted and evolved over seven-plus decades to meet the needs of clients, helping them navigate the major shifts in the advertising and communications landscape along the way.
Commemorative Anniversary Logo
To mark this milestone, our design team created a commemorative anniversary logo. We also created a condensed version of the logo for social media and other digital usages.
Our team focused on a mobile-first approach for our new website. We have seen a dramatic increase in mobile device usage by our users. In 2022, more than 75 percent of our users were from mobile devices, which is more than a 25% increase from previous years.
“To celebrate our significant milestone, we created a commemorative 75th-anniversary logo then launched a new more robust website in April 2022. We will be using the commemorative logo on all marketing collateral and ephemera over the next year.”
Adam Franke, Creative Director
Now, in 2023, OBATA is continuing to meet client’s needs, not only with its branding and corporate communications expertise, but with a focus on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and sustainability reporting.
In fact, in the fall of 2022, OBATA produced its 50th sustainability report, marking a milestone that highlights the agency’s deep understanding of corporate reporting and the role it plays in today’s industries.
“Our clients represent a broad range of industries and the experience of our team provides expertise in design, branding, strategy, copywriting, photography, website development, digital marketing, and more.”
Paul Gassett, Vice President of OBATA
OBATA has evolved over the years, offering its clients unique solutions tailored to the times and always driving design excellence and technology leadership.
The early years included creating watercolor renderings for the new terminal at Lambert Airport or illustrating the original mountain scene on the Busch Bavarian beer can. OBATA has created iconic and memorable campaigns for countless clients in dozens of industries recognized around the globe.
Founded by Alice Hausner and Kimio Obata, the firm has served many St. Louis corporate legends over the decades including Anheuser-Busch, Pet Foods, Monsanto, and Emerson, to name a few.
In recent decades, a strong competency for corporate reporting and digital marketing developed to solve the challenges of both public and private companies of all sizes.
This new era of corporate reporting focuses on sustainability and ESG reporting to share the company’s commitments to environmental, social, and governance issues but also includes annual reporting and proxy design.
“Our capabilities, skillsets, and team members have evolved over time to meet the changing needs of our clients. OBATA has a rich history as part of the St. Louis landscape, but we have also impacted the communications of far more companies located all over the country and around the world.”
Rich Murphy, President of OBATA
About OBATA
OBATA is a corporate, sustainability, branding, digital communications and design agency focused on simplifying the complex by helping clients challenge the chaos of today’s communications environment. Founded in 1948, OBATA is the longest consecutively-running creative services firm in St. Louis, Missouri.
The company provides expertise in ESG and annual reports, branding and identity, website design and development, digital marketing, video, and photography and serves large and small companies in life sciences, healthcare, technology, manufacturing, industrial, energy, financial services, transportation industries and more. For more information, visit www.obata.com or contact Paul Gassett at paul.gassett@obata.com.