Top 17 Advertising Agencies in the UK (2024)

Finding the right advertising agency is challenging.

As soon as you Google search for one, you're immediately overwhelmed by 749,000,000 results.

Not only that, but you might be looking for an advertising agency in the UK with a particular speciality.

So that's why we’ve created this article, to ensure you have a list of the most trusted and respected agencies that can take your brand to the next level.

Ready? Let’s dive in.

Before we jump into the full list of advertising agencies, it's important you know what exactly you should be looking for when selecting one, and also why we've added the agencies into the list in the first place.

We've hand-selected the agencies in the list using these criterias:

Specialists

Ensuring they know about your industry and type of business is key to achieving good results. They might be great at B2C kind of businesses, but if you’re a B2B, that won’t guarantee they’ll know how to help you succeed.

Looking at examples of clients they’ve worked with will give you a general idea of the type of businesses and industries they have experience with.

Proven results

There’s no better way to know if they can deliver good results than looking at what they’ve achieved for other clients. This will give you a rough idea of what they could do for your business.

A great thing to check out is case studies, as they’ll explain in detail what the client wanted, what they did, and the results they achieved.

Channel expertise

Advertising can be done almost everywhere nowadays. Whether you’re looking for online or offline advertising, you’ll probably have to aim for one agency or another.

Also, keeping in mind that there are all kinds of forms and platforms to advertise yourself online, it’s always important to look at previous advertising campaigns and any badgers and certifications the agency might have to prove their expertise.

Communication

Communication is key to working closely and effectively to deliver good results.

The agency should feel like an extension of your team that understands and knows what will be the best choices for your company.

Now that you know what to look for when considering an advertising agency, let’s jump into the Top Advertising Agencies in the UK.

1. The Social Shepherd

Yes, this is us, but we’re proud to say we’re one of the best Paid Ads agencies in the UK.

While you may think that's biased, we're able to back it up with the results we've driven and the awards we've won, which include:

• Best Integrated Paid Media Campaign
• Best Direct Response Campaign
• Best Use of Facebook and Instagram Ads
• Best Large Social Media Agency in the UK (2023 & 2024!)

We also have agency-wide reps at Google (Premier Partner status), Meta, Pinterest and TikTok, making us one of the top agencies specifically for Paid Social and Paid Search ads in the UK.

We have clients with budgets ranging between £20,000 to £1,000,000 per month, so we know how to scale brands from the early stages all the way through to driving better efficiencies with larger budgets.

Not only support fast-growth brands and household names with Paid advertising, but we also have other departments to support your paid ads growth

• Creative

• Influencer

• Organic Social

• Strategy

2. Wildfire London

Wildfire is a multidisciplinary creative studio based in London that offers several advertising and marketing services, but it's where its creative services stand out.

They’ve worked with Amazon, several UK football clubs, ASCOT and M&S, among others.

3. BBH Global

BBH is a global creative advertising agency founded in London in 1982 with offices worldwide and a global office in London.

They’re well-known for their elegant creative and have won several awards because of it. Some of their clients include Tesco, Barbie and Alpen.

4. Five by Five

Five by Five is a creative advertising agency based in Southampton founded in 1979 that specialises in product launches.

Some of the clients they work with are Activision, Bacardi and B&Q.

5. Dentsu Creative

Dentsu Creative are a global agency that has offices in London and a strong presence across the EMEA region.

The pillars of their creative services include:

• Experience
• Entertainment
• Earned
• Brand
• Strategy
• Production

But as they're a part of the Dentsu group, they're able to connect media, CX and modern creativity with the broader offering.

6. Reload Digital

Reload Digital is an eCommerce agency that helps brands internationally. They work with clients to develop their brand, performance and lifecycle marketing.

They're a 25-person agile and growth-minded London-based agency backed by the resources & technology of a 100-person international agency.

7. Hello Earth

Hello Earth is an award-winning eCommerce advertising agency that specialises in working with brands that are sustainably focused.

They work with the likes of NICE drinks, Petit Nord, Punchy, and The Simple Folk.

8. The Croc

The Croc is an agency with offices in the UK and the USA that provides media planning, buying and other services to B2B companies.

Some of the clients they work with are Cisco, Sohonet and Sitecore, and they have been shortlisted for Best Multichannel Campaign 2021 B2B Awards and Best B2B Campaign 2021 ARF David Ogilvy Awards.

9. Contentology

Contentology is an advertising and digital marketing agency based in Manchester that offers strategy content and marketing to B2B companies.

Some of their clients are Pearson, Samsung and Sibelco.

10. Global

Global is a multi-media company founded in 2007 with headquarters in London. They are a leading company in outdoor advertising in places like traffic and shopping malls, among others.

Some of their clients are McDonald’s, Coca Cola and Peugeot.

11. Because Creative Experience

Because Creative Experience is a marketing strategy agency based in the UK that specialises in advertising and out-of-home design.

Some of the clients they work with are Ritter Sport, Weber and Jaffa Cakes.

12. Digital Media Team

DMT is an agency based in Manchester that specialises in paid media and paid search for eCommerce brands.

They have clients like MissyEmpire, MuscleFood and Eatlean.

13. Loud Mouth Media

Loud Mouth Media is a digital advertising agency based in Belfast and has offices in Glasgow and Dublin. They specialise in digital strategy, paid search, social advertising, SEO, performance creative, CRO and GA4.

Some of their clients include Harry Corry, Belleek Pottery and Four Star Pizza.

14. Hurricane Media

Hurricane Media is a team of 20+ based in Bristol that produces distinctive and engaging content for digital distribution.

Not only do they just focus on production, but they deliver strategy, planning and post-production too.

15. Skylark Media

Skylark Media is a B-Corp certified video agency based in Bristol, and they create videos that inspire consumers and boost sales.

Also, they have experience in different types of video (animation, TV commercials, product explainers, etc.) and different sizes of businesses.

16. Toast

Toast is a TV advertising agency based in London founded in 2002. They specialise in advertising, video production, media planning and buying.

They have worked with clients like Olivia Burton, Loaf and Innocent.

17. TV Advertising

TV Advertising is a full-service TV agency based in London that offers media buying, planning and content creation for TV ads.

Some of their clients are TreatWell, 888 sport and LaundrApp.

Simply put, your brand deserves the best.

Choosing an agency with enough experience and expertise is vital to achieving good results, and driving your business forward.

There's nothing worse than choosing an advertising agency that wastes your budget and time on irrelevant strategies that no longer work!

At The Social Shepherd, we have a proven track record of delivering paid media & social campaigns that convert, always making sure scale brands effectively and efficiently.

So, if you’re looking for the best paid media and social advertising agencies, then get in touch today.

Want to see other top marketing agencies from the UK? See from our list below to find yours:

• Paid Social Agencies
• DTC (Direct To Consumer) Agencies
• PR Agencies
• Creative Agencies
• Social Media Agencies
• PPC Agencies
• Digital Marketing Agencies
• Video Production Companies
• Fashion Marketing Agencies
• eCommerce Marketing Agencies
• FMCG Marketing Agencies
• Facebook Ads Agencies
• Influencer Marketing Agencies
• Google Ads Agencies
• Shopify Agencies
• TikTok Agencies
• Paid Media Agencies
• Advertising Agencies
• Creative Agencies
• PR Agencies
• DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) Agencies
• SEO Agencies
• Content Marketing Agencies
• Travel & Tourism Marketing Agencies
• Hospitality, Leisure & Hotel Marketing Agencies

Want to see the top Advertising Agencies in the US? See here:

• Advertising Agencies (US)