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Herd 1 profile
Jack Shepherd Co-Founder & Marketing Director
Updated on 16 Oct 2023

Top 17 Creative Agencies in the UK (2023)

So you’re looking for the right creative agency for you and your brand?

With over 2,820,000,000 results in Google for creative agencies, it’s a seriously time-consuming task to find the right fit for you and what you’re looking to achieve!

Creative Agency results in the UK

Not only that but there are agencies that best serve different types of business & offer individual services within the creative industry.

This is why we’ve created this article, to ensure you have a list of the most trusted and respected creative agencies in the UK that can take your brand to the next level.

Ready? Let’s dive in.

What makes a Top Creative Agency?

You might be thinking, what criteria are we using to select the agencies in this list?

As you know, a lot of agencies are all talk and no action. They can often be seen selling you the dream, but when you start with them, they’re unable to provide the results you were looking for.

Here are 3 key areas you should be considering before choosing an agency to work with:

Experience & Results

It’s important they know about your industry and have case studies within a similar sector, as this will allow them to implement the right strategy to deliver results from the offset.

They might be great at B2C businesses, but if you’re a B2B, that won’t guarantee they’ll know how to help you succeed.

Finding an agency in a similar growth or maturity stage to yours is worth looking for. Otherwise, there can be many challenges in the ways of working and team structure.

Values & Cultural Fit

Do their values line up with yours?

Working with an agency isn’t just about seeing good results. It’s important that you genuinely get on with their team, and there’s natural chemistry to build upon for a strong working relationship.

This also goes both ways. As an agency ourselves, we only look to work with brands we feel are a cultural fit.

We aren’t just a service provider. We’re looking to work with brands for the long run, and this only happens when we love working with their team!

Communication & Transparency

A trusting relationship comes from both communication and transparency from your agency.

Are they quick to respond, upfront, honest & transparent with how they’ve communicated with you in the initial stages of the pitch?

The agency should feel like an extension of your team, where you feel comfortable being able to raise any concerns or thoughts and can reach out at any time to have a chat.

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

Top Social Creative Agencies

1. The Social Shepherd

The Social Shepherd - Social Creative Agency

Yep, that's us! We're one of the leading Social creative & content agencies in the UK. Producing content for the likes of EasyJet Holidays, Premier Inn, 19 Crimes, and Glasses Direct - plus many others.

It may seem biased, but we're able to back it up with the extensive case studies we have & the results we've driven for all types of brands.

Our creative team has two sections to it. Creative Production and Creative Strategy.

You might be thinking, how exactly does The Social Shepherd help brands with Social Creative. So here's a list of various ways:

  • Video Production - Promotional Videos, Instagram Reels, TikTok's
  • Organic Social Content - Graphic Design, Lifestyle Photography, Video Content
  • Creative for Paid Social - Focusing on both direct-response and brand-led creative for Paid Social.
  • Brand development on Social Media - Our creative team can build an aesthetic & brand positioning for you on social. Whether that's from a design perspective or TOV.
  • Motion Graphics & Animation - Our talented team of editors can deliver incredible motion graphics & animation content for your socials & website.

Want to see some of the recent work we've done?

Promotional Videos & Paid Social Assets: We recently produced 2x videos for Glasses Direct Paid Social activity, for different product categories. We edited them in multiple dimensions (1:1, 9:16 and 4:5) as well edit with/without subtitles and voiceovers. On top of the videos, we also captured a number of stills so their campaign could be accompanied with image assets too.

     

    TikTok: We manage all of Premier Inn's social content, and with this, we produce all of their TikTok output. Here's a sample of what we've been up to!

     

    Animation: We've produced a number of videos for Beebombs over the last few years, but this animation project

     

    And not only do we produce a lot of social-first video content, but our team regularly produces photography & stills for brands' social accounts!

    So, if you're looking for a Social-first creative agency, then we're the right people for you!

    You can see even more of our video & creative examples here.

    But if you'd like to speak to our team straight away, then click the button below, and we'll be in touch.

    Get in touch with our Creative team now!

    Top Creative Branding & Design Agencies

    2. Love Creative

    Love Creative is a Creative Advertising, Packaging Design & Branding agency based in Manchester. Within that, they offer multiple core services such as:

    • Brand Strategy & Design
    • Activations
    • Spaces & Experiences
    • Identity Design
    • Packaging Design
    • Comms
    • Immersive

    They've worked with brands such as Guinness, Brewdog, Adidas, Botanic Lab, Johnnie Walker, and KitKat, amongst others. But they work with small and large businesses so that they could be a fit for all companies looking for a creative branding agency.

    Love Creative Agency in Manchester

    3. Chaos Design

    Based in London and Guildford, Chaos Design is a Creative Branding Agency focused on helping ambitious leaders who are determined to make their brand different, disruptive & distinctive.

    Their expertise in creative lies within branding, brand strategy, internal comms, marketing comms, advertising and digital. They have experience in both B2C and B2B across many different industries.

    Chaos by name, but not chaotic by nature. They have a process & methodology that takes each brand through a series of steps to ensure the success of their work.

    • Investigation - understanding your market and business to get a 360 point of view.
    • Insight - looking at observations, considerations, recommendations & audits that allow for creative development.
    • Inspiration - this is where the brainstorming & workshops take place to start bringing ideas to life.
    • Integration - they'll look at the best distribution methods across their six communication disciplines to see where best the campaign should be integrated.
    • Implementation - everything then comes to life.
    Chaos Design Agency

    4. Pearlfisher

    Pearlfisher is an award-winning Creative Design & Branding agency based in London & New York founded in 1992.

    They have recently won awards at the Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity, The DBA Design Effectiveness Award, Sunday Times Best Companies To Work For, the D&D Awards and many others.

    Describing themselves as a 'visionary group of futurists, strategists, designers & realisers', their core focus is within seven areas of human living: Taste, Body, Luxury, Mobility, Leisure, Community and Nature.

    Their client portfolio includes the likes of McDonalds, Seedlip, Bang & Olufsen, BYOMA, Wagamama and more.

    Pearlfisher London Creative Agency

    5. Deep

    Deep is a London based design agency that produces effective brand, digital & print communications for brands with a global audience. Their design services help businesses specifically on:

    • Branding
    • Websites & eCommerce
    • Design for Print
    • Digital Campaigns
    • Film & Photography
    • Editorial
    Deep - Creative Agency based in London

      Top Creative Production Agencies

      6. Happy Hour Productions

      Happy Hour Productions were established over 15 years ago, making them a safe pair of hands for all creative production projects. Not only that, but they have experience with brands launching into the market, and those who are already market-leading in their industry.

      They're known to produce creative for TV Commercials, Corporate Videos, Brand Films and Animation. But, they can do much more than just the production side, as they understand the value of storytelling & scriptwriting to ensure your creative lands with your advertising goals.

      As well as production, they help with:

      • Brand positioning and campaign strategy
      • Competitor analysis of both brand and product
      • Profiling customer data to identify target audiences and pen profiles
      • Defining messaging and tone of voice
      • Creative conceptualisation (for specific channels or integrated campaigns)
      • Copywriting and scripting
      • Storyboarding and directors’ treatments
      • Seeding content in social channels
      Happy Hour Productions Creative Agency

      7. Create London

      Create London is a creative production studio that specialises in event production & brand activations. Having worked with the likes of Coca-Cola and Tiffany & Co, they understand how to propel brands to another level.

      They work with other agencies & brands to deliver on:

      • Experiential, Stunts & Social Experiments
      • Pop-up Shops & Retail Management
      • Festivals & Outdoor Events
      • Press and Product Launches
      Create London Production Company

      8. Lobster Creative

      Lobster produce creative for content-hungry brands. Focusing their production across TV, Social, OOH, Stills, Films, Print, Rich Media, Banners & In-Store.

      Their aim is to deliver a number of creative assets from all shoots, as they understand a singular 30-second video just doesn't cut it.

      Clients include Dove, Nutella, Flora, Tanqueray, Glenfiddich, Standard Chartered and others.

      Lobster Creative - London Agency

      Top Creative Advertising Agencies

      9. Big Cat

      Based in Birmingham, Big Cat, is a group of talented strategists, advertising creatives and communications experts.

      Their creative advertising campaigns aim to interrupt, influence, make people laugh and create action using social, digital & PR to distribute that content.

      With more than 20 years since they were founded, they've evolved into a multi-disciplinary creative agency focused on working with hospitality, leisure, retail, public service and not-for-profit businesses.

      Big Cat Birmingham Creative Agency

      10. Rascal

      Rascal is a digital-first creative marketing agency based in Leeds. Their team is split between creative and strategic talent who work closely with brands to develop effective creative content for paid & organic social.

      Their services range from:

      • Creative Content - Conceptualisation, Motion Graphics, Video Production, Design and Artworking, Photoshoots and Live Streaming.
      • Strategy - Digital, Social, Activation and Creator Management.
      • Digital PR - Link Building, Product PR, Newsjacking.
      • Paid Media - Paid Social and PPC.
      Rascal - Digital Creative Agency

      11. Aura Ads

      Aura Ads is a creative agency that focused on producing assets designed to convert users using Paid Social for DTC brands.

      Based in Cardiff, their agile team produces short-form videos, UGC, statics & video for a variety of clients including Huel, Wild, Freddies Flowers and more.

      Their core offering is retained creative, so you can keep your Paid Social creatives fresh every single month, with packages starting from £1,999 per month.

      Aura Ads - Cardiff Creative Agency

      Top Creative Communication Agencies

      12. Top Banana

      Top Banana believe in creating tight-knit relationships with their clients to truly understand their business challenges and how they want their audiences to feel upon seeing their brand and creative.

      With over 40 employees and 20+ years since their existence, they're recognised as one of the UK's most trusted & reputable creative communication agencies.

      Their services include:

      • Live and Virtual Events
      • Venue Finding
      • Strategy and Insight
      • Film
      • Incentive Travel
      • Design and Creative
      • Digital Solutions
      • Campaign and Activation
      Top Banana - Creative Communications Agency

      13. Strata

      Strata is a brand experience & creative communications agency.

      They believe in creating true engagement through brand experiences that connect and captivate, focused on driving "Return on Experience".

      Working as an extension of your brand, their team helps you manage every aspect of your projects, including strategy and planning, creative services, content, technical production, logistics, storage and asset management.

      Strata - Best Creative Communications Agency

      14. Stripe Communications

      Stripe is one of the leading integrated creative communications agencies delivering on brand, social, PR and digital.

      But what do they actually do? Here are their service areas:

      • Comms, Brand & Digital Strategy
      • Creative Content Generation
      • PR
      • Sponsorship & Events
      • Social Media
      • Employee Engagement
      • Influencer Relations
      • Measuring Success

      With offices in Edinburgh & London, they're a great choice for any brand looking for a creative communications agency in the UK.

      Stripe - Creative Communications Agency Edinburgh & London

      Top Creative Agencies (General)

      15. Rise at Seven

      Rise at Seven is a young agency, having only just turned 3, but has had some of the fastest growth seen in any agency across the UK in the most recent years.

      They label themselves as the Search-first Creative Agency that helps brands rank #1 on Google, by facilitating & driving search activity from their creative activations & digital PR.

      With offices in Sheffield, London, Manchester and now New York, their team of 90+ employees sit across Campaigns, Technical SEO, Digital PR, Creative Content, Reactive Marketing, Social Media & Paid Media Marketing.

      Rise at Seven - Creative Search Agency

      16. Huddle Creative

      Huddle Creative is a London based branding, digital & content agency that helps businesses become meaningful brands.

      Their creative services are centred around transforming brands that have closer relationships with their customers, split across:

      • Branding Services - find your brand's proposition, realign your positioning and redesign your visual identity.
      • Digital Services - design and define your UX, UI and overall web design.
      • Content Services - captivating copy that engages and informs your audience.
      Huddle Creative - branding & content agency

      17. Engine Creative

      The final agency on our list is no less than award-winning Engine Creative.

      Based in Northampton, they create innovative digitally-led creative campaigns for large and small brands in the UK that entertains, informs, delights and inspires your customers.

      Their services have been crafted to build brand engagement, and have worked with the likes of Camelot, Coca Cola, BBC, Tesco, Disney and more.

      Engine Creative - Creative Agency Northampton

      Why Hire One Of The Best Creative Agencies?

      With any creative campaign or project, the investment is typically a considerable amount, so you want to make sure you get the right people for the job to deliver the results you're looking to achieve.

      Hiring one of the top agencies will result in a seamless working relationship, creative delivered as you'd expected and on time, and leaving you satisfied with the outcome of your decision in that agency to propel the growth of your brand across social, digital, PR, events & comms.

      So, hopefully you've now found the right agency for you! And if you're looking for a Social Creative Agency, then our team at The Social Shepherd are the right team for you.

      Get in touch today, and see how we can help!

      Get in touch with our Creative team today
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