Top 15 Exciting Marketing Agencies in the UK

Due to the technological change and the shift to a social media world, it has become vital to effectively communicate with your customers.

This has led to a corrosion of the traditional advertising agencies in favour of (online) marketing agencies.

The positive of this technological evolution is that the UK has been moving at the same speed. It is a leading country thanks to firms that have already established long term relationships with the major FMCG brands.

There are more than 250,500 marketing agencies to reach any company: full-package, medium class, and small companies.

Yet, the more is not always the better. The key to success is to choose marketing agencies with knowledge of the field and of the market.  

In this article, discover the top 15 marketing agencies in the UK and which one is perfect for your business.

What is marketing? Why do businesses need it?

Marketing is the activity that promotes and sells products or services, as well as advertising and market research. Marketing agencies are specialists in this field.

Nonetheless, giving a proper definition of what marketing is, can be difficult. For instance, the word “advertising” gives the idea of a short video with a sound in the background while two people are driving on an American route. 

Yet looking deeper into what marketing is, it is clear that it is present in all the steps of a business, from the very beginning to the very end (sometimes even after the sale).

Marketing represents all the measures that a business does in order to grab people’s attention to that specific product or service with high-quality content.

The long-term objective of marketing is to show the values of the product, consolidate brand loyalty and, eventually, increase sales. 

The aims of marketing agencies are:

• to study consumers’ behaviours;
• to analyse online shopping characteristics;
• to do research;
• to conduct focus groups;
• to examine how, when, and where the customer needs to convey with the company.

Moreover, marketing is the process that makes people interested in your products or services. This can be achieved after analysis, market research, and understanding your ideal buyer’s interests.

Consequently, marketing is involved in any business area, including advertising, sales, product development, and product distribution. 

Today’s marketing is defined as “modern”. Indeed, after the 1950s, marketers started to use multiple platforms, such as TV and later the Internet. They started to conduct marketing campaigns, rather than just print media to advertise a product.

As a consequence, thanks to the advent and the refinement of new technologies, marketers have become an important part of the success of a product. 

Indeed, the main purpose of marketing and marketing agencies is to convert consumers into leads through effective messaging. 

It doesn’t matter if you are a small business or a household name brand, you can find perfect marketing agencies for you.

Types of marketing

As mentioned above, one of the tasks of marketing is to conduct market research. One of the main goals is to understand where your customers spend time.

Based on that, you have to determine the best type of marketing you need, and use the best marketing tools that allow you to reach as many customers as possible.

There are numerous kinds of marketing that are applicable today:

• Influencer marketing
  Influencers are people (celebrities, employees, content creators) that are used by marketers to get words out on their behalf.
  This strategy aims to influence potential buyers by driving a message – said by influencers, rather than by a company itself- to the market.

• Relationship marketing
  It refers to the strategy that segments consumers in order to develop loyalty.
  It consists of analytics and behavioural advertising to target customers and then creates loyalty programs. 

• Viral marketing
  It represents the strategy that encourages and facilitates people to spread a marketing message.
  It is called viral because the transmission of the message from one person to another works as the transmission of a virus. 

• Green marketing
  It is the marketing related to environmentally safe products. It can also be referred to as the promotion of products in a way that responds to ecological concerns.

• Keyword marketing
  It refers to the marketing that uses specific keywords and phrases to reach the users that they are searching for them.
  This strategy gives marketers the opportunity to reach, at the right time and with the right message, the right people. 

• Guerrilla marketing
  It is a creative and unconventional strategy with the aim to bring maximum results with minimal resources.

• Outbound marketing
  It refers to contact that the marketer has with the customer through TV, radio, etc. It is used to leverage preference for that brand and customer awareness. 

• Inbound marketing
  It is when a customer gets in touch with the marketer (and not vice versa as the outbound does) because of the usage of methods that have gained users’ attention.
  One of the main goals of inbound marketing is to make the company the solver of a need.

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  It is the marketing process that increases visibility in one or more search engines and it is usually made up of two elements. 
  On the one hand, the technical department deals with the use of proper keywords, codes, and links. It also makes sure that the website is indexed by the main search engines. 
  On the other hand, the marketing area deals with choosing specific keywords that allow the website to be ranked in the first position of the search engine. 

• Content marketing
  It creates and develops consistent and relevant content in order to attract a clear audience. Usually, marketers use storytelling to create attachment and emotional relationships with the consumer. 

• Email marketing
  it might be perceived as an old strategy, but email marketing still matters today. Email marketing helps you connect with your audience and promote your business.

Some of them might offer also related services, such as design services.

What makes a brilliant marketing agency?

Marketing agencies are companies that provide services related to the 4Ps, the so-called marketing mix: price, place, promotion, and product.

They help companies to plan, design, and to execute marketing tasks. Usually, people tend to consider marketing agencies as advertising agencies.

However, as the name suggests, advertising agencies focus only on communicative campaign features such as TV spots or ads, or sometimes even on a more limited field, like digital communication.

Top 15 marketing agencies

Gripped

Gripped is one of the B2B English digital marketing companies that is specialized in increasing lead generation, helping customers drive traffic, growing pipelines, and closing sales.

For 17 years, Gripped has gained experience with:

• search engine optimization (SEO)
• paid media
• marketing automation
• conversion rate optimization

Their methodology helps companies to reach more customers.

Site Visibility

For 18 years now, Site Visibility, a London-based marketing agency, has provided various services. These include:

• analytics
• social media marketing strategy
• content marketing
• SEO
• pay per click (PPC)
• online PR
• display advertising

In their curriculum, they show off jobs for Nivea, Hilton, and UK Power Networks.

In addition, they run a popular marketing podcast on iTunes, the so-called Internet Marketing Podcast. They have also founded BrightonSEO, which is the largest SEO conference in Europe. 

On their website, they have a specific section with case studies.

Momentum

Momentum provides services such as development, design, research, and strategy. Their goal is to find the best combination of every marketing tool so that businesses can reach their objectives faster.

Looking at their website, companies can see how Momentum works because they have a collection of their previous works with the problem and the solution that they have come up with. This is a very useful perception of the way they work. 

Directive

Directive helps businesses to expand their audiences thanks to a combination of PPC, paid social, CRO, SEO, and content marketing. In addition, they also propose a free SEO audit, and they can also provide personalized proposals.

The agency has worked for important brands such as Allstate, Samsung, and Cisco.

Based on their numbers, thanks to their strategies, they are able to:

• increase by 84 per cent inbound leads
• increase by 135 per cent organic traffic
• decrease by 32 per cent the cost per acquisition based on their average customers

Gravitywell

Moving outside London, we find Gravitywell which provides a complete digital package. Everything a customer needs, you can find with them: from website to mobile apps, from messenger boots to eCommerce.

They help customers to transform into digital without being too pushy. For 18 years now, they combine their strategy with yours, to reduce risks and disruption. 

Blueglass (Resignal)

Winner of high-profile awards such as the EU Search Award in 2015, 2017, and 2018, Blueglass showed off many collaborations including UPC and Huawei.

They offer a multitude of services including

• SEO
• content marketing
• WordPress development
• social advertising
• paid advertising

Don’t Be Shy

Don’t Be Shy is not like the classic marketing agencies. They use imagination, creativity, and intelligence to provide a range of services such as:

• UX and UI websites
• HubSpot
• content and campaigns
• marketing automation
• insight and strategy

Don’t Be Shy also won many awards such as Agency of the Year at the 2018 Pacific North Awards.

Barrington Johnson Lorains (BJL)

Based in Manchester, Barrington Johnson Lorains (BJL) solves business problems and comes up with effective and creative ideas in order to drive profits through marketing.

The team is composed of 85 people as well as a network of owner-run and managed agencies in 22 companies. This team includes marketing planning teams, strategists, digital specialists, and creatives, able to satisfy every marketing need.

Croud

Croud is made up of freelancers and in-house teams that work together. They provide content that can engage audiences, SEO, PPC, and paid social services around the world.

Croud is one of the biggest independent marketing agencies with 172 in-house staff members and 2,300 experts working for Croud. Their strategy is long-term oriented, transparent, and composed of reports and analysis. 

Barracuda

Barracuda is one of the oldest independent marketing agencies in London and it was accredited by Google. They offer paid services which include:

• paid social
• PPC
• YouTube advertising
• display and remarketing
• Google Shopping

Regarding the earned part, that is the media you influence, they furnish:

• digital PR
• outreach
• local SEO
• SEO

As for the media you own, that is what you can control, they provide content strategy, management of YouTube channels, and web development. 

Epic New Media

Epic New Media is a Liverpool and Manchester-based company. It is specialized in PPC and SEO marketing.

They also offer landing page designs, analytics services, CRO, and paid social. They describe their service as composed of four steps: targeting, traffic, tracking, and measuring. 

Ayima

With offices across the world, Ayima is a 19-year-old company that started as a Search Engine. Today, they offer:

• eCommerce services
• content marketing
• PPC
• SEO
• performance analytics
• programmatic advertising

They use a mix of digital strategies. They have worked or are working with customers such as Bwin, Verizon, and M&S.

Distilled (Brainlabs)

Distilled provides services such as:

• video marketing
• content marketing
• conversion rate optimization
• consultancy
• organic search

The particularity of this agency is that customers can run Search Engine Optimization split tests so that they can see variations in their site. Distilled also provides a demo if companies want to try it before buying.

Barques

Being one of the leading web design marketing agencies in the UK, Barques is a very SEO-oriented agency. Indeed, they deliver the best results regarding search engine performances thanks to search engine specialists.

They have worked or are working with customers such as Stoford, Apsley House Capital, and Visican.

Koozai

Winner of numerous awards, Koozai offers:

• owned media (i.e., content marketing and SEO)
• earned media (i.e., digital PR)
• paid media (i.e., paid search campaigns on Google Ads)

Among their customers, they have TUI Travel Plc, Papa Johns, and V&A. 

How to choose marketing agencies?

To put it in a nutshell, marketing agencies must have certain characteristics in order to be chosen.

• Proven of a track record
  Do they have any recognized award? Have they delivered consistent results to show you, or do they only promise that they will deliver consistent results? You need to see proof of their performance marketing and be data driven.

• Experience
  Do they have experience in your exact industry, or do they have experience in general? Experience in general is good to have but sometimes it is even better to have a specific industry experience. 

• Effective reporting with reliable data
  They are supposed to work closely with you. Are they able to provide periodically reports on what they are doing? How will they adjust if they are coming short? If they are delivering, can you get ideas and apply them to other phases of the business?

• Services
  Do they have expertise in the area you are looking to progress in?

• Achievable promises
  Incredible promises can be made. Yet they need to prove they can fulfil the expectations. Which tools and strategies will they use?

How much do marketing agencies cost?

Now you might be convinced to collaborate with marketing agencies. So, you need more information about the costs. In the UK, marketing agencies’ cost varies, depending on the project:

• SEO projects cost around £1500
• Organic social media costs on average £400 per campaign
• Paid social media costs around £300 per campaign
• Content marketing costs around £300 per post
• PPC costs on average £1000 per project/campaign
• Website build costs around £5500
• Marketing strategies cost on average £2500 per project

Match with a marketing agency

Now, you have all the pieces of information you need in order to look for marketing agencies in the UK. Nowadays, it is very important to select the best (digital) marketing strategy.

However, despite the fact that all the companies mentioned above have remarkable reputations, this does not imply that they are going to be valid for any business or any company. It is a matter of matching: marketing agencies vs your company. You have to discover which one fits the best for your company.

For instance, if you are working within a B2B company, you will need B2B marketing agencies. In a B2B setting, marketing is a much longer process that sometimes can last for months and require multiple teams.

These are all aspects that a company needs to take care of when moving toward marketing. Moreover, some marketing agencies focus on specific niches. Depending on your business, you should think about whether they can be effective for you.

Further, an index of how the marketing agencies work can be given by its website. A lot of them have a list of their clients displayed on their websites. Thus, having a careful look at their website, their campaigns, and their search engine presence, you get an idea of who they are, how they work, and what they do. 

Obviously, reviews as well can give you a deep insight. The important thing is to verify the validity of the review, meaning that they have been left by customers who actually used the service.

Indeed, the usage of independent platforms is extremely suggested because you are not able to verify the validity of the reviews if they are on the marketing agencies’ websites.

However, do not get down on yourself if one review has zero stars, you need to consider the reviews as a whole. Lots of marketing customers have unworkable wishes. 

On the whole, there is no doubt that you are going to choose the right agency that fits your goals. There are lots of marketing agencies in the UK that can help you to reach a very good point, especially if you do not have any knowledge in this field.

If you wish to outstand your business, the best marketing agencies can revolutionize your brand. 

How CONNECTS can help you

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If you want to expand your business in the UK, you might be interested also in:

• How Brexit affects business
• Top 25 big consulting agencies in the UK
• Top 15 supply chain companies in the UK
• Top 15 logistics companies in the UK
• Top 20 UK industries

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