What Upshot, Inc does

Upshot, Inc (legally Upshot LLC) is a full-service creative marketing agency headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1994 and operating as a privately held company with 101–250 employees. The agency is organized around five core service lines: Strategy, Brand Design, Campaign Activations, Experience Design, and Content Creation. Its client base is composed almost entirely of enterprise consumer brands across CPG, food and beverage, retail, technology, and lifestyle categories — including Google, Modelo/Corona (Constellation Brands), Kroger, New Balance, Nestlé Coffee Partners, Scotts Miracle-Gro, Aveeno, Bibigo, and Fiberon. Upshot differentiates through a positioning built on 'cultural agility, divergent thinking, and multi-dimensional perspective,' with work spanning physical retail environment design, digital experience design, social content production, and early metaverse activations such as the Corona Premier Virtual Clubhouse.

The agency's go-to-market is sales-led B2B, with new business generated through its website contact form, industry events (Advertising Week), earned media in outlets such as Ad Age and Muse by Clio, and an annual Upshot Trends Report. Revenue is generated through professional service fees for agency engagements; no public pricing, retainer structures, or revenue figures are disclosed. The company operates with a senior leadership team including a CEO, President & CEO, and four EVP/SVP leaders across marketing/strategy, creative strategy, cultural insights, and account services.

Upshot maintains a corporate legal presence in Irvine, California (its designated agent and DMCA contact), and is referenced externally as 'an Advantage agency,' indicating affiliation with Advantage Solutions — a major retail and consumer brand services platform. The agency has accumulated industry recognition across 2022–2023, including Crain's Best Places to Work in Chicago, Agency Spotter's Top 100 Advertising Agencies, a Shorty Silver Honor, and a Silver REGGIE Award. No venture capital, private equity funding, or public listing is evidenced.

Name

Upshot, Inc

Legal name

Upshot LLC

Website

https://upshot.agency

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Upshot is a Chicago-based, full-service creative marketing agency founded in 1994, serving enterprise consumer brands across CPG, beverage, retail, and technology with strategy, brand design, campaign activations, experience design, and content creation services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marketing & Advertising Services

NAICS

Media Representatives (541840), Public Relations Agencies (54182)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Full-Service Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Brand Activations & Experiential Campaign Design (MPAAAGAA), Activation/Experiential Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAO), Retail & Pop-up Experiences (In-store/Pop-ups) (MPAAAGAG)

Keywords

• Brand strategy services
• Creative agency services
• Campaign activations
• Brand experience design
• Shopper marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Marketing and Advertising Services: Upshot operates as a full-service creative agency providing strategy, brand design, campaign activations, experience design, and content creation services to brand and retailer clients. Revenue is generated through professional service fees for agency engagements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Upshot is a full-service creative agency delivering Strategy, Brand Design, Campaign Activations, Experience Design, and Content Creation services to enterprise brand and retailer clients. The agency combines creativity, digital fluency, and cultural agility to develop activation-ready brands and campaigns that drive consumer engagement across physical and digital touchpoints. Services span from strategic insights and positioning through to retail experience design and scalable content production.

Product overview

Upshot is a full-service creative agency organized around five core service offerings: Strategy, Brand Design, Campaign Activations, Experience Design, and Content Creation. The agency applies a multi-dimensional perspective combining creativity, digital fluency, and cultural agility to help brands own moments and unlock their full potential. Services range from strategic insights and brand positioning to campaign execution, experiential design, and content production.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategy Strategic consulting services that apply divergent thinking and a multi-dimensional marketplace perspective to uncover insights, patterns, and opportunities that inspire transformative brand ideas for enterprise clients.
• Brand Design Dynamic brand development services focused on creating activation-ready brands that break through crowded marketplaces and capture consumer hearts and minds for brand clients.
• Campaign Activations Image-to-action campaigns that simultaneously build brands while inspiring engagement, participation, and purchase, targeting consumers who move from curiosity to commerce in one click.
• Experience Design Human-centric and brand-building experiences for both physical and digital worlds using a holistic behavior-based approach that leads to intuitive, distinctive, and enjoyable consumer experiences.
• Content Creation Scalable content studio services adaptable to project needs and budgets, taking projects from concept through capture to final creation for brand and retailer clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• +20% Consumer Engagement, 56.6 million impressions for Chapter Aesthetic Studio launch

Named customers16 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• AMP AgencyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with AMP Agency on the 'Face Plant' campaign for regenerative agriculture awareness, featuring Nick Offerman. Campaign shine a light on cover crops and climate-friendly agriculture in collaboration with Natural Resources Defense Council.
• HypebeastminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partnership for Modelo Summer Drops campaign. Hypebeast generated buzz all season long for the weekly limited-edition drops from influential brands in music, tech, fashion, and sports.
• Incredible BeastminorOthersProduction company partner for the Face Plant campaign featuring Nick Offerman as worn-out topsoil spreading awareness about cover crops.
• Natural Resources Defense CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration partner on the Face Plant campaign about regenerative agriculture and cover crops.
• Travis MathewminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGolf apparel and accessories brand collaborated with Corona Premier for Virtual Clubhouse experience.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mother New York: Independent creative agency known for integrated brand work, campaign activations, and content. Comparable independent model with similar CPG and lifestyle client orientation.
• Battery: Independent creative agency offering brand strategy, design, and content creation across consumer and tech verticals. Similar integrated model and target customer base.
• Mekanism: Independent full-service creative agency of comparable size with a similar brand-engagement and content-creation orientation. Directly competes for CPG and consumer brand assignments in the same mid-size independent segment.
• Anomaly: Independent creative agency with strength in brand strategy, communications, and experience design for consumer brands. Directly comparable in integrated offering.
• Gut: Independent creative agency with integrated brand, campaign, and content capabilities for consumer and tech clients. Comparable indie structure and service stack.
• Joan Creative: Independent creative agency with brand-building, campaign, and content offerings for consumer brands. Comparable in size, services, and indie positioning.
• Preacher: Independent creative agency with comparable headcount and a focus on integrated brand strategy, design, and campaign activations. Overlaps Upshot's strategy-to-execution stack for consumer brands.
• The VIA Agency: Independent creative agency serving consumer and lifestyle brands with experiential, content, and integrated campaign capabilities. Closely comparable in scale and service mix.
• M/H VCCP: Mid-size independent creative agency with brand strategy, design, and campaign execution capabilities. Comparable scale and target enterprise brand client mix.

Broad incumbents

• 72andSunny: Larger independent creative network with brand strategy, campaign activations, and experience design serving global enterprise brands. Broader portfolio and reach than Upshot but overlapping service model and customer profile.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/upshot
• Instagraminstagram.com/upshotagency
• Xx.com/upshot_agency
• Facebookfacebook.com/Upshot.Agency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Upshot, Inc