Iris

What Iris does

Iris is a global integrated creative agency founded in 1999 and headquartered in London, operating as a privately-held subsidiary of Cheil Worldwide, the world's 10th-largest agency network. The firm employs over 600 people across 11 offices spanning the UK, US, Canada, Germany, North Macedonia, Brazil, India, Singapore and Indonesia, organized as an integrated "MicroNetwork" under the "Participate or Perish" creative philosophy. Iris delivers six core service disciplines: Integrated Creative, PR/Social & Influencer, Partnerships & Experiential, CRO/Pricing/Data & Analytics, Performance Marketing, and a specialist Healthcare vertical branded as Iris Health. Underlying capabilities include marketing intelligence dashboards, media mix modeling, social and influencer analytics, and an emerging AI and machine-learning practice led by dedicated senior hires in London and Boston, though no proprietary AI models or patents are disclosed.

The agency's customer base is concentrated among large multinational enterprise brands, including Samsung, adidas, abrdn, Unilever, L'Oréal, Bayer, Beiersdorf, Alcon, Pizza Hut and California Pizza Kitchen, with additional non-profit engagements (Stamma, YES! Charity) and technology clients such as World ID. Services are delivered through multi-year enterprise engagements with custom pricing based on scope, team size and campaign requirements — no standard pricing tiers are publicly disclosed. GTM motion is direct enterprise field sales supplemented by regional office-led business development, with new business managed via a dedicated centralized inbox.

Iris generates revenue through professional services fees spanning project work, retainers and performance-based engagements, with pricing tailored to client scope rather than standardized product offerings. The Iris Health sub-brand and Iris Pricing Solutions (Toronto-based) represent dedicated vertical offerings, while broader geographic expansion has been concentrated in Asia-Pacific through the Singapore, Jakarta and Delhi offices. The company maintains an active awards program, with 2024-2025 recognition across Epica, Effie, Creative Circle, MARKies, Hashtag Asia, Citra Pariwara, Dragons of Asia, and Indian Marketing Awards, supporting brand credibility in new business development. The March 2025 departure of founder Ian Millner after 26 years, with continuation in a global advisory capacity, marks a generational leadership transition while operational momentum has been sustained.

Name

Iris

Legal name

Iris Nation Worldwide Limited

Website

https://iris-worldwide.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Iris is a London-headquartered integrated creative agency and subsidiary of Cheil Worldwide, employing 600+ specialists across 11 global offices to deliver strategy, creative, PR, social, experiential, performance marketing, data analytics and healthcare marketing services to multinational enterprise clients including Samsung, adidas, Unilever and L'Oréal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Integrated Marketing Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Marketing Consulting Services (541613)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Full-Service Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Brand Campaign & Integrated Communications Agencies (MPAAAAAC), Activation/Experiential Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAO)

Keywords

• Integrated marketing agency
• Creative campaign services
• Performance marketing
• Healthcare marketing services
• Experiential brand activations

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Integrated Marketing Services: Full-service integrated creative agency providing strategy, creative, social, PR, experiential, data analytics, and performance marketing services. Revenue generated through project fees, retainer agreements, and performance-based engagements with enterprise and mid-market clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Iris is a global integrated creative marketing agency operating as a "MicroNetwork" of 11 offices across the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. It sells integrated marketing services spanning creative campaign development, PR, social and influencer marketing, partnerships and experiential activations, performance marketing (PPC, SEO, programmatic), CRO/data/analytics, pricing research, and a specialist healthcare vertical serving pharma, med-tech, and wellness brands.

Product overview

Iris is a global integrated creative agency structured as a MicroNetwork — a coordinated multi-office network of specialists — offering six core service disciplines: Integrated Creative, PR/Social & Influencer, Partnerships & Experiential, CRO/Pricing/Data & Analytics, Performance Marketing, and a specialist Healthcare vertical. These services are delivered across 11 global office locations spanning the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, with a shared "Participate or Perish" creative philosophy. The agency also operates a specialist Pricing Solutions practice from its Toronto office. Beyond retained service work, Iris produces named campaign products for clients including Samsung (e.g., Unmissable Moments, Hidden Allegiances, The Spooky Drop), Pizza Hut (Vertical Pizza Box), California Pizza Kitchen (40th anniversary campaign), World ID (BotBoard and Real World Captchas), Stamma (Don't Hang Up campaign), and YES! Charity (The Good Fight).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Iris Health: Healthcare marketing division of Iris that specializes in connecting brands, HCPs and patients through participative thinking that delivers real health impact.

Products and services

• Integrated Creative

Quantifiable outcome

• 10,000% increase in social shares on Instagram for California Pizza Kitchen 40th anniversary campaign
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Cheil WorldwidecoreOthersIris is part of Cheil Worldwide, the world's 10th biggest agency company. This partnership extends Iris's global reach to a network of 55 offices worldwide while maintaining independent agency operations.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Anomaly: Independent integrated creative agency with offices in NYC, London, LA, Toronto, Shanghai, and Berlin. Closely comparable to Iris's MicroNetwork model — full-service creative, strategy, and digital delivered by integrated teams for enterprise brands.
• 72andSunny: Independent integrated creative agency with offices in LA, NYC, Amsterdam, and Sydney. Closely comparable to Iris on mid-sized global model, integrated creative + culture-led work, and enterprise brand roster (Google, REI, Activision).
• Droga5 (Accenture Song): Award-winning integrated creative agency now part of Accenture Song, serving global enterprise brands including Samsung, adidas, and Google. Direct competitor to Iris on integrated creative pitches and Samsung/adidas-related mandates.
• Mother London: Independent integrated creative agency headquartered in London with global offices. Directly comparable to Iris in model — full-service integrated creative, healthcare optionality, and similar mid-sized global footprint competing for the same enterprise mandates.
• Wieden+Kennedy: Independent integrated creative agency with global offices (Portland, NYC, London, Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai). Direct competitor on integrated creative mandates and global brand storytelling, with a similarly independent operating model.

Broad incumbents

• Accenture Song: Global experience and marketing services arm of Accenture, encompassing Droga5 and other creative shops. Broader incumbent competing for the same enterprise transformation-and-marketing mandates that Iris pitches, but at vastly larger scale.
• Dentsu Creative: Global creative network within Dentsu International, providing integrated creative, experience, and CX services. Broad incumbent with comparable integrated service model and enterprise client roster, competing in pitches especially across APAC.
• McCann Worldgroup: Global integrated marketing communications network within IPG, with full-service creative, PR, healthcare, and performance capabilities. Broad incumbent overlapping Iris's integrated services and healthcare vertical (McCann Health) at significantly greater scale.
• Ogilvy: Global integrated creative, PR, and experience network within WPP. Broad incumbent with overlapping integrated services, healthcare (Ogilvy Health), and performance marketing — competing for the same enterprise brand rosters.

Regional players

• Clemenger BBDO: Australia/NZ integrated creative agency network within Omnicom, where Iris's new Director of Innovation previously led AI/ML integration. Comparable on integrated creative services and is the source of Iris's AI talent — illustrates cross-pollination with Iris's AI capability build-out.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iris
• Instagraminstagram.com/irisworldwide/?hl=en
• TikToktiktok.com/@iris.worldwide
• Xx.com/irisworldwide
• Facebookfacebook.com/irisworldwide

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Iris