What Brand Knew does

Brand Knew is an independent performance marketing agency founded in 2009 and headquartered at 10351 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 200, Los Angeles. The firm operates a dual-division model: a commercial performance marketing practice serving direct-to-consumer brands, real money gaming operators (iGaming, daily fantasy sports, sweepstakes, online casino, prediction markets), and financial services/fintech clients; and an Impact Division serving nonprofit and mission-driven organizations such as Stand Up To Cancer, Mayo Clinic, and Goodwill. The agency is self-described as the leading performance marketing agency for real money gaming in the United States.

Brand Knew's core offering is a full-funnel performance marketing system that integrates media buying across Meta, TikTok, Snap, Google, Apple Search Ads, Moloco, TVScientific, AppLovin, and Rokt with creative production, influencer and creator management, partnership ads, analytics infrastructure, and retention strategy. Capabilities include branding, audience development and messaging, paid media execution, creative production, influencer management, email marketing, and full-funnel growth strategy. The firm positions itself alongside client P&L owners on product strategy, promotional strategy, first-time depositor acquisition, and retention, with explicit emphasis on player value optimization by channel for U.S. gaming operators and high-value user acquisition for fintech clients in regulated environments.

The agency generates revenue through professional services engagements — retainer arrangements and project-based work with enterprise and growth-stage clients. Pricing is engagement-based and not publicly disclosed. The company is privately held with no disclosed institutional funding, no parent entity, and no public ticker. Named clients include Nike, Verizon, Netflix, FanDuel, Mayo Clinic, Stand Up To Cancer, Goodwill, Bubble Skincare, Netspend, UCLA, ArtCenter, and Betr. The firm was named "Most Innovative Independent Agency of the Year" by TikTok in 2023 and previously acquired Love Detailed in April 2017.

Name

Brand Knew

Legal name

Brand Knew

Website

https://brand-knew.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Brand Knew is an independent Los Angeles-based performance marketing agency, founded in 2009, specializing in full-funnel customer acquisition for real money gaming operators, DTC brands, fintech, and nonprofits through paid media, creative, and analytics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performance Marketing Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (54181), Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Influencer Marketing Agencies (BPAFAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Brand Strategy & Positioning (BPAFAEAA)

Keywords

• Performance marketing agency
• Paid media management
• Customer acquisition strategy
• Digital advertising services
• Marketing analytics services

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Performance Marketing Services: Agency earns revenue through professional service engagements with clients across real money gaming, DTC brands, financial services, and nonprofit sectors. Services include paid media management, creative production, influencer management, analytics, email marketing, and full-funnel growth strategy. Revenue is generated through retainer arrangements and project-based engagements with enterprise clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Brand Knew is a performance marketing agency that delivers full-funnel customer acquisition, paid media buying across Meta, TikTok, Snap, Google, Apple Search Ads, Moloco, TVScientific, AppLovin, and Rokt, along with creative production, influencer management, analytics infrastructure, and retention strategy for direct-to-consumer brands, real money gaming operators, and financial services companies. The agency also operates an Impact Division serving nonprofit and mission-driven organizations with awareness, donor acquisition, and fundraising campaigns.

Product overview

Brand Knew operates as a dual-division performance marketing agency offering two integrated service lines: (1) Performance Marketing Services providing full-funnel customer acquisition and retention solutions for direct-to-consumer brands, real money gaming operators, and financial services companies across paid media, creative, influencer, and analytics; and (2) an Impact Division serving nonprofit and mission-driven organizations to increase awareness, engagement, and fundraising efficiency. The agency combines media buying, creative strategy, and data science into unified growth systems for its clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Performance Marketing Services Full-funnel performance marketing services for enterprise clients across real money gaming, direct-to-consumer brands, and financial services, including paid media buying across Meta, TikTok, Snap, Google, Apple Search Ads, Moloco, TVScientific, AppLovin, and Rokt, creative production, influencer and creator management, analytics infrastructure, and retention strategy.

Quantifiable outcome

• Leading performance marketing agency for real money gaming in the United States
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• TikTokcoreTechnology or IntegrationDeep platform relationship with TikTok. Brand Knew has been recognized by TikTok as Most Innovative Independent Agency of the Year, demonstrating strong platform capabilities and creative innovation on the TikTok platform. The partnership involves paid media execution and creative development for TikTok advertising campaigns.
• MetacoreTechnology or IntegrationDeep platform relationship with Meta for paid media execution across Facebook and Instagram advertising channels. Core platform partnership for client campaign delivery.
• GooglecoreTechnology or IntegrationDeep platform relationship with Google for paid media execution across Google Search, YouTube, and other Google advertising properties. Core platform partnership for client campaign delivery.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Metric Theory: Independent digital marketing agency with deep paid-media, analytics, and creative capabilities across enterprise verticals. Closely comparable to Brand Knew in size, mid-market enterprise client mix, and platform-agnostic buying approach.
• Acceleration Partners: Global performance marketing agency focused on affiliate, partner, and influencer programs. Overlaps with Brand Knew's partnership ads and influencer management capabilities, particularly in DTC and retail verticals.
• Wpromote: Large independent performance marketing agency with Polaris platform and full-funnel media, creative, and analytics services. Direct peer to Brand Knew in independent agency positioning and enterprise client engagement model.
• Disruptive Advertising: Performance marketing agency specializing in paid media, lifecycle, and creative for mid-market and enterprise clients. Comparable to Brand Knew in offering cross-channel buying on Meta, Google, and TikTok with a data-driven methodology.
• NP Digital: Performance and digital marketing agency offering SEO, paid media, content, and CRO. Comparable to Brand Knew as a digitally native full-funnel agency competing for similar mid-market and enterprise clients.
• Power Digital Marketing: Full-funnel growth marketing agency combining paid media, SEO, creative, and analytics for DTC and B2B brands. Closely comparable to Brand Knew in mid-market positioning and channel breadth.
• Directive Consulting: B2B-focused performance marketing agency offering paid media, SEO, and creative to SaaS and tech clients. Comparable to Brand Knew in mid-market agency profile and full-funnel execution model.
• Tinuiti: One of the largest independent performance marketing agencies in the US, offering paid media, creative, and analytics across major platforms. Directly comparable to Brand Knew in service mix and enterprise client focus, though at meaningfully larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• Razorfish: Publicis-owned large digital agency network offering media, creative, and experience services. Competes with Brand Knew on enterprise pitches with broader capabilities but less vertical specialization in real money gaming.
• iProspect: Dentsu-owned global performance marketing agency operating at scale across paid media, SEO, and CRO. Comparable to Brand Knew in performance-marketing DNA but with broader geographic and vertical reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/brandknewknew
• Facebookfacebook.com/BrandKnewKnew
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brand-knew

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Brand Knew