What Thompson Spencer does

Thompson Spencer is a full-funnel creative and media agency headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, operating since 2010 across four offices in Auckland, Wellington, Sydney, and Melbourne. Following its March 2025 merger with Reason, the firm operates as Thompson Spencer Group, described as one of New Zealand's largest independent agency groups, employing 50+ professionals and serving enterprise and government clients in FMCG, food and beverage, tourism, beauty, healthcare, technology, and hospitality. Service delivery is structured through seven integrated sub-brands: Magnesium (creative video production), Thompson Spencer Media (accredited media strategy and buying, Google/Meta/TikTok Partner), The Social Club (influencer marketing with access to thousands of creators), Flying Tiger (Chinese-speaking consumer marketing, official Australasian Marketing Partner of Tencent and Alibaba), People of Influence (talent representation in sport, entertainment, and music), Socialites (social media and community management, Meta and TikTok Creator Partner), and Reason (performance marketing with AI-driven Marketing Mix Modeling).

The agency's underlying technology stack is a federated specialist-brand platform rather than a single monolithic product. Proprietary elements include bespoke Marketing Mix Modeling, 300-million-data-point audience analytics capabilities demonstrated on the Bupa account, WeChat Pay integration pipelines through Flying Tiger's Tencent/Alibaba partnerships, and platform-specific creator-partner tooling with Meta and TikTok. The firm holds accredited partner status with Google, Meta, and TikTok for paid media buying and with Tencent and Alibaba for Chinese-market reach. There are no disclosed patents, proprietary AI models, or API products; the technology layer is operational tooling embedded in service delivery rather than licensable software.

The revenue model is professional services — primarily custom agency retainers and project-based engagements priced by scope, team requirements, and campaign duration, with multi-year contracts noted. Go-to-market is sales-led via competitive pitches and direct enterprise relationships, illustrated by recent wins such as the Musashi Middle East market-entry appointment secured through a competitive pitch process. Customers span enterprise CPG brands (John West, Essity, Asahi, 5Gum), wine and spirits (Invivo/SJP, Giesen, New World Wine Awards, Woodstock), tourism boards (Tourism New Zealand, WellingtonNZ), healthcare (Bupa), beauty (Elizabeth Arden, Wild Ferns), technology (Microsoft), and hospitality (Seagrass), with no public revenue concentration disclosure.

Name

Thompson Spencer

Legal name

Thompson Spencer

Website

https://thompsonspencer.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Thompson Spencer Group is a New Zealand-headquartered independent creative and media agency operating across Auckland, Wellington, Sydney, and Melbourne. It delivers full-funnel marketing services through seven specialist sub-brands to enterprise and government clients in FMCG, tourism, beauty, healthcare, and technology sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Creative and Media Services: Full-service agency providing strategy, creative production, media planning and buying. Services span advertising & marketing strategy, brand development, creative ideation, design & production, short-form social content, high quality brand TV commercials, events & activations, media planning and buying from TikTok to TV, and performance media management.
2. Influencer Marketing Services: The Social Club provides influencer campaign management with access to thousands of influencers. Includes talent management through People of Influence representing world-leading talent in sports, entertainment and music industries.
3. Social Media Management: Socialites brand provides social media management, community management, crisis management, and insights. Growing brands through robust strategy, thumb-stopping creative production, community management, and digital community cultivation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Thompson Spencer is a full-funnel creative and media agency delivering integrated marketing services through a portfolio of seven specialist sub-brands: Magnesium (creative video production), Thompson Spencer Media (media strategy and buying), The Social Club (influencer marketing), Flying Tiger (Chinese-speaking market marketing), People of Influence (talent management), Socialites (social media management), and Reason (performance marketing). The agency provides advertising strategy, brand development, creative production, media planning/buying, influencer campaigns, and performance optimization to enterprise brand clients.

Product overview

Thompson Spencer is a full-funnel creative and media agency offering integrated marketing services through a portfolio of seven specialist sub-brands. The core offering spans creative production (Magnesium), media strategy and planning (Thompson Spencer Media), influencer marketing (The Social Club), multicultural Chinese-market marketing (Flying Tiger), talent management (People of Influence), social media management (Socialites), and performance marketing (Reason). The agency combines these capabilities to deliver advertising & marketing strategy, AI & automation, brand development, creative production, social content, media buying, and performance optimization services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Magnesium: Full in-house creative video production and design service creating platform-specific content from TikToks to TV ads
• Thompson Spencer Media
• The Social Club
• Flying Tiger
• People of Influence
• Socialites
• Reason

Products and services

• Magnesium Full in-house creative video production and design service creating platform-specific content from TikToks to TV ads.
• Thompson Spencer Media Fully-accredited media strategy and planning one-stop-shop, serving as a Google, Meta and TikTok Partner for media planning and buying.
• The Social Club Influencer marketing specialists with access to thousands of influencers, enabling brands to run influencer campaigns that build awareness and drive sales. Proud Meta and TikTok Creator Partner.
• Flying Tiger Specialist marketing service helping businesses connect with Chinese-speaking consumers in local and international markets; official Australasian Marketing Partner of Tencent and Alibaba with WeChat Pay integration capability.
• People of Influence Talent management agency representing world-leading talent in sports, entertainment and music industries, building genuine partnerships between talent and brands.
• Socialites Social media management and growth service that grows brands through robust strategy, thumb-stopping creative production, community management, and insights. Proud Meta and TikTok Creator Partner.
• Reason Performance marketing agency bringing data, creativity, and AI capabilities with bespoke custom Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) models to make marketing spend work harder.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5Gum campaign achieved 24.15% TikTok engagement rate (vs 4.1% industry average)
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and flagship.

• MusashimajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 4 November 2025Thompson Spencer appointed by Musashi to lead its Middle East market entry, starting in the UAE with activities planned for 2026. The agency secured the contract through a competitive pitch after demonstrating their creative and data-driven strategy. This represents a significant international expansion win for the agency.
• WeChat Pay (Tencent)coreTechnology or IntegrationFlying Tiger, a Thompson Spencer brand, integrated WeChat Pay for Tourism NZ campaigns targeting Chinese visitors. WeChat Pay is the number one payment platform in China. Flying Tiger worked with over 100 tourism businesses to leverage WeChat Pay marketing and payment tools during Golden Week and Chinese New Year campaigns.
• TencentcoreTechnology or IntegrationFlying Tiger is an official Australasian Marketing Partner of Tencent, enabling access to WeChat ecosystem for Chinese-speaking market campaigns.
• AlibabacoreTechnology or IntegrationFlying Tiger is an official Australasian Marketing Partner of Alibaba, complementing Tencent partnership for comprehensive Chinese market access.
• ReasonflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLandmark merger formed Thompson Spencer Group. Both agencies operated for 15 years with record-breaking growth. The merger combines Thompson Spencer's creative and media expertise with Reason's performance marketing capabilities to form one of the largest independent agency groups in New Zealand.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Special Group: New Zealand-founded independent creative agency with operations across Australia and globally, comparable in size, integrated offering, and indie positioning to Thompson Spencer. Direct competitor for the same enterprise FMCG, tourism, and tech brand accounts in Australasia.
• Cummins&Partners: Independent Australian creative and media agency with NZ operations, comparable in size and integrated service model to Thompson Spencer. Direct competitor in the trans-Tasman market for enterprise creative and media mandates.
• Colenso BBDO: One of New Zealand's most awarded creative agencies, part of the BBDO Worldwide network. Competes with Thompson Spencer for the same top-tier NZ enterprise and government clients including Tourism NZ and major FMCG brands.
• The Hallway: Independent NZ creative agency with a similar integrated creative and media offering to Thompson Spencer. Comparable size and competes for mid-to-large NZ enterprise accounts with creative-led campaigns.
• Ogilvy New Zealand: NZ operation of Ogilvy's global network, offering integrated creative, advertising, PR, and consulting. Competes for the same enterprise clients (Microsoft, tourism, FMCG) that Thompson Spencer serves across NZ and Australia.
• Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand: NZ arm of Saatchi & Saatchi global network with strong heritage in creative brand building and integrated campaigns. Direct competitor for major NZ enterprise accounts across food & beverage, retail, and government sectors.
• DDB New Zealand: New Zealand arm of global DDB network offering integrated creative, media, and digital services. Comparable full-funnel agency model and competes for similar enterprise brand mandates in the NZ market.

Broad incumbents

• Publicis Groupe: Global advertising holding company operating Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi, Publicis, and Starcom in NZ/Australia. Represents the network competition Thompson Spencer faces when clients seek multi-region integrated capabilities.
• Dentsu: Global advertising and media services group with significant NZ and Australia operations through Dentsu Creative, Dentsu Media, and Merkle. Comparable full-funnel media, creative, and performance marketing capabilities at greater scale.
• WPP: Largest global advertising holding company with Ogilvy, VMLY&R, GroupM, and media agencies operating across NZ and Australia. Represents the scaled network alternative for clients needing global reach beyond Thompson Spencer's footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thompson-spencer
• Instagraminstagram.com/socialitesnz/?hl=en
• TikToktiktok.com/@socialites

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries7 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 Thompson Spencer