What Decoded Advertising does

Decoded Advertising is a full-funnel marketing, advertising and design agency that combines strategy, creative, media, design, and commerce services for enterprise brand clients. Founded in 2014 by Matt Rednor (former BBDO and MRY strategist) and based bi-coastally in New York's Financial District and Culver City, Los Angeles, the firm operates with a team of approximately 200 people. Its core methodology, branded 'Experimental Design', is built on immersion, curiosity, and iteration; the agency states it has generated 1.25 billion learnings from experimentation and is, on average, 30% more effective for clients on both brand and direct-response objectives versus traditional agency output.

The agency's product surface spans Creative Strategy & Brand Building, Performance Marketing, Agile Production, UX + CX Strategy, Media Planning & Buying (with $275M in managed media bought in-house), and Brand Identity & Product Strategy. Supporting capabilities include Data-Driven Creative Integration and a Performance Media practice powered by signal analysis. Named proprietary features center on the Experimental Design framework - explicitly positioned as a novel method architecture that uses data and experimentation to inform brand-building creative, rather than a conventional creative-then-media workflow.

Commercial model is professional services: engagements are quote-based and tailored, with revenue from integrated campaigns, brand-building work, performance marketing, and experimental design programs delivered primarily to enterprise accounts across telecom (T-Mobile), financial services (Visa), technology (HP, Intuit), consumer goods (WW, SC Johnson, Method, Caldrea, Planet Oat), education (Penn State), entertainment (Hulu), nonprofit (AARP), and apparel (Tommy John). Go-to-market is enterprise field sales led by a New Business team under Managing Director James Stephens, supported by earned media in Adweek, Campaign and trade press, plus content marketing on Medium. In 2021 Decoded was acquired by Sir Martin Sorrell's S4 Capital to extend reach globally; the firm continues to operate as a subsidiary within the S4 group.

Name

Decoded Advertising

Legal name

Decoded Advertising

Website

https://decodedadvertising.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Decoded Advertising is a full-funnel marketing, advertising, and design agency serving enterprise brands with integrated strategy, creative, media, design, and commerce services. Founded in 2014, acquired by S4 Capital in 2021, it employs roughly 200 people across New York and Los Angeles using its Experimental Design methodology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advertising and Marketing Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (54181)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Performance Marketing (SEM, Paid Social, Programmatic) (BPAFAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Paid Social Advertising (BPAFACAB)

Keywords

• Advertising agency
• Brand strategy
• Media planning
• Creative services
• Performance marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Advertising and Marketing Services: Full-service advertising agency providing strategy, creative, media, design and commerce services to enterprise clients. Revenue generated through professional services fees for integrated marketing campaigns, brand building, performance marketing, and experimental design programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Decoded Advertising is a full-funnel marketing, advertising and design agency that provides integrated strategy, creative, media, design and commerce services to enterprise brands. Its work is anchored by an "Experimental Design" methodology that combines data and creativity to drive measurable brand and direct-response outcomes for clients across categories such as telecom, technology, financial services and consumer goods.

Product overview

Decoded Advertising is a full-funnel marketing, advertising and design company offering a unified set of services centered on its Experimental Design methodology. The core offerings include Performance Marketing, Agile Production, UX+CX Strategy, Creative Strategy & Brand Building, Media Planning & Buying, and Brand Identity & Product Strategy—all integrated through a data-informed, experimental approach that combines strategy, creative, media, design and commerce. Their work spans campaign case studies including Visa Tap to Pay, Visa Money Is Changing, T-Mobile Santa Calling, HP The Fixer, WW Dub Dub Club, Penn State Impact, Caldrea Scent Curious, and HP End of Life campaigns.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Experimental Design A proprietary approach built on immersion, curiosity and iteration that serves as the foundational methodology across all client engagements, designed to proactively create behaviors rather than react to results.
• Performance Marketing Data-driven marketing services focused on delivering measurable results and ROI for clients across digital channels.
• Agile Production Rapid, flexible creative and content production capabilities that enable quick iteration and deployment of marketing assets.
• UX + CX Strategy User experience and customer experience strategy services that design intuitive experiences connecting, guiding and delighting users across all touchpoints.
• Creative Strategy & Brand Building Strategic creative services including brand positioning, integrated campaigns, and communications planning to build distinctive brands.
• Media Planning & Buying In-house media services covering strategy, planning, and execution across channels with $275 million in managed media.
• Brand Identity & Product Strategy Services covering brand identity development, business transformation, product strategy, and go-to-market planning.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30% more effective on average for clients for both brand and DR objectives
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers13 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

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• S4 CapitalflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Decoded Advertising joined Sir Martin Sorrell's S4 Capital to power the new era of global advertising and marketing. This acquisition enables Decoded to go global and scale services more holistically across the consumer journey. The partnership combines Decoded's experimental design and data-driven creative approach with S4 Capital's global network.
• Welcome To ChinatowncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to revitalize the Chinatown community through collaborative efforts to bring people back to the storied neighborhood. A passion for culture and cuisine drove this initiative to support local community restoration.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• 72andSunny: Mid-size creative and digital agency known for integrated brand work for Adidas, Google, and Samsung. Directly comparable to Decoded on offering mix (creative + media + strategy) and mid-market positioning; Decoded's Managing Director James Stephens previously led global teams there.
• Anomaly: Independent creative and brand strategy agency with offices in NYC and LA, comparable in size and full-service positioning to Decoded. James Stephens also led global teams at Anomaly, and both agencies compete for similar enterprise creative mandates.
• R/GA: Digital creative and innovation agency offering brand, experience, and technology services to enterprise clients. Comparable to Decoded on the integration of strategy, creative, and digital; James Stephens previously led global teams there on Instagram, Beats by Dre, and ESPN.
• Mekanism: Independent creative agency combining brand storytelling with performance marketing and content production. Closely comparable to Decoded's full-funnel creative + performance offering and similar mid-market enterprise client base.
• Mother NYC: Independent creative agency with offices in NYC and LA, known for integrated campaigns and brand building. Comparable to Decoded on offering mix, geographic footprint, and challenger positioning.
• BBH (Bartle Bogle Hegarty): Award-winning creative agency with NYC presence, founded in London. Comparable on creative-led brand work and award recognition; Group Creative Director Laura Holmes McCarthy at Decoded previously copywrote at BBH NY.

Broad incumbents

• Droga5 (Accenture Song): Highly awarded creative agency now part of Accenture Song, serving large enterprise clients including Amazon, Google, and The New York Times. Comparable in offering but operates at larger scale and within a consulting-network parent.
• Wieden+Kennedy: Independent creative powerhouse with offices in Portland, NYC, and globally. Comparable on creative leadership and brand-building pedigree but operates at meaningfully larger scale and global footprint than Decoded.
• McCann Worldgroup: Large global advertising network offering creative, media, and commerce services. Comparable in offering breadth and enterprise client access; Decoded CFO Chris Mozolewski previously held roles at McCann-Erickson.
• BBDO Worldwide: Global advertising network within Omnicom, offering full-service creative, media, and commerce. Comparable on offering mix and enterprise client base; Decoded founder Matt Rednor previously honed strategy skills at BBDO.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 Decoded Advertising