Poke London
Poke London is an independent digital creative industry publication based in London, producing case studies, insights, and practical guides for strategists, designers, and developers, funded through sponsored content and contributor work.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2002
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Poke London does
Poke London is an independent digital creative industry publication based in Shoreditch, London, founded by Tom Ashworth in 2000 (with a 2002 founding date also cited in corporate records). The company began life as a digital creative agency and produced notable work for clients including EE, Ted Baker, Mulberry, Manchester City, Skype, RNLI, BBC, and UBS. In the 2020s it pivoted from agency services to an editorial publication covering campaigns, creative strategy, UX design, and the broader digital landscape, with an explicit editorial positioning of "no vanity metrics, no award-show fluff."
The publication runs on a WordPress-based content platform and is organised into six topic categories (Insights, Campaigns, Guides, Thoughts, News, Blog), comprising 24 case studies and 34 articles as of the most recent count. Content is produced by a small editorial team supplemented by guest contributors and a freelance researcher, with a contributor submission channel open to practitioners. Distribution is global and entirely digital, via the website, SEO, email, and social channels (Instagram, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, YouTube).
Commercially, the business model is lean: revenue derives from occasional sponsored content partnerships (transactional, one-off, editorially vetted) and the contributing researcher position, with all editorial content free to readers and no public pricing. The company is independently owned, with no institutional investors, no parent company, no funding rounds, and no disclosed revenue. The headcount is stated at 51-100, though the operating model appears closer to a small editorial team with broader network reach.
Poke London firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Poke London
- Legal name
- Poke London
- Website
- https://pokelondon.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2002
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Poke London is an independent digital creative industry publication based in London, producing case studies, insights, and practical guides for strategists, designers, and developers, funded through sponsored content and contributor work.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Poke London is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Poke London business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Sponsored Content: Occasional sponsored content partnerships with brands, clearly labelled and must meet editorial standards. One-time transaction-based arrangement.
- Contributing Researcher: Freelance researcher position producing 1-2 research-driven editorial pieces per month for additional content production.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Poke London product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Poke London is an independent digital creative industry publication based in Shoreditch, London. It publishes case studies of notable digital campaigns, opinionated industry insights, and practical guides (including a downloadable Creative Brief Template) for digital creative professionals such as strategists, designers, and developers. Content is freely accessible online and organised across topics covering Insights, Campaigns, Guides, Thoughts, News, and Blog.
Product overview
Poke London is an independent digital creative industry publication, not a software product. The company operates a unified content platform offering case studies of notable digital campaigns, insights on industry trends, and practical guides for creative professionals. The core offering is editorial content published across multiple formats including campaign analyses, opinion pieces, and downloadable resources such as a Creative Brief Template. The publication covers work across categories including creative agencies, fashion brands (Ted Baker, Mulberry, Diesel), sports (Manchester City, Wembley Cup), telecommunications (EE), and technology platforms (Skype). Content is organized by topic areas: Insights (industry trends), Campaigns (campaign breakdowns), Guides (practical resources), Thoughts (long-form analysis), News (industry updates), and Blog (editorial reflections).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Poke London Publication An independent digital creative industry publication offering case studies of notable digital campaigns, opinionated industry insights, and practical guides for strategists, designers, developers, and creative professionals. Content is freely accessible online and organised across Insights, Campaigns, Guides, Thoughts, News, and Blog.
- The Ultimate Creative Brief Template A downloadable creative brief template designed for campaign planners and creative teams to define business challenges, audience insights, single-minded propositions, and success measures before producing work.
- A Beginner's Guide to Conversion Rate Optimisation A practical guide covering CRO fundamentals including defining conversions, identifying friction points, hypothesis formation, A/B testing methodology, and building a continuous optimisation culture, aimed at digital creative and marketing professionals.
- How to Build a Portfolio That Gets You Hired A guide on portfolio fundamentals for creative professionals, covering how to show process over results, technical considerations for performance and mobile, and strategies for writing cover letters that complement portfolio work.
Companies that use Poke London
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Poke London technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Poke London partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Poke London competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- It's Nice That: Independent UK-based publication covering the creative industries with case studies, interviews, and opinion. Closely comparable in audience (creative professionals), format (campaign and project write-ups), and editorial positioning as an independent voice.
- The Drum: Global media brand covering marketing, advertising, and the creative industries through daily news, features, and analysis. Comparable in covering the digital creative industry from a journalistic angle and serving overlapping marketer and agency audiences.
- Creative Review: Long-running UK creative industry magazine and website covering advertising, design, and digital creative work. Highly comparable in editorial scope (campaign analysis, craft-focused commentary) and London-based positioning.
- Campaign: Established advertising and marketing industry publication covering agency news, campaign reviews, and creative strategy. Comparable in focusing on digital creative campaign analysis and serving agency/marketer readership.
- Contagious: Marketing intelligence publication analyzing standout creative campaigns and strategic thinking in advertising. Directly comparable in its campaign-critique format and audience of brand marketers and creative professionals.
- A List Apart: Long-running online publication covering web design, UX, and digital craft through essays, case studies, and guides. Comparable as an independent, practitioner-led publication with a similar editorial mix of insights, campaigns, and guides.
- Smashing Magazine: Web design and development publication offering articles, guides, books, and conferences for digital professionals. Comparable in serving designers/developers with practical guides, case studies, and downloadable resources.
Broad incumbents
- Adweek: Major US-based advertising and marketing industry media brand covering campaigns, agencies, and platforms at scale. Overlaps in campaign analysis and creative industry coverage, but operates at much larger scale and as part of a broader media portfolio.
- Wired: Major tech and culture publication covering digital innovation, creative industries, and brand marketing at scale. Tangentially comparable in covering the intersection of technology and creative work, but operates as a broad mass-market media brand rather than a niche creative vertical.
Others
- D&AD: International creative awards and education body that publishes industry content, runs events, and produces a Pencil Awards program. Comparable as an authority in the digital creative professional community, though it operates primarily as an awards/education body rather than a publication.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Poke London social profiles
Digital presencePoke London financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Poke London leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Poke London funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Poke London M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Poke London
What does Poke London do?
Poke London is an independent digital creative industry publication based in Shoreditch, London. It publishes case studies of notable digital campaigns, opinionated industry insights, and practical guides (including a downloadable Creative Brief Template) for digital creative professionals such as strategists, designers, and developers. Content is freely accessible online and organised across topics covering Insights, Campaigns, Guides, Thoughts, News, and Blog.
Is Poke London a public or private company?
Poke London is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Poke London founded?
Poke London was founded in 2002. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Poke London based?
Poke London is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Poke London make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Sponsored Content is the primary driver. The others are contributing Researcher.
Who are Poke London's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are It's Nice That, The Drum, Creative Review, Campaign, Contagious, A List Apart and Smashing Magazine. Broad incumbents are Adweek and Wired. D&AD is listed as an others.
Does Poke London have an API?
No public API is recorded for Poke London.