Hill Holliday

What Hill Holliday does

Hill Holliday is a Boston-headquartered, full-service integrated marketing agency founded in 1968 and organized as a platform of specialized, non-siloed verticals. Following its January 2024 acquisition by New Zealand-based Attivo Group from Interpublic Group, it operates as an independent agency with access to a global network of sister shops including 303 MullenLowe, Harvey Cameron, and Gorilla Studios. The firm runs five core specialties: integrated brand and creative work (Hill Holliday), media buying and planning (Hill Holliday Media), marketing analytics and consumer research (Hill Holliday Decision Science), healthcare and wellness marketing (Hill Holliday Quest, launched September 2024), social content production (Hill Holliday Soci-Studios), and customer-centricity strategy consulting (Hill Holliday From To Labs), with BRIGADE functioning as the in-house production and editorial team.

The agency's underlying capability stack is human-talent-led rather than technology-led: there is no proprietary software product or model. Instead, competitive delivery rests on award-winning creative talent, a Decision Science practice augmented by a November 2024 partnership with marketing intelligence platform Funnel, in-house editorial production, and an influencer and social content studio. The technology substrate is standard agency tooling plus third-party analytics platforms, with AI used functionally in analytics, predictive modeling, and content workflows rather than as a flagship differentiator.

Hill Holliday's revenue model is professional services: clients pay agency fees for integrated marketing campaigns across strategy, creative, media planning and buying, production, and analytics. Services are quoted on a scope basis dependent on team size and campaign complexity, with no public pricing. GTM is sales-led and relationship-driven, targeting enterprise and government clients in automotive (Cadillac, BMW Motorrad, Valvoline), food and beverage (Dunkin', Boar's Head, Egglife), healthcare (American Lung Association with the Ad Council, Quest's DTC health brands), tourism (Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism), technology (Exiger), and sports (Boston Celtics), delivered across Boston and New York offices with 501-1,000 employees.

Name

Hill Holliday

Legal name

Hill Holliday LLC

Website

https://hhcc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Hill Holliday is a Boston-based, full-service integrated marketing agency founded in 1968, organized into specialized verticals covering strategy, creative, media, analytics, healthcare, social content, and consultancy, serving enterprise, government, and nonprofit clients across automotive, food and beverage, healthcare, and technology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

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, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Marketing and Advertising Services: Full-service integrated marketing agency providing strategy, creative, media, production, and analytics services to clients across healthcare, consumer packaged goods, automotive, tourism, and other verticals. Revenue is generated through professional service fees for campaign development, media buying, strategy consulting, and creative production.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Hill Holliday is a full-service integrated marketing agency that develops brand strategy, creative campaigns, media planning and buying, production, and marketing analytics for enterprise clients. Services are delivered through specialized practice areas including healthcare marketing, media buying, decision science, social content production, and business innovation consulting. Revenue is earned through professional service fees tied to campaign development, media buying, strategy consulting, and creative production engagements.

Product overview

Hill Holliday is a full-service integrated marketing agency organized as a platform of specialized verticals rather than a unified software product. The core agency offers integrated creative, strategy, and media services. Supporting verticals include Hill Holliday Media (media buying/planning/analytics), Hill Holliday Decision Science (marketing analytics and consumer research), Hill Holliday Quest (healthcare and wellness marketing), Hill Holliday Soci-Studios (social content creation), and Hill Holliday From To Labs (customer-centricity consultancy). BRIGADE is the in-house editorial and production team supporting all creative work.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hill Holliday (Core Agency) Full-service integrated marketing agency offering brand advertising, B2B/B2C campaigns, social content development, influencer marketing, design, brand identity, naming, digital experiences, and experiential marketing for enterprise clients.
• Hill Holliday Media Integrated media buying and planning vertical offering advanced analytics, media strategy, media planning, media buying, performance media, search marketing, strategic investments, and testing and optimization for clients across verticals.
• Hill Holliday Decision Science Marketing analytics and consumer research practice including audience insights, local market scoring, data strategy consulting, digital transformation, consumer research, customer-journey mapping, positioning testing, market share simulation, media mix modeling, and in-market testing.
• Hill Holliday Quest Healthcare and wellness marketing practice that creates value beyond the shelf, turning transactional interactions into enduring relationships through behavioral science, strategic insight, creative, social, and media to drive behavior change for healthcare and wellness brands.
• Hill Holliday Soci-Studios Digitally native, quick-turn, high-volume content creation studio enabling brands to show up with relevance across all social and digital platforms through influencer marketing and full-funnel social content.
• Hill Holliday From To Labs Customer-centricity consultancy that drives revenue growth and creates customer value through customer mapping, landscape assessment, alternative exploration, and road map creation for lasting success.
• BRIGADE In-house editorial team providing production and studio services including film and video, digital and social content, animation, illustration, photography, and experiential production supporting all Hill Holliday creative work.

Quantifiable outcome

• 54% increase in Escalade unit sales for Cadillac
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers10 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

Integration1 record

AI capability2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• FunnelcoreTechnology or Integration · 18 November 2024Hill Holliday Decision Science partnered with leading marketing intelligence platform Funnel to enable clients to maximize data value through advanced analytics and research. The partnership creates custom solutions to meet clients at every stage of data maturity and hosts events in 2025 focused on marketing science innovation.
• Massachusetts Office of Travel & TourismcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 June 2024Hill Holliday selected as creative partner to develop and implement the $6 million 'Made Possible' tourism campaign showcasing Massachusetts history, culture, and attractions. The campaign targets domestic travelers through mixed media including TV, radio, digital, print, and billboards.
• Attivo GroupflagshipOthers · 3 January 2024Attivo Group acquired Hill Holliday in January 2024 after IPG sold the agency. Attivo, led by CEO Cam Murchison, is a New Zealand-based marketing services company with portfolio agencies including 303 MullenLowe, Harvey Cameron, and Gorilla Studios. The acquisition provides Hill Holliday independence with global network reach.
• American Lung AssociationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing collaboration with American Lung Association on public health campaigns including the Saved By The Scan lung cancer awareness initiative. Hill Holliday creates pro bono PSAs for the Ad Council and Lung Association partnership, with over 1.3 million Americans completing screening eligibility quizzes.
• Ad CouncilflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership creating public service campaigns including Saved By The Scan lung cancer PSAs and youth vaping prevention initiatives. Hill Holliday develops creative content distributed through donated media time and space nationwide.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Droga5: Now part of Accenture Song, Droga5 is a high-profile creative agency competing for the same Fortune 500 enterprise clients. Comparable in creative reputation but with significantly more international reach and digital capabilities.
• BBDO Worldwide: Global advertising network (Omnicom) and one of the largest agency networks globally. Competes for the same enterprise CPG and automotive clients (including potential overlap with Cadillac) that Hill Holliday serves.
• TBWA\Chiat\Day: Global advertising network (Omnicom) with full-service creative and media capabilities. Competes with Hill Holliday for the same enterprise accounts but offers significantly broader geographic reach and media scale.

Direct peers

• Wieden+Kennedy: Independently owned, large-scale creative agency renowned for brand-building campaigns. Comparable to Hill Holliday in integrated creative offering and enterprise brand portfolio but operates at significantly larger scale and global footprint.
• Deutsch NY: New York-based creative agency acquired alongside Hill Holliday from IPG by Attivo Group in January 2024. Closely comparable as a sister agency sharing the same parent, similar full-service integrated model, and overlapping enterprise client base.
• Goodby Silverstein & Partners: San Francisco-based independent creative agency of comparable scale with a similarly diversified enterprise client roster and award-winning integrated creative reputation. A close functional peer in independent creative agency positioning.
• The Martin Agency: Richmond, VA-based independent full-service agency with comparable headcount and a similar mix of Fortune 500 enterprise clients across CPG, automotive, and financial services.
• Arnold Worldwide: Boston-based full-service creative agency with comparable size and legacy (founded 1946). Several Hill Holliday leaders (Dave Weist) previously held senior roles at Arnold, indicating deep talent and capability overlap.
• MullenLowe: Boston- and New York-based full-service creative agency that is also part of the Attivo Group portfolio. Directly comparable to Hill Holliday in size, geography, integrated offerings, and overlap in vertical categories (CPG, healthcare, automotive).

Emerging players

• R/GA: IPG-owned digital and innovation-focused agency. Adjacent rather than directly overlapping, but competes for the same digitally-native brand work and tech-sector clients (e.g., Exiger) that Hill Holliday's Soci-Studios and Decision Science practices target.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hillholliday
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hill-holliday
• Instagraminstagram.com/hillholliday
• Facebookfacebook.com/hillholliday

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries4 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 Hill Holliday