The Yardstick Agency

What The Yardstick Agency does

The Yardstick Agency is a Nottingham-based, UK-only marketing agency founded in 2016 by Phil Bray that serves exclusively the UK financial services profession. It targets four segments: new-start financial planning businesses, existing advisory firms, support service providers (networks, compliance consultants, technology businesses), and product providers and investment managers. The company positions itself as the UK's highest-rated marketing agency in this vertical, supported by 180+ five-star Google Reviews and Professional Adviser Awards Best Website wins in four of the last five years.

The portfolio combines bespoke professional-services deliverables (websites, branding, marketing strategy, the Made Simple launch package, the Pick & Mix modular service, and social media advertising) with subscription and unit-priced offerings (Yardstick Membership newsletters and blogs, Yardstick Membership Plus, Yardstick Engage, and the Client Stories Starter Package at £772 for three videos or £1,494 for six). Its technology footprint is a content-management and campaign-execution stack tailored to financial advisers, supplemented by proprietary free tools — Yardstick Client Connector (adviser referral directory), Adviser Website Index (benchmarking), Adviser Awards Index, scorecards, and an online shop for client-facing digital content. The remote video workflow uses video conferencing and smartphone capture to deliver testimonial videos at roughly half the cost of face-to-face production.

The business is a privately held limited company, founder-owned and bootstrapped with no institutional backing. Go-to-market is sales-led and content-led: direct engagement with prospective advisers, supported by an owned-media engine (three blogs per week, weekly newsletter, monthly webinars, podcast, free resources) and PR presence across Citywire, Money Marketing, Professional Adviser, and FT Adviser. Pricing is largely quote-based with no long-term subscription contracts, blending project-based revenue from website and strategy engagements with a smaller but stickier base of recurring Membership and Engage subscriptions.

Name

The Yardstick Agency

Legal name

The Yardstick Agency Ltd

Website

https://theyardstickagency.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Yardstick Agency is a Nottingham-based UK marketing agency founded in 2016 by Phil Bray, serving exclusively the UK financial services profession with bespoke websites, social media, content subscriptions, client videos, and full-service marketing for advisers, planners, and product providers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Nottingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Website Design & Development: Bespoke website design and development services for financial advisers and planners. Includes discovery meetings, design concepts, copywriting, development, and hosting.
2. Yardstick Membership: Subscription-based service providing newsletters, blogs, guides, and content for financial advisers. Available in Syndicated and Bespoke options on monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly basis. No long-term contracts required.
3. Pick & Mix Services: A la carte marketing services including branding, client surveys, client videos, content writing, directory profile set-up, Google My Business set-up, lead magnet campaigns, PPC advertising, referral generation, SEO, social media, stationery design, and website hosting.
4. Marketing Strategy: Comprehensive marketing strategy development service including business assessment, target client identification, persona building, existing marketing review, key messages development, and implementation planning.
5. Client Videos: Remote video production packages - Three videos at £772 or six videos at £1,494. Uses video conferencing and smartphone technology for client testimonials.
6. Made Simple Service: Complete marketing foundation service for new start firms including naming, branding, social media set-up, stationery design, directory profiles, Google My Business, SEO fundamentals, and website development.
7. Social Media Advertising: Paid social media campaign management including platform recommendation, campaign design, landing page creation, guide production, lead nurturing, and performance monitoring.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

The Yardstick Agency is a UK-based marketing agency that delivers full marketing services exclusively to the financial services profession, including financial advisers, planners, support service providers, and product providers. Its core offerings comprise bespoke website design and development, subscription content services (Yardstick Membership newsletters and blogs), social media management (Yardstick Engage and Yardstick Membership Plus), client video production, comprehensive marketing strategy development, and a Made Simple Service for new advisory firm launches. The agency positions itself as either a full outsourced marketing department or as a support to in-house teams.

Product overview

The Yardstick Agency is a marketing services company offering a portfolio of services specifically designed for financial advisers, planners, and the wider financial services profession. The core offerings include bespoke website design and development (award-winning), social media management services (Yardstick Membership Plus and Yardstick Engage), client video production (Client Stories Starter Package), and comprehensive marketing strategy development. The company also offers modular services through its Pick & Mix Service for existing firms and a Made Simple Service package for new business launches. Supporting these are subscription content services (Yardstick Membership providing newsletters and blogs in Syndicated or Bespoke tiers), social media advertising campaigns, and an online shop selling client-facing content products. The company provides extensive free resources including scorecards, webinars, video libraries, checklists, templates, an Adviser Awards Index, an Adviser Website Index benchmarking tool, and the Yardstick Client Connector referral tool. The product portfolio is designed as interconnected services where clients can select individual offerings or comprehensive packages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Yardstick Membership: A subscription service providing newsletters, blogs and guides for financial advisers and planners
• Yardstick Engage
• Yardstick Membership Plus
• Client Stories Starter Package
• Yardstick Client Connector
• Yardstick Podcasts

Products and services

• Websites for Advisers & Planners Bespoke website design and development for financial advisers and planners, including discovery meetings, design concepts, copywriting, development, and hosting. Winners of the Professional Adviser Awards Best Website category in 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024.
• Yardstick Membership Subscription content service providing newsletters, blogs, and branded guides for financial advisers' clients, prospects, and professional connections. Available in Syndicated and Bespoke tiers on monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly cadence.
• Yardstick Engage Full social media management package including weekly personalised posts, design work, connection building, community engagement, direct message campaigns, and audience growth targeting advisers' ideal clients.
• Client Stories Starter Package Remote client video production service using video conferencing and smartphone technology. Two tiers: three videos at £772 or six videos at £1,494. Produces client testimonial videos at approximately half the cost of face-to-face shoots.
• Pick & Mix Service Modular marketing service allowing existing advisory firms to select individual services as needed. Service menu includes branding, client surveys, content writing, directory profiles, Google My Business, lead magnet campaigns, PPC, SEO, social media, stationery design, website hosting, and website design/development.
• Marketing Strategy Comprehensive marketing strategy development service for growth-orientated firms, including business analysis, client persona development, existing marketing review, key message identification, goal achievement planning, and benchmark identification.
• Made Simple Service Complete marketing foundation package for new financial planning businesses, including naming, branding, social media setup, stationery design, directory profiles, Google My Business setup, SEO fundamentals, and website design and development.
• Social Media Advertising Paid social media advertising campaign management covering lead generation, traffic, pixel, and nurturing campaign types. Includes platform recommendation, campaign design, landing page creation, bespoke guide production, email nurturing, testing, and monitoring.
• Online Shop Digital content products for financial advisers including client e-zines, client guides, animations, and workshops that demonstrate knowledge and position advisers as experts. Products cover later-life care, 100-year life planning, SMART goals, pension shortfall, will and LPA, and value of financial planning.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4 out of 5 years winning Professional Adviser Awards for Best Website (2020, 2021, 2023, 2024)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers21 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

Feature4 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Hallam Internet: Established UK digital marketing agency providing SEO, paid media, content, and web development. Serves mid-market and enterprise clients across multiple verticals including financial services, with a similar full-service offering.
• Croud: Global digital marketing agency offering media, SEO, content, and analytics services to enterprise clients including financial services. Competes with Yardstick for larger financial-services marketing engagements but with a much broader portfolio.
• Dentsu: Global marketing services group (Dentsu Creative, Merkle, Carat) with established financial-services verticals. Competes for scaled financial-services marketing work and brings technology/data capabilities beyond Yardstick's niche offering.
• WPP: Global marketing services holding company (Ogilvy, VMLY&R, GroupM, etc.) with dedicated financial-services practices. Represents the large-agency incumbent Yardstick competes against for enterprise financial-services marketing budgets.
• Publicis Groupe: Global marketing holding company (Saatchi & Saatchi, Leo Burnett, Digitas) with deep financial-services expertise. Competes for larger financial-services marketing engagements and offers breadth Yardstick cannot match in-house.

Direct peers

• Equinet Media: B2B fintech and financial services marketing agency delivering content, PR, and digital campaigns. Direct competitor in the UK financial-services marketing space with comparable services and overlapping client base.
• First Wealth: UK financial adviser marketing agency offering strategy, websites, and content services to IFAs and planners. Direct competitor to Yardstick in the same UK financial-services marketing niche with similar target audience.

Regional players

• ProfileTree: Northern Ireland-based digital marketing agency offering SEO, content, web design, and video services with exposure to UK financial services clients. Comparable services portfolio but broader vertical mix.

Others

• Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Enterprise marketing automation, email, and content platform used by financial services firms. Indirect competitor and ecosystem enabler that financial advisers could adopt to bring marketing functions in-house, reducing agency spend.
• HubSpot: Marketing, sales, and content software platform widely used by financial advisers for email, CRM, and content marketing. Represents an in-house tooling alternative that competes with Yardstick's Membership and Pick & Mix services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/yardstickagency
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-yardstick-agency
• Facebookfacebook.com/theyardstickagency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 The Yardstick Agency