The Grove Media

What The Grove Media does

The Grove Media is an independent, employee-owned media planning and buying agency headquartered in London, founded in 1977 and operating additional regional offices in the Midlands and North of England. The firm serves ambitious SMEs and mid-market businesses that are deprioritised by large network agencies, with a particular concentration in the entertainment, retail, higher education, home energy, legal/insurance, and home furnishings sectors. Its core service is end-to-end media planning and buying across all paid-for channels — digital (paid search, paid social, programmatic, mobile) and traditional (addressable TV via Sky AdSmart and ITV Planet V, OOH, radio, print, direct mail) — supported by its proprietary Adalyser attribution tool that combines website visit and telephone call tracking for cross-channel measurement. Named clients include The Crown Estate, centre:mk, Alexandra Palace, SMEG, Daikin UK, Patient Claim Line, The University of Law, Gulliver's Theme Parks, Woburn Safari Park, and Raymond Gubbay, with documented case-study outcomes ranging from +43% footfall uplift and 153% web traffic increases to 36% year-on-year undergraduate application growth.

The agency generates revenue through professional services fees, agency commissions, and markups on media buys placed on behalf of clients, with pricing conducted on a bespoke, quote-based model rather than published rate cards. Its go-to-market is sales-led, with senior leadership directly engaged on client relationships and pitches (e.g., the four-way competitive pitch that won Animal Friends Insurance in late 2020). Distribution is entirely direct via its three UK regional offices, supplemented by referral pipelines through memberships in the Pimento independent marketing network and the Alliance of Media Independents (AMI), of which it is a founding member. Since 2022, the firm has operated under an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), and in 2024 it became the highest-scoring B Corp-certified media agency in the UK (B Impact score 114.7); it also holds Google Premier Partner status, placing it in the top 3% of UK partners.

Name

The Grove Media

Legal name

The Grove Media

Website

https://thegrovemedia.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Grove Media is an independent, employee-owned UK media agency (founded 1977) that plans and buys paid media across digital, addressable TV, and traditional channels for ambitious SMEs and mid-market clients in entertainment, retail, education, home energy, and legal sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Media Planning & Buying Services

NAICS

Media Buying Agencies (54183), Media Buying Agencies (541830)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital & Programmatic Media Buying (Display, Video, CTV, Audio) (BPAFABAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Video/CTV/OTT Media Buying (MPAAABAE)

Keywords

• Media planning buying
• Paid media services
• Addressable TV advertising
• Programmatic media buying
• Cross channel attribution

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Media Planning & Buying Services: The agency earns fees through media planning and buying services for clients across all paid-for channels, on and offline. Revenue is generated through agency commissions, fees, and markups on media buys placed on behalf of clients in sectors including entertainment, home furnishings, home energy, retail, education, and insurance.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Grove Media is an independent media agency that plans and buys paid media across all channels, both digital and traditional, for ambitious mid-market and enterprise clients. The agency delivers strategy, planning, buying, and cross-channel measurement (via its proprietary Adalyser tool) for clients in entertainment, retail, education, insurance, legal, and home energy sectors. Services cover paid search, paid social, programmatic, addressable TV (Sky AdSmart, ITV Planet V), OOH, mobile, print, radio, and direct mail.

Product overview

The Grove Media is a service-based independent media agency offering Real World Media Planning & Buying. The company provides strategic media planning and buying services across all paid-for channels, on and offline. Their core offering includes traditional media planning (TV, OOH, radio, print), digital media (social, search, display, video), and specialist services like addressable TV (Sky AdSmart), mobile campaigns, and performance measurement using tools such as Adalyser. The agency serves clients across diverse sectors including entertainments, retail, home interest, higher education, and insurance, delivering campaigns that drive footfall, ticket sales, brand awareness, and response metrics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Media Planning & Buying Services Real-world media planning and buying services across all paid-for channels, both on and offline. The agency focuses on strategic planning and buying across multiple channels (paid search, paid social, programmatic, addressable TV, OOH, radio, print, mobile, direct mail) to deliver effective media solutions for ambitious businesses.
• Adalyser Cross-Channel Attribution Proprietary measurement software that tracks website visits alongside telephone calls, enabling fine-tuning of campaigns to optimise response levels and identify best-performing channels, dayparts, and sales houses.
• Mobile Drive-to-Store Campaigns Local mobile marketing campaigns deployed in partnership with Locala to drive in-store traffic, optimising visits in real-time using mobile targeting technology and audience-based targeting.
• Addressable TV Campaigns (Sky AdSmart / ITV Planet V) Addressable TV campaigns using Sky AdSmart and ITV Planet V platforms to deliver geotargeted, audience-specific TV advertising with measurable attribution, including ticket sales within 15 minutes of ads airing.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3x better client retention vs market average
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered client partnership, supporting partner, key media partner, key platform partner, emerging platform partner, flagship partner and creative partner.

• Animal Friends Insuranceclient partnershipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 October 2020Animal Friends Insurance appointed The Grove Media as strategic media agency partner for non-digital media strategy and execution from January 2021, following a competitive pitch involving three other agencies.
• Daikin UKclient partnershipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2020Daikin UK appointed The Grove Media as media planning and buying agency across all channels to promote the 'Energy for Change' campaign, Daikin's first consumer campaign in the UK highlighting heat pumps as an efficient home heating solution.
• Localasupporting partnerTechnology or IntegrationThe Grove Media partnered with Locala, a mobile marcoms expert, to deploy a local drive-to-store campaign for SMEG's St James's flagship store. Locala provided its proprietary mobile technology for real-time campaign optimisation and footfall attribution.
• Time Outkey media partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerTime Out served as the media partner for The Crown Estate's Regent Street Christmas light switch-on campaign. The Grove Media leveraged Time Out's multi-touchpoint platform including print pull-out maps, digital traffic drivers, solus newsletters, and social cards to reach London audiences.
• STV (Scottish Television)supporting partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerSTV was used as the local TV partner for the Botanics Christmas Light Show in Edinburgh campaign for Raymond Gubbay. Tactical local TV campaigns on STV drove considerable ticket sales, supported by a multi-format OOH campaign.
• National World, Reach, Newsquest, The Listsupporting partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerGeo and audience-targeted print and digital partnerships with key local publishers for the Edinburgh Botanics Christmas Light Show campaign, delivering data capture, editorial features, and paid digital including social, native, and display.
• Sky AdSmartkey platform partnerTechnology or IntegrationSky AdSmart was the addressable TV platform used for Woburn Safari Park's campaign, enabling geotargeted and audience-specific TV advertising with measurable attribution. The platform enabled demonstrating ROI with ticket sales tracked within 15 minutes of ads airing.
• OpenAI / ChatGPTemerging platform partnerTechnology or IntegrationOpenAI/ChatGPT is rolling out shopping capabilities with integrations to platforms such as Shopify, representing a future conversational commerce channel. The Grove Media's thought leadership covers how advertisers should prepare for ads within ChatGPT and AI-powered commerce.
• Shopifyemerging platform partnerTechnology or IntegrationOpenAI and Shopify announced a partnership to integrate shopping capabilities directly into ChatGPT, enabling users to discover, compare, and purchase products from Shopify merchants within the AI interface. The Grove Media's thought leadership identifies this as a significant shift toward AI-powered conversational commerce.
• Amazon Rufusemerging platform partnerTechnology or IntegrationAmazon Rufus is an AI-powered shopping assistant within Amazon's ecosystem. The Grove Media monitors it as an emerging ad opportunity within AI-driven ecommerce and advises clients to optimise product catalogues for AI assistants.
• Perplexity (AI Comet)emerging platform partnerTechnology or IntegrationPerplexity's 'Comet' has integrated shopping features. The Grove Media identifies AI assistants like Perplexity as emerging environments for product discovery and future advertising opportunities.
• Google AI Mode / Geminiemerging platform partnerTechnology or IntegrationGoogle is actively monetising its AI Mode search as its commercial model shifts from traditional paid search. The Grove Media advises preparing for high-intent, low-volume audiences in AI-powered search environments.
• ITV Planet Vkey platform partnerTechnology or IntegrationITV's Planet V is an addressable TV platform making premium broadcast inventory accessible and affordable for regional and medium-sized businesses. The Grove Media uses it alongside Sky AdSmart for addressable TV campaigns.
• Googleflagship partnerTechnology or IntegrationGoogle Premier Partner with top 3% status in the UK. The Grove Media has dedicated account strategists, access to product betas, custom recommendations, and collaborative projects including a bespoke lead scoring model for The University of Law and Consent Mode V2 support for clients.
• Creaturecreative partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative agency Creature produced the advertising creative for The Land of Independents campaign, a cross-agency initiative championed by The Grove Media involving 17 independent media agencies.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• the7stars: UK-headquartered independent media planning and buying agency serving mid-market and challenger brands. The most direct peer: same independence positioning, similar UK mid-market focus, full-funnel paid media across digital and traditional channels.
• Medialab: UK independent media agency with a data-led planning model. Closely comparable to The Grove in offering, market (UK mid-market and enterprise) and analytics-driven approach to media planning and buying.
• Mi3: UK independent media agency (formerly John Ayling & Associates) with full-service planning and buying capabilities. Comparable as an independent UK competitor pursuing similar clients and channels to The Grove.
• Total Media: UK independent, employee-owned media agency providing planning and buying across digital and traditional channels. Highly comparable to The Grove on ownership structure (EOT), independence and UK mid-market focus.
• Goodstuff Communications: London-based independent media agency and Alliance of Media Independents member. Direct competitor to The Grove in the UK independent agency tier, serving clients with full-service planning and buying across paid channels.
• Bountiful Cow: UK independent media agency focused on insight-led planning and buying for ambitious brands. Direct independent competitor to The Grove with similar mid-market positioning and full-channel capability.

Broad incumbents

• PHD Media: Global media network within Omnicom. Competes with The Grove for the same advertising budgets but operates a holding-company model with international scale and broader service portfolio.
• Zenith: Global media agency within Publicis Groupe offering planning and buying at scale. Comparable offering to The Grove but serves much larger enterprise clients via the holding-company model, representing the network incumbent The Grove is positioned against.
• Wavemaker: WPP-owned global media agency with strong digital and addressable-TV capabilities. Comparable to The Grove on cross-channel planning and buying, but operating at enterprise scale via a holding-company model.
• OMD Worldwide: Omnicom-owned global media agency offering planning and buying across digital and traditional. Comparable in capabilities but a holding-company incumbent serving enterprise clients with global footprints.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TheGroveMediaUK
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thegrovemedia
• Instagraminstagram.com/thegrovemedia
• Facebookfacebook.com/razorblueltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Grove Media