What HL does

H/L Group is a New York-based advertising agency founded in 2001 by Hamilton South and Lynn Tesoro, operating with a headcount of 51–100 employees. The firm provides data-driven advertising and communications services with a pronounced specialization in Connected TV (CTV) advertising, leveraging programmatic activation through demand-side platform (DSP) partnerships — most notably with Nexxen, whose technology infrastructure underpins H/L's high-attention CTV placements, including the newly activated TV Home Screen solution that delivers native ads during the average 10.5-minute smart TV content-selection window.

The agency's core offerings center on programmatic advertising activation and integrated communications strategy, distributed through direct enterprise sales and channel-partner relationships with ad-tech platforms. Following the 2025 combination of KWT Global and H/L under the HUNTER banner, the firm now sits within a larger integrated communications group that advises clients across travel and hospitality, financial and professional services, health and wellness, luxury and lifestyle, CPG, fashion, and retail — visible through an enterprise client roster that includes L'Oréal, Macy's, Four Seasons, Experian, Janus Henderson, Illumina, dsm-firmenich, and Consumers Energy.

H/L's revenue model is professional services–based, generating fees from advertising and communications engagements rather than from a proprietary SaaS or productized offering. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales with a co-sell dependency on technology partners (Nexxen for CTV), and the firm's pricing is client-specific and not publicly disclosed. The competitive narrative is built on first-mover access to premium smart TV inventory and demonstrated client outcomes (up to 14x conversion uplift per Nexxen partnership reporting), positioning H/L as a specialist agency rather than a scaled media-buying holding-company competitor.

Name

HL

Website

https://hlgrp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

H/L Group is a New York-based advertising agency founded in 2001, specializing in programmatic Connected TV advertising through its Nexxen DSP partnership and serving enterprise clients across travel, financial services, luxury, CPG, and retail sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advertising Services: H/L generates revenue by providing advertising agency services to clients, leveraging programmatic advertising technology platforms to deliver campaigns across Connected TV and other channels.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

HL is an advertising agency that delivers Connected TV (CTV) and programmatic media services to enterprise brand clients, operating across biddable media, contextual, behavioral, and audience strategies. The firm executed the first agency activation of Nexxen's TV Home Screen solution, enabling premium smart-TV inventory placements for advertisers. As part of the HUNTER marketing group (formed via merger with KWT Global), HL extends its offerings across integrated marketing communications.

Product overview

H/L is an advertising agency offering programmatic advertising services with a focus on Connected TV (CTV). The agency's core offerings include data-driven advertising strategies and programmatic activation through partnerships with advertising technology platforms like Nexxen. H/L leverages Nexxen's demand-side platform to deliver high-attention advertising solutions including smart TV home screen ads, achieving up to 14x conversion outcomes for clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Connected TV Advertising Services Programmatic Connected TV (CTV) media planning and buying service that delivers high-attention smart-TV placements, including first-mover activation of Nexxen's TV Home Screen inventory, for enterprise brand advertisers.
• Data-Driven Biddable Media Services Programmatic biddable media execution across contextual, behavioral, and audience-based targeting strategies, designed for enterprise advertisers seeking performance-driven digital media campaigns.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 14x conversion outcomes for clients using Nexxen's platform

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NexxencoreTechnology or Integration · 22 April 2026H/L has partnered with Nexxen, an advertising technology platform, to deliver programmatic Connected TV advertising solutions. H/L is the first agency to programmatically activate Nexxen's TV Home Screen solution, which delivers native ads on smart TV home screens during the average 10.5-minute window when viewers decide what to watch. The partnership leverages private marketplace deals through Nexxen's DSP.
• NexxencoreTechnology or IntegrationH/L partnered with Nexxen to help clients navigate the fragmented Connected TV advertising market, combining Nexxen's demand-side platform with H/L's advertising strategies for data-driven advertising campaigns.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Digilant: Programmatic media agency specializing in data-driven campaign activation across digital and CTV channels, serving similar enterprise advertiser needs as H/L.
• Assembly: Stagwell-owned digital media agency with a strong programmatic and CTV practice serving enterprise clients, comparable in size and modern agency positioning to H/L.
• Hearts & Science: Omnicom-owned media agency built around data-driven, programmatic activation including CTV, serving enterprise advertisers with a similarly tech-forward agency model.
• Horizon Media: Large independent media agency investing heavily in CTV and programmatic capabilities, with a similar enterprise client focus and comparable mid-size U.S. agency profile to H/L.
• Crossmedia: Independent media agency with strong programmatic and CTV capabilities serving enterprise clients; comparable independent-agency profile competing for similar advertiser mandates.
• MiQ: Programmatic media company with deep CTV buying expertise and proprietary technology for audience targeting, competing directly for the same CTV activation budgets H/L pursues.
• Tinuiti: Performance-focused digital media agency with a strong programmatic and CTV practice serving enterprise brands. Directly comparable in size, digital-first DNA, and CTV specialization to H/L.

Broad incumbents

• GroupM: World's largest media investment group (WPP) operating across all major ad channels including CTV. Sets the competitive baseline for enterprise advertisers that H/L must win against on CTV mandates.
• Wavemaker: WPP-owned media, content, and technology agency with significant CTV capabilities and a global enterprise client base overlapping with H/L's target market.
• Publicis Groupe: Global advertising holding company with substantial CTV, programmatic, and data capabilities. Represents the scale incumbent H/L competes against in enterprise pitches.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hlgrp
• Facebookfacebook.com/120257137989569
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hl-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 HL