Stafford Long

What Stafford Long does

Stafford Long & Partners is a UK-based employer branding and recruitment marketing agency founded in 1986 and headquartered at 10 Bishops Square, London, with a regional office in Birmingham. The firm delivers full-service employer communications to enterprise clients across legal, government, energy, construction, financial services, consulting and technology sectors, with named clients including Hogan Lovells, Linklaters, Simmons & Simmons, Norton Rose Fulbright, Barclays, BlackRock, Tesco Technology, FCDO Services, DE&S, DNV GL Energy, Murphy, James Hay, Newton Europe, Capgemini, and Cushman & Wakefield. Core offerings span employer brand development (research, EVP creation, creative launch, training), graduate and student marketing, multi-channel recruitment marketing, end-to-end events and experiential marketing, employee engagement and internal communications, and equality, diversity & inclusion consultancy. Proprietary deliverables include interactive digital tools such as the Virtual Embassy Platform for FCDO Services (an interactive environment with 276 hotspots across 14 rooms) and gamified learning tools.

The revenue model is professional services-based, with project-based fees tied to campaign scope across creative, digital, events, and media buying work; pricing is not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is consultative and direct enterprise field sales, supported by thought-leadership content, owned events (including Black History Month observances and EDI panels), industry conference participation (e.g., World Employer Branding Day), and lead generation through an annual Youth Report research publication. Distribution is augmented by ownership within Penna and The Adecco Group, which provides global reach, and by Google Partner status for digital advertising capabilities.

Ownership sits with Penna, a subsidiary of The Adecco Group, and in 2025 the agency announced its rebrand into the LHH brand while maintaining continuity of the same team and client relationships. Leadership transitioned on 1 January 2024 when Kathryn Kempster was appointed Managing Director of Penna/Stafford Long, succeeding Julie Towers. The firm holds dozens of industry awards across EBMAs (Gold 2024, Silver/Bronze 2022–2023), RAD Awards (multiple 2017–2022), PPMAs (2019–2021), Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards (2020 Silver Dolphin for DNV GL), Times Top 100 (2018–2020), CIPD Awards (2015, 2017), and Target Jobs (2019).

Name

Stafford Long

Legal name

Stafford Long & Partners

Website

https://staffordlong.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Stafford Long & Partners is a London-based employer branding and recruitment marketing agency serving UK enterprises across legal, government, energy, and financial services. The firm delivers end-to-end employer communications, including brand strategy, graduate marketing, events, digital tools, and ED&I consultancy, and now operates as LHH.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Employer Branding Services: Full-service employer branding including research, EVP development, creative development, brand launch, training and webinars. Projects typically involve multiple phases from discovery through execution.
2. Recruitment Marketing Campaigns: Campaign planning, development and implementation across multiple channels including social media, digital, print, and campus activities. Includes media planning, buying, and response analysis.
3. Events & Experiential Marketing: End-to-end event management including research, promotion, attendee sourcing and screening. Covers campus presentations, experiential marketing, competitions, and diversity events.
4. Digital Development: Website development, apps, online assessment tools, and digital marketing. Includes UX, design, build, integration, and ongoing site management.
5. Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Consultancy: ED&I consultancy, marketing, training, and events including screening applicants based on specific criteria for diversity initiatives.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

No verifiable evidence of core offerings was provided in the input.

Product overview

Stafford Long is an award-winning employer communications agency offering a full suite of services: Employer Branding (research, EVP development, creative launch, and training), Graduate & Student Marketing (campaigns, social media, film, websites, digital assessment tools), Recruitment Marketing (media planning, creative development, websites, social strategy), Events & Experiences (experiential marketing, campus events, assessment events, diversity events), Employee Communications (engagement strategy, onboarding, training), and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Consultancy (audits, workshops, campaigns). The agency operates as a services-led consultancy rather than a software product platform. Stafford Long rebranded to LHH in 2025 as part of The Adecco Group, while maintaining its brand identity and team.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Stafford Long Diversity Solutions: Dedicated diversity solutions website offering D&I consultancy, events and training services.

Quantifiable outcome

• 824% increase in applications for graduate campaign
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• LHHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2025Stafford Long has transitioned to become part of LHH, marking a new chapter that builds on over 40 years of creative legacy. The change opens up world of new opportunities, more expertise, global reach, and fresh thinking while maintaining the same team.
• Adecco GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016As an independently-spirited company nestled within the wider Adecco Group, Stafford Long maintains autonomy to set their own culture and ways of working while benefiting from group resources and network.
• PennacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStafford Long operates alongside Penna as part of the same business under The Adecco Group, providing expert attraction, assessment, selection, and retention solutions. Kathryn Kempster appointed Managing Director of both Penna and Stafford Long from January 2024.
• PRIME (Law Firms Alliance)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPRIME is an alliance of major UK law firms offering work experience to students from state school backgrounds. Stafford Long designed their brand with appeal for students, parents, teachers, and prospective participant law firms.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Radancy: Radancy (formerly TMP Worldwide) is a global employer brand and talent acquisition solutions provider serving large enterprise clients with recruitment marketing, employer brand, and analytics — the closest direct comparator to Stafford Long's full-service employer brand model.
• Universum: Universum is a specialist employer branding research and advisory firm operating globally, competing for the same enterprise employer-brand and early-careers mandates that anchor Stafford Long's business.
• Ph.Creative: Ph.Creative is a UK-based employer branding and recruitment marketing agency serving enterprise clients across multiple sectors, directly comparable in scale, geography, and service mix.
• Link Humans: Link Humans is a specialised employer branding and talent attraction agency with comparable service offerings in EVP development, recruitment marketing, and digital employer brand work.
• EmployerBrand Group: EmployerBrand Group is a dedicated employer branding consultancy offering strategy, research, and activation services that overlap directly with Stafford Long's employer brand and EVP work.

Broad incumbents

• Alexander Mann Solutions: Alexander Mann Solutions is a large, established talent acquisition and RPO/employer brand provider; overlaps on employer brand and recruitment marketing but operates at much greater scale across the full talent lifecycle.
• Cielo: Cielo is a global RPO and talent acquisition partner with an employer brand practice; competes for enterprise employer-brand briefs alongside broader outsourced recruitment mandates.
• PeopleScout: PeopleScout is a global RPO and talent solutions provider with employer brand capabilities, serving enterprise clients on recruitment marketing and EVP programmes at scale.

Regional players

• Wagstaff: Wagstaff is a UK creative and content agency focused on employer brand and recruitment marketing, comparable in geography and offering though typically serving mid-market rather than global enterprise clients.

Others

• Penna: Penna is Stafford Long's sister company within The Adecco Group providing talent solutions and employer brand services; described as the direct parent/adjacent specialist that shares the same UK operating network and managing director.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/StaffordLongAgency
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stafford-long-&-partners
• Instagraminstagram.com/staffordlongagency
• Xx.com/stafford_long

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Stafford Long