AD LUCEM

What AD LUCEM does

AD LUCEM is a UK-based financial services communications and research agency operating as an independent collective of senior practitioners. Founded in 2020 by Phil Wickenden during the COVID-19 lockdown, the firm was structured as an alternative to traditional full-service agencies, offering research, consultancy, design, digital, PR, and corporate communications services without the overheads of a conventional agency. The company targets enterprise financial services clients including fund groups, retail banks, insurers, investment platforms, and wealth managers, with named engagements for Aviva, Royal London, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, BlackRock, HSBC, Prudential, Legal & General, Invesco, Franklin Templeton, St James's Place, and others.

The firm's service catalog covers financial services market analysis and competitor benchmarking, integrated thought leadership programs, product and service testing, brand appraisal and strategy, communications audits, segmentation, creative design, PR campaign execution, digital strategy and content, video production, and annual market reports (co-produced with strategic partner Technical Connection Ltd). There is no proprietary technology platform; the offering is delivered through human-led senior practitioner engagement, with pricing structured as transparent, project-based fees positioned against traditional agency benchmarks.

AD LUCEM operates primarily in the UK and has expanded into Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal via multi-market research projects. The business is privately held with no disclosed external investment, and revenue, headcount, and growth metrics are not publicly available. The company is wholly founder-controlled, with Phil Wickenden serving as primary leadership figure alongside a roster of named senior practitioners including Kellie Wickenden (Creative Director), Sophie Timms (Corporate Communications), George Cooper (Digital Director), Faith Liversedge, James Wickenden, Chris Wickenden, and partner Tony Wickenden of Technical Connection Ltd.

Name

AD LUCEM

Legal name

AD LUCEM

Website

https://ad-lucem.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

AD LUCEM is a UK-based financial services communications and research collective, founded in 2020, delivering market research, PR, brand strategy, digital, and creative services to enterprise insurers, asset managers, banks, platforms, and wealth managers across the UK and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Services Marketing & Research Consultancy

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (54181), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Public Relations Agencies (54182), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Advertising (Brand + Performance + Media) (BPAFAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Market Research, Analytics & Consumer Insights (BPAFAAAM), Digital Performance Marketing (SEM, Paid Social, Programmatic) (BPAFAAAD), Influencer Marketing Agencies (BPAFAHAA)

Keywords

• Financial services research
• Brand strategy consulting
• Corporate communications
• Public relations campaigns
• Creative design services

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Services and Consulting: Project-based consulting engagements delivering market research, brand strategy, communications audits, PR campaigns, and creative design services to financial services companies. Pricing is transparent and built entirely around what is required to deliver outstanding results.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

AD LUCEM is a financial services communications and research collective delivering market analysis, competitor benchmarking, integrated thought leadership programs, brand appraisal, communications audits, product testing, PR campaigns, digital, creative design, and segmentation services to enterprise financial services firms. The collective is led by senior independent practitioners combining research, consultancy, design, digital, PR and corporate communications expertise, delivered on a project or retained basis without traditional agency overheads.

Product overview

AD LUCEM is a financial services communications and research agency offering a unified suite of services rather than a modular software product. The core offerings comprise Market Research & Analysis, Integrated Thought Leadership Programs, Brand Strategy, PR Campaigns, Digital Services, Creative Design, Video Production, and Segmentation Services. These service lines are delivered by a senior independent collective combining research, consultancy, design, digital, PR, and corporate communications expertise, offered on a retained or project basis without agency overheads.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Financial Services Market Analysis & Reports Market analysis and reporting across investments, retirement, protection and estate planning, unpicking key levers of solution and provider selection (proposition, service, support, communications) to help clients do more business in the markets they serve.
• Competitor Benchmarking Measuring client performance against peers across proposition elements, service, support, brand and communications with key distribution and consumer audiences, and developing a clear action plan to win and retain more business.
• Integrated Thought Leadership Programmes End-to-end content programmes founded on distinctive insight, including press releases, op-eds, events, digital channel content, videos and infographics, and sales & marketing brochures, underpinned with a clear and engaging narrative.
• Product & Service Testing & Development Co-development and testing of financial services propositions with target markets, including the underlying services, support, and technology that underpins them, to deliver highly valued, under-served offerings aligned to client capabilities.
• Brand Appraisal & Strategy Brand consulting assessing brand vision, internal and external interpretation, and the gap between vision and how the brand is received and experienced by external audiences at every touch-point.
• Communications Audits Analysis of the true impact of client communications on target market(s) with actionable recommendations to significantly improve communications ROI.
• Segmentation Services Intermediary, investor, and consumer segmentation using behavioural analysis to create actionable sub-segments, personas, and predictor tools for financial services clients.
• Creative Design Services Brand content creation including marker visualisation, concept art, pitch decks, toolkits, and infographics for financial services clients.
• PR Campaign Services PR campaign creation, management, and execution including media relations and message amplification for financial services clients.
• Digital Services Digital strategy, content creation, web design, search engine optimisation, analytics, and social media management for financial services clients.
• Video Content Production & Animation Video production and animation services including storyboarding, illustration, and explainer videos for financial services clients.
• Sales & Marketing Brochures Design and production of sales and marketing collateral materials for financial services firms.
• Market Reports Annual market studies covering Retirement Income, HNW & Business Protection, Offshore Investing, Adviser Influence Guide, and IHT & Estate Planning, delivered as full reports, debriefs, and action plans.

Named customers18 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Technical Connection LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing strategic partnership spanning 8 years. Technical Connection provides regulation, taxation, and financial planning expertise. The companies jointly produce annual market reports including Retirement Income, HNW & Business protection, Offshore investing, Adviser Influence Guide, and IHT & Estate Planning studies. They also collaborate on client research projects and content creation including press releases, case studies, and events.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• NextGen (Next Generation Financial Services): NextGen provides research, consultancy and communications services to UK wealth management and adviser firms. It competes head-to-head with Ad Lucem for FS sector research and thought-leadership engagements across the same customer base.
• The Lang Cat: The Lang Cat is a UK financial-services research and consultancy firm focused on platforms, advisers and asset managers. Its vertical-only FS research and reporting model is directly comparable to Ad Lucem's market analysis, competitor benchmarking and adviser-segmentation offerings.
• Coleman Parkes Research: Coleman Parkes is a specialist B2B research firm with strong financial-services coverage, offering bespoke market research, segmentation and thought leadership — closely mirroring Ad Lucem's research and segmentation service lines.
• AKG (now RVU): AKG is a long-established financial-services research, ratings and analytics specialist serving insurers, advisers and asset managers. Comparable to Ad Lucem's research and benchmarking service lines targeting the same FS buyer personas.
• Cicero Group (formerly Cicero Research): Cicero is a financial-services specialist communications and research firm offering research, corporate communications and public affairs — the exact category Ad Lucem targets. Founder Phil Wickenden was previously Managing Director of Cicero Research, making it a directly comparable specialist and the most obvious benchmark.
• Platforum: Platforum is a UK FS research and insight consultancy serving platforms, asset managers and advisers with research, events and strategic advisory — directly overlapping Ad Lucem's market-research and thought-leadership propositions.

Broad incumbents

• Edelman: Edelman is the world's largest PR firm with a substantial financial-services practice spanning brand, digital and corporate communications. It is the broad incumbent against which Ad Lucem positions its senior-practitioner alternative.
• FTI Consulting: FTI Consulting's Strategic Communications segment serves FS clients with corporate communications, crisis and research services. It represents the larger, more diversified competitor against Ad Lucem's specialist FS boutique model.
• Brunswick Group: Brunswick is a global corporate communications and advisory firm with deep FS practice serving banks, insurers and asset managers. As a much larger full-service incumbent it competes with Ad Lucem for FS PR, reputation and capital-markets communications mandates.

Others

• Technical Connection Ltd: Technical Connection is a long-standing strategic partner (8 years) that co-produces Ad Lucem's annual FS market reports. It operates as an adjacent specialist (regulation, tax, financial planning) rather than a competitor, but is thematically and commercially tied to Ad Lucem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ad-lucem-agency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 AD LUCEM