What Smarts does

Smarts is a global PR and creative agency headquartered in Holywood (Belfast), Northern Ireland, operating from five offices across London, New York, Amsterdam, Belfast, and Glasgow. Founded in 1991, the firm is a subsidiary of MSQ Partners Limited, a diversified communications group, and is registered as Smarts NI Limited. The agency employs 101–250 people and delivers six integrated service lines: Creative and Design, Content (animation, broadcasts, podcasts, 360 production, photography, motion, VFX, VR), Social (strategy, community management, paid media planning), Influencer Marketing (run through an award-winning 'Creator Hub'), Media Relations, and Internal Communications.

The agency primarily serves enterprise consumer brands across retail (Asda, Lululemon, Vinted), energy (British Gas, Bosch), travel (Booking.com), food and beverage (Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Diageo, Guinness, Wingstop), fashion (Tommy Hilfiger, Zalando, ASICS), automotive-adjacent (Openreach), entertainment (Snow Patrol, Chessington World of Adventures), media (The New York Times), and technology/telco (BT, Marriott, SIXT). It also serves public-sector clients including the Scottish Government, Food Standards Agency, and the Met Office. Smarts' strategic approach is anchored in a proprietary 'Cultural Endurance Model' methodology that frames work as long-term brand building rather than short-term campaign delivery.

Smarts generates revenue through professional services engagements — project fees, retainers, and campaign-based work — acquired via competitive pitches, RFPs, referrals, and industry recognition. The firm is B Corp certified and has been carbon negative since 2020, with sustainability and DEI partnerships (Ecologi, Creative Access, People Like Us, Crisis, Simon Community) integrated into both operations and client work. Disclosed revenue is not publicly available.

Name

Smarts

Legal name

Smarts NI Limited

Website

https://smarts.agency

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Smarts is a global PR and creative agency operating from five offices (London, New York, Amsterdam, Belfast, Glasgow) that delivers integrated creative, content, social, influencer, media relations, and internal communications services to enterprise consumer brands and public-sector clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Holywood

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. PR and Creative Services: Smarts generates revenue through providing professional PR and creative services to brand clients. Services include creative and design, content creation, social media management, influencer marketing, media relations, and internal communications. Revenue is generated through project fees, retainers, and campaign-based engagements with enterprise and mid-market clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Smarts is a global PR and creative agency that delivers an integrated suite of professional services to enterprise brand clients. Its core offerings span Creative and Design, Content production, Social media, Influencer Marketing, Media Relations, and Internal Comms, all guided by a proprietary Cultural Endurance Model™ philosophy aimed at building long-lasting brand equity rather than short-term campaign impact.

Product overview

Smarts is a global PR and Creative Agency offering a comprehensive suite of professional services organized around six core offerings: Creative and Design, Content, Social, Influencer Marketing, Media Relations, and Internal Comms. The agency operates as a unified service-based firm rather than a software platform. Their strategic approach is anchored in a proprietary 'Cultural Endurance Model™' methodology, which guides all client work to create brand communications that endure over time rather than flash-in-the-moment campaigns. Services are delivered by specialists across strategists, social natives, creative teams, filmmakers, and media experts, with offices in London, New York, Amsterdam, Belfast, and Glasgow.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Creative and Design

Quantifiable outcome

• 4 million+ organic views on a single social media post (Asda Valentine's Day campaign)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers22 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered parent company, minor, core and certification.

• MSQ Partners Limitedparent companyOthersMSQ Partners Limited is the parent company/group of which Smarts is a part. Smarts operates as part of the MSQ group of agencies, benefiting from shared resources, cross-agency collaboration, and group-wide sustainability initiatives including B Corp certification and Million Tree Pledge.
• Creative AccessminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Creative Access to help underrepresented communities enter the creative sector. Smarts is committed to hiring across all backgrounds and partners with Creative Access to support diversity in recruitment.
• People Like Us (PLU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with People Like Us organization to help underrepresented communities enter the creative sector, supporting Smarts' diversity and inclusion commitments.
• Simon CommunityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Simon Community in Belfast to tackle poverty and homelessness. Smarts is committed to community engagement and partners with local organizations to address issues they are passionate about.
• CrisisminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Crisis in London to address poverty and homelessness. Smarts supports this charity as part of their community matters initiative.
• EcologiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Ecologi for environmental sustainability. As part of MSQ, Smarts has signed up to the Million Tree Pledge in partnership with Ecologi and has already planted over 200,000 trees.
• FORTY ClothingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrand partnership with Glasgow streetwear brand FORTY Clothing for Road Safety Scotland 'Be a Belter' seatbelt campaign. FORTY's founder Harry Miller and brand credibility with young men helped make the safety message relevant and authentic. The partnership included store takeover, branded seatbelt covers, and social content.
• District MagazinecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with Ireland's biggest culture publication District Magazine for Wingstop Ireland launch. Partnership included announcement posts, giveaways, event photo carousels, and recap reels across District's social channels to amplify Wingstop's cultural relevance.
• B CorpcertificationOthersSmarts, as part of MSQ Partners, has achieved B Corp certification, demonstrating their commitment to meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.
• Inclusive EmployerscertificationOthersInclusive Employers certification demonstrates Smarts' commitment to creating an inclusive workplace. Smarts is recognized as an Inclusive Employer, supporting their diversity and inclusion initiatives.
• BIMA Sustainability CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAs part of MSQ, Smarts is leading the industry forward as a senior partner in the BIMA (British Interactive Media Association) sustainability council.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Hope&Glory: UK-based independent PR and creative agency focused on consumer brands, with similar size and client mix to Smarts. Both compete head-to-head for UK consumer AOR assignments and share integrated creative-plus-PR positioning.
• Taylor Herring: UK consumer PR specialist known for entertainment and brand campaigns. Operates with a similar boutique-to-mid-sized footprint and frequently competes with Smarts on consumer brand pitches in the UK market.
• Havas Red: Havas's consumer-focused PR and social agency with a comparable integrated offering — consumer PR, influencer, social, and creative — and similar mid-market enterprise positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Golin: IPG global comms agency with deep consumer and tech-brand expertise, often operating in integrated creative-plus-PR engagements comparable to Smarts' full-service approach.
• FleishmanHillard: Omnicom-owned global PR network with strong consumer and brand practices. Operates the same integrated PR/creative/social/influencer model Smarts offers, but at materially larger scale and reach.
• Ketchum: Global PR network (now part of Dentsu) with strong consumer brand practice. Competes with Smarts for enterprise consumer AORs and integrated brand campaigns.
• Edelman: The world's largest independent PR firm with global reach and a strong consumer marketing practice. Competes with Smarts on multinational brand communications mandates and integrated campaigns.
• Weber Shandwick: IPG's flagship global PR network, one of the world's largest, with deep consumer marketing expertise. Direct competitor on enterprise consumer brand AORs that Smarts also targets.
• BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe): WPP-owned global PR and communications agency competing on integrated consumer and corporate mandates. Now part of a larger combined Burson entity, materially larger than Smarts in scale.
• Ogilvy PR: WPP's global public relations and influence arm, closely paired with Ogilvy's creative network. Delivers the same integrated PR-creative-social offering as Smarts but as part of one of the world's largest agency networks.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SmartsAgency
• Facebookfacebook.com/SmartsAgency
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smartsagency
• Instagraminstagram.com/smartsagency
• TikToktiktok.com/@smartsagency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 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 Smarts