Alchemy One

What Alchemy One does

Alchemy One is an independent, B Corp-certified media agency headquartered in Surry Hills, Sydney, founded in 2014 and operating with 11-50 employees. It provides professional media agency services across strategy, omnichannel planning and buying, data and analytics, and carbon-aware media planning, structured around three solution pillars: Making Bolder Choices (strategy and planning), Delivering Scalable Activation (offline, online, partnerships, SEO, experiential), and Building Better Experiences (data, automation, technology consulting, emerging technologies). The agency maintains a written policy excluding fossil fuel, gambling, tobacco, and alcohol clients, and positions itself as a purpose-driven alternative to holding-group networks.

The firm runs a sales-led, relationship-driven go-to-market targeting mid-market and enterprise brands in Australia, supported by a website enquiry channel, IMAA membership, and thought leadership in AdNews and Mi3. Pricing is undisclosed custom professional services fees, with documented client outcomes including $31 ROI per dollar spent for Bank Australia, 35% unprompted awareness lift, an 18% increase in target acquisitions for Westfund Health Insurance in FY21, and an Effie Award win. Named clients span banking (Bank Australia), fintech (Square, Luno), consumer appliances (KitchenAid), health insurance (Westfund), software (MYOB), student platforms (UNiDAYS), arts (Biennale of Sydney, Rain Room, Schwartz Media 7AM), and environmental NGOs (Australian Conservation Foundation).

Alchemy One is privately held with no parent company, no disclosed institutional investors, and no public funding history. Differentiation rests on a combination of B Corp certification (achieved November 2021 after a two-year process), industry-low attrition, integrated carbon-footprint measurement through a Net Zero Media partnership, and an exclusion policy that constrains addressable verticals but reinforces brand positioning. The company has not pursued geographic expansion beyond Australia, has no disclosed M&A activity, and is governed by Managing Director and founder Joel Trethowan.

Name

Alchemy One

Legal name

Alchemy One

Website

https://alchemyone.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Alchemy One is an independent, B Corp-certified media agency in Sydney that delivers omnichannel media strategy, planning, and buying for mid-market and enterprise purpose-driven brands across Australia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Media Agency Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

B2B/ABM Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

B2B / Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Strategy Consulting (MPAAAFAM)

Keywords

• Media agency services
• Media planning and buying
• Omnichannel campaign activation
• Carbon-aware advertising
• Purpose-driven brand marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Surry Hills

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Media Planning and Strategy Services: Alchemy One generates revenue through professional media agency services including strategy, planning, and activation across omnichannel media. They charge fees for strategic consulting, connections planning, media investment management, and campaign execution across online, offline, experiential, and partnership channels.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Alchemy One is an independent media agency that delivers strategic media planning, omnichannel campaign activation, and data-driven analytics for purpose-driven brands. It offers partner growth strategy, customer research, connections strategy and planning, media investment and buying across offline, online, experiential, SEO, and partnership channels, plus technology and platform consulting. The agency is B Corp certified and integrates carbon-aware media planning via the Net Zero Media carbon calculator into its campaign workflows.

Product overview

Alchemy One is an independent media agency offering a comprehensive suite of services rather than a software product. The agency operates as a unified service offering under its own brand, providing strategic consulting (Partner Growth Strategy, Customer Research & Insights, Connections Strategy, Innovation Strategy), media activation (Connections Planning, Investment & Media Buying across offline/online channels, SEO, Experiential), and technology services (Data & Analytics, Automation & Addressability, Technology and Platform Consulting, Emerging Technologies). The agency is B Corp certified and focuses on purpose-driven, sustainable media solutions for its client partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Partner Growth Strategy Strategic consulting service focused on driving partner/client growth through market insights and planning, designed for brands seeking purpose-led expansion.
• Customer Research & Insights Research service providing deep customer insights to inform marketing strategy, campaign planning, and business decisions for brand clients.
• Connections Strategy Strategic planning service designing multi-channel media connections and customer touchpoints aligned to brand objectives.
• Innovation Strategy Advisory service focused on emerging technologies and innovative media solutions for brands seeking first-mover differentiation.
• Connections Planning Media planning service covering offline and online channel activation, including budgeting, scheduling, and channel mix design.
• Investment & Media Buying Omnichannel media investment and buying service across offline, online, and experiential channels, executed by the agency's buying team.
• SEO Services Search engine optimization service to improve organic digital visibility and performance for brand clients.
• Experiential Marketing Live event and experiential marketing activation service for brands seeking physical audience experiences.
• Data & Analytics Analytics and reporting service measuring campaign performance across channels to inform optimisation and ROI.
• Automation & Addressability Marketing automation and addressable media solution enabling targeted customer engagement through first-party and third-party data signals.
• Technology and Platform Consulting Advisory service for martech platform selection and technology stack optimisation for brands investing in media infrastructure.
• Emerging and Disruptive Technologies Advisory Consulting service covering emerging technologies including AI-powered media solutions and carbon footprint measurement tools integrated into media planning.

Quantifiable outcome

• $31 return on investment for every dollar spent (Bank Australia campaign)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• IMAA (Independent Media Agencies of Australia)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 March 2020Alchemy One joined the IMAA, a national not-for-profit industry association for independent media agencies in Australia. The IMAA promotes the benefits of working with independent media agencies, builds respect for the sector, educates advertisers on value, and promotes collaboration between agencies. Alchemy One Managing Director Joel Trethowan stated that the service, passion and dedication independent agencies provide is their collective competitive advantage to holding groups.
• Biennale of SydneyflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Alchemy One was appointed as Media and Strategy Agency and Media Partner for the 22nd Biennale of Sydney (NIRIN), the largest exhibition of contemporary art in Australia. The partnership was for two editions of the Biennale. Alchemy One pivoted the physical event to a virtual event during COVID-19, reaching unprecedented audience numbers. Barbara Moore, CEO of Biennale of Sydney, noted the partnership fulfilled the Biennial's ambition of engaging rich and diverse communities.
• Net Zero MediacoreTechnology or IntegrationAlchemy One partnered with Net Zero Media to incorporate their carbon calculator into the agency's media planning process. Net Zero Media, a sister company of Benedictus Media co-founded by Chris Sewell (also co-founder of The Gaia Partnership), provides a tool that calculates the carbon footprint of campaigns, enables offsetting, and shows optimisation by channel. Alchemy One MD Joel Trethowan stated the agency aims to incorporate the calculator into its planning process and use it to drive investment decisions based on carbon footprints.
• B Lab Australia & Aotearoa New ZealandOthersAlchemy One achieved B Corporation certification through a two-year process administered by B Lab Australia & Aotearoa New Zealand. B Lab evaluates companies for impact on community, employees, customers, and environment. CEO Andrew Davies congratulated Alchemy One for driving a purpose-driven agenda in the media industry.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Ogilvy Australia: WPP-owned full-service agency with deep Australian brand experience; competes for similar purpose-driven brand business but with global scale, data and tooling.
• Dentsu Australia: Global media and creative network with Australian operations offering end-to-end media planning, buying and sustainability services; competes for enterprise clients seeking an integrated offering.
• MediaCom Australia: Global media agency within GroupM with a Sydney presence; competes for the same enterprise client budgets but with vastly larger scale and trading desk capability (a former employer of Alchemy One's Huong Nguyen).

Direct peers

• Akcelo: Independent Australian brand experience and media agency with comparable size and a focus on category-disrupting challenger clients.
• Thinkerbell: Australian independent creative and media agency known for "measured weirdness" and integrated thinking; competes for the same purpose-aligned mid-market and enterprise brand clients in Australia with a similar boutique positioning.
• Howatson+Co: Independent Australian agency with an integrated creative-and-media model and a culture-led positioning that overlaps with Alchemy One's purpose-led value proposition.
• Cummins&Partners: Independent Australian agency with a similar mid-size footprint and integrated media/creative offering; competes in similar pitches for challenger and purpose-driven brands.
• Naked Communications Australia: Independent creative and media agency with Australian operations focused on brand experience and purpose-driven campaigns; overlaps with Alchemy One's challenger positioning.
• BMF Advertising: Australian independent creative/media agency of comparable size with a strong effectiveness track record and Effie credentials; competes for the same attention of enterprise CMOs in Australia.

Regional players

• Initiative Australia: IPG Mediabrands-owned media agency with strong Australian operations; competes for the same enterprise media planning RFPs with international tooling and global buying leverage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Alchemy One