What Swell does

Swell Inc. (legally Swell Creative Group, LLC) is a privately held creative agency headquartered in Los Angeles, California, founded in 2012 and operating with a team of approximately 11 people. The firm positions itself as a social justice creative agency that integrates campaign strategy, brand identity design, digital design and development, digital advertising, social media management, photography/video/animation, digital fundraising, SMS/email/newsletter distribution, and analytics under a single engagement model. Its service stack is organized around five workflow phases — Discovery, Concept & Strategy, Design & Development, Distribution & Engagement, and Metrics & Optimization — with project pricing disclosed in three tiers (under $20K, $20K–$50K, and greater than $50K) and a free 30-minute consultation offered at the top of the funnel.

The agency serves three primary verticals — social justice nonprofits, government agencies, and labor unions — with secondary work for political campaigns and housing/homelessness organizations. Named clients include the California Department of Cannabis Control, County of LA (Measure W), Re-Imagine LA County (Measure J), PATH, Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, UFCW 770, United Way of Greater LA, Public Exchange (ShadeLA), Google, and Lyft. The firm has won Anthem, W3, Webby, and Shorty awards and reports documented campaign outcomes including Measure W's $300M annual tax revenue result and Measure J's passage at 57.1% with over 2.1M supporters.

Swell's go-to-market is sales-led and consultative, relying on direct outreach, referrals, an award-winning case-study portfolio, and coalition partnerships with advocacy organizations. There is no disclosed external funding, no parent company, and no subsidiary relationships; ownership is founder-led by CEO Phillip Holmes and COO Tali Pressman. Geographic focus is regional (California, USA), with no claims of a broader footprint. Operating geographies are concentrated, which caps organic expansion without deliberate geographic investment.

Name

Swell

Legal name

Swell Creative Group, LLC

Website

https://swellinc.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Swell is a Los Angeles-based social justice creative agency of about 11 people, serving nonprofits, government agencies, labor unions, political campaigns, and select enterprise clients with integrated strategy, branding, digital, advertising, and campaign execution services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Services

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Influencer Whitelisting, Paid Amplification & Spark Ads (BPAFAHAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Influencer Media Amplification (Paid Creator Whitelisting/Spark Ads) (MPAAABAL), Influencer Media Buying & Paid Amplification (BPAFABAK), Influencer Paid Amplification & Whitelisting (Spark Ads/Branded Content Ads) (MPAAAHAJ)

Keywords

• Social justice creative
• Campaign strategy services
• Brand identity design
• Digital advertising campaigns
• Website design development

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Creative Agency Services: Full-service creative agency providing strategy, design, branding, digital marketing, campaign development, and video production services to social justice organizations, government agencies, nonprofits, and political campaigns. Projects range from branding and websites to multi-channel advertising campaigns.
2. Project-Based Contracts: Services offered at different budget tiers: Under $20,000, $20,000-$50,000, and Greater than $50,000, indicating project-based pricing for creative campaigns and branding engagements

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Swell is a social-justice creative agency that designs and executes integrated campaign strategies, brand identities, websites, digital advertising, social media, video and photography content, digital fundraising, and SMS/email/newsletter programs for government agencies, nonprofits, labor unions, and political campaigns. Its offering combines strategy, design, technology, data, and community organizing under one roof to deliver campaigns that win ballot measures, pass legislation, raise funds, and grow memberships.

Product overview

Swell is a social justice creative agency offering a comprehensive suite of campaign development services rather than a software product. Their offering is a services-plus-strategy model combining Discovery (research and audience insights), Concept & Strategy (campaign planning and brand development), Design & Development (digital and physical collateral), Distribution & Engagement (social media, advertising, and outreach), and Metrics & Optimization (performance tracking). Services include brand identity, digital advertising, social media management, website development, video/animation production, digital fundraising, and analytics. The company does not offer a packaged software product or platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Campaign Strategy & Development Strategic planning and campaign development combining research, audience identification, message development, and tactical distribution planning to motivate target audiences toward specific actions; delivered to government agencies, nonprofits, labor unions, and political campaigns.
• Brand Identity & Design Complete brand development including logo creation, graphic systems, typography, color palettes, and brand guidelines designed to communicate clearly and inspire action; used for brand refreshes and new organizational identities.
• Digital Design & Development Website design and development services that build digital platforms amplifying client messages and driving action, including mobile-optimized and accessible experiences; supports campaign websites and brand sites such as shade-la.com.
• Digital Advertising Hyper-targeted digital advertising campaigns across social platforms and traditional out-of-home placements to reach and convert target audiences; executed as paid media work within integrated campaign engagements.
• Social Media Management Cross-platform social media presence development with content creation, community management, and engagement strategies tailored to platform-specific audiences; supports sustained audience engagement for advocacy and political clients.
• Photography, Video & Animation Motion asset production ranging from short-form video to full documentary-style content used throughout campaign lifecycles; covers brand, campaign, and documentary production needs.
• Digital Fundraising Fundraising campaign development including peer-to-peer donation pages, email campaigns, and emergency appeals to financially sustain organizations and drive donations; delivered to nonprofits and political campaigns with documented ROI outcomes such as 4:1 and 8x returns.
• SMS, Email & Newsletter Campaigns Segmented messaging campaigns delivering the right message to the right audience at the right time through SMS, email, and newsletter channels; supports member recruitment, fundraising, and rapid-response organizing.
• Analytics & Optimization Performance tracking and measurement services including regular reporting, creative optimization based on testing, and digital platform optimization using analytical insights; supports measurable outcome delivery across the agency's integrated campaigns.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4:1 fundraising ROI for Amica Center
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Fiona Hutton & AssociatescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Fiona Hutton & Associates for the Real CA Cannabis campaign to educate consumers on regulated cannabis products and licensed dispensaries statewide.
• Black Women AnimatecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Black Women Animate to produce narrative illustrated content for the Emily's List Action countering misinformation campaign, bringing complex political ideas to life.
• Vocal MediacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Vocal Media for influencer marketing campaign to amplify messages about women Democrat politicians through authentic influencer content.
• Odd Notion StudiominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Odd Notion studio to create brand identity for CA Street Vendors campaign with lively colors, street-inspired typography, and community illustrations.
• Christina Gandolfo PhotographyminorOthersPartnered with photographer Christina Gandolfo to document street vendor culture through portrait photography for CA Street Vendors campaign.
• Community Coalition PartnerscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCoalition of partner organizations activated through social media toolkits in English and Spanish to build support for SB 972 legislation.
• Noé Montes PhotographyminorOthersCollaborated with photographer Noé Montes to capture images of real landlords, property managers, and tenants for LeaseUp campaign.
• Climate Scientists & City Planners CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShadeLA initiative uniting climate scientists, city planners, artists, and everyday Angelenos to address extreme heat through shade infrastructure.
• ACLU, Women's Refugee Commission, Physicians for Human Rights, Miles4MigrantscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with immigration rights organizations to help release migrant children from detention and reunite them with families.
• Re-Imagine LA CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition of organizations working to pass Measure J and divert funds from law enforcement to community services.
• TikTok Influencers NetworkcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNetwork of macro and micro influencers on Instagram and TikTok creating authentic content for Emily's List Action misinformation countering campaign.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• GMMB: Creative and media agency focused on social impact, advocacy and progressive causes. Direct peer given overlapping offering in paid media, brand work and campaigns for nonprofits, unions and cause-based clients.
• Higher Ground: Progressive political strategy and creative firm closely aligned with social-justice campaigns. Direct peer given overlapping clientele (movement organizations, ballot measures, electoral work) and similar full-service strategy + creative offering.
• Burness: Communications and PR agency specializing in nonprofits, foundations and advocacy groups. Direct peer in serving mission-driven organizations with campaign strategy, storytelling and media relations.
• BerlinRosen: Progressive public relations and strategic communications agency. Direct peer for messaging, campaign launches and media strategy for nonprofits, labor and political clients in the same social-justice vertical.
• Fenton Communications: Long-standing social-impact communications firm serving nonprofits, foundations and progressive causes. Direct peer because it targets the same mission-driven organizations with strategy, narrative and campaign work.
• 270 Strategies: Progressive campaign consulting firm specializing in digital organizing, persuasion and field operations. Direct peer for electoral and issue campaigns serving advocacy organizations and labor unions.
• Spitfire Strategies: Social-impact communications firm focused on nonprofits and foundations. Direct peer for narrative, brand and policy-communication work for mission-driven clients.
• SKDK: Political consulting and public affairs firm with strong progressive positioning. Direct peer for the political-campaign and policy-advocacy services Swell provides to ballot measures and advocacy coalitions.

Broad incumbents

• Authentic (formerly JWT Purpose / We Are Authentic): Brand and creative agency purpose-built around social impact and purpose-driven marketing. Broad incumbent peer given similar creative/strategy capabilities for purpose clients, but with a larger portfolio footprint beyond social-justice campaigns.

Emerging players

• Rally Forge: Progressive digital advertising agency focused on advocacy, electoral and labor clients. Emerging player peer because it overlaps on paid digital amplification and influencer-style content for causes, though smaller and more niche than Swell.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/swellcreativela
• Facebookfacebook.com/swellcreativegroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/swell-creative-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Swell