What Nice and Serious does

Nice and Serious is a purpose-driven creative agency founded in 2008 in London, operating as a Certified B Corp. The company delivers integrated creative services spanning brand strategy, visual identity, campaign development, film production, animation, and design, with a stated focus on social and environmental impact. Its core technology stack relies on standard creative production tools (Adobe Creative Suite for design, Vimeo for video hosting), supplemented by a proprietary internal tool called Moral Compass (moralcompass.app) that serves as an ethical decision-making framework — all team members vote on whether to accept new briefs, screening projects against the agency's stated social and environmental criteria.

The agency operates on a project-based professional services model with bespoke pricing for each engagement, targeting three primary vertical segments: charities and non-profits (its primary segment), purpose-driven B Corp brands, and government/public sector bodies. Go-to-market is sales-led, driven by direct client engagement, referrals within the B Corp and Ethical Agency Alliance networks, organic content marketing via the agency's journal and social channels, and earned media from award recognition. Distribution is direct-to-client with no indirect channel or reseller model.

Customer base spans 19+ named clients across enterprise (Vodafone, Penguin Random House, IKEA, Unilever, Innocent, Co-op, Virgin), non-profit/NGO (Fairtrade, Bowel Cancer UK, Breast Cancer Now, NSPCC, WWF, UNDP, National Landscapes Association), and government (Southwark Council, Crown Estate, Royal Borough of Greenwich). The agency has 11-50 employees with a disclosed leadership team including co-founders Tom Tapper and Ben Meaker, Managing Director Alex Parvin, Creative Directors Peter Larkin and Lily Peters, and specialized heads across production, design, finance, and accounts. No external funding rounds, acquisitions, or investor ownership are indicated.

Name

Nice and Serious

Legal name

Nice and Serious Limited

Website

https://niceandserious.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Agency Services

NAICS

Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Graphic Design Services (541430)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Full-Service Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cause/Sustainability & Purpose-Driven Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAL), Creative Boutique Agencies (MPAAAAAB), Nonprofit & Cause Communications (BPAFADAK)

Keywords

• Creative agency services
• Brand strategy development
• Visual identity design
• Integrated campaign creation
• Film production services

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Creative Agency Services: Project-based fees for integrated campaigns, brand strategy, visual identity, film production, animation, and content creation for purpose-driven clients including charities, NGOs, government bodies, and sustainable brands.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Nice and Serious is a purpose-driven creative agency that delivers branding, integrated campaigns, film production, animation, and design services to charities, NGOs, government bodies, and purpose-led brands. Every prospective brief is screened through the agency's proprietary Moral Compass tool, with all team members voting on whether to take on a project. Services span brand strategy, visual identity, naming, tone of voice, social and advocacy campaigns, documentary-style films, and inclusive design.

Product overview

Nice and Serious is a purpose-driven creative agency offering a unified suite of creative services rather than a modular software product. Their core offering spans three interconnected service areas: Branding (strategy, narrative, visual identity, naming, tone of voice), Campaigns (integrated, social media, and advocacy), and Content Production (film, animation, design). All services are delivered with a focus on social and environmental impact, working exclusively with clients whose values align with their own. The agency operates a proprietary ethical decision-making tool called the Moral Compass to screen potential projects. Notable client work includes brand refreshes for NABS and Switchboard, public health campaigns for Bowel Cancer UK and Wellcome Collection, animation for Penguin Random House, and social impact campaigns for Vodafone, Fairtrade, and various environmental organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Branding Services Full branding services including brand strategy, brand narrative, visual identity, naming, and tone of voice development for purpose-driven organizations such as charities, NGOs, and B Corp brands.
• Campaign Services Integrated campaigns, social media campaigns, and advocacy campaigns designed to change minds and drive action on social and environmental issues for charities, NGOs, purpose-driven brands, and government clients.
• Film Production In-house film production creating documentary-style films, campaign films, and branded content with a social and environmental impact focus, including public health, behavior-change, and awareness films for charities and brands.
• Animation Animation services including 2D animation, stop-motion, collage-led animation, and motion graphics for brand stories and campaigns, with example work including the Penguin Random House 90th Birthday archive-led animation.
• Design Services Visual design services including illustration, graphic design, visual identity systems, and inclusive design for campaigns and brands.
• Moral Compass A proprietary ethical decision-making tool that Nice and Serious uses internally to evaluate whether potential projects align with the agency's social and environmental values before accepting briefs; all team members vote on whether to proceed.
• Museum of Optimism A crowdsourced online museum archiving scenes of positivity, hope and resistance during the global pandemic, featuring over 65 artworks with 40+ contributors, conceived and built by Nice and Serious.

Quantifiable outcome

• 84% of target audience said they'd contact their GP if they had symptoms (Bowel Cancer UK campaign)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers19 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

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Global Action PlancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership with Global Action Plan on the 'Rise of the Aggro-rithm' campaign for Vodafone, addressing online safety and harmful algorithms affecting young people. The campaign involved youth involvement and expert input.
• NSPCCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with NSPCC on the Vodafone 'Rise of the Aggro-rithm' campaign addressing online safety. NSPCC provided expertise on child protection and online harms.
• Tin Man CommunicationsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Tin Man Communications on the Vodafone campaign to amplify messaging around online safety for children.
• Project EveryonecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreated 'Meet The World's Loan Sharks' campaign with Project Everyone, exposing the global debt crisis affecting low-income countries. The satirical film reframes predatory lending through a payday loan lens.
• CAFODminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with CAFOD (Catholic Agency for Overseas Development) on the global debt campaign, contributing to policy advocacy around fair debt relief.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Thinkhouse: Creative and communications agency focused on sustainability and social impact brands. Smaller peer with similar purpose-driven positioning and charity/government client overlap.

Broad incumbents

• BMB (Bartle Bogle Hegarty): Larger London creative agency with broad brand-building capabilities including purpose-led campaigns. More generalist than Nice and Serious but actively competes for the same purpose-driven brand briefs (e.g., sustainability communications).
• Droga5 London: Part of Accenture Song, Droga5 produces purpose-led creative work for major global brands. Larger incumbent that competes for enterprise purpose briefs Nice and Serious also targets (e.g., Vodafone, Unilever).

Direct peers

• Media Bounty: UK creative agency that bills itself as 'the creative agency for good,' producing purpose-led campaigns and branding for charities and sustainable brands. Direct mission-aligned peer competing for similar briefs.
• Lucky Generals: Independent London creative agency producing campaigns for ambitious brands including purpose-driven work. Comparable independent boutique model with overlapping service offerings in branding, campaigns, and content.
• Uncommon Creative Studio: London-based independent creative studio producing purpose-led campaigns and brand work. Similar size and integrated service offering, with comparable client mix of charities, government, and purpose-driven brands.
• Forster Communications: UK-based communications agency specializing in charity, public sector, and purpose-driven clients. Direct competitor for charity and government briefs with comparable services in PR, campaigns, and behavior-change communications.
• Purpose (agency): Global communications and creative agency exclusively focused on purpose-driven campaigns for charities, NGOs, and progressive brands. Closest international peer by mission alignment and B Corp-style positioning.
• Mother London: Independent creative agency based in London producing brand, campaign, and content work for major global brands. Most direct comparator in terms of size, independent ownership, and integrated creative offering, though less narrowly purpose-focused than Nice and Serious.

Others

• Open (formerly The Communications Group):

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nice-and-serious
• Instagraminstagram.com/niceandserious
• Xx.com/niceandserious

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 Nice and Serious