The Insert Company
The Insert Company is a UK-based advertising services firm that plans, executes, and evaluates insert advertising campaigns for advertisers and agencies across 50+ national and regional publisher partners, managing over 50% of UK regional media brands.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1986
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Insert Company does
The Insert Company is a UK-based advertising services firm founded in 1986 by Mark Young and Malcolm Denmark, headquartered in London with a second office in Manchester. It specializes in newspaper and magazine insert advertising, placing promotional materials into more than 300 publications through a network of approximately 50 publisher partners including DMGT (Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, i), Newsquest, DC Thomson, Independent News & Media, and Primary Times. The company reports managing inserts for over 50% of UK regional media brands and delivering 5.3 million inserts per week and more than 750 million inserts annually.
The company's core offering is built around four service pillars — Audience Planning, Implementation Planning, Execution, and Evaluation — supported by TGI-derived consumer data and econometric campaign measurement including response rates, cost per response, conversion, and lifetime value. Pricing is unit-based for selected regional titles (e.g., £40 +VAT per 1,000 homes for Round & About Magazine, minimum 10,000 homes) and quote-based for broader campaign scopes. There is no proprietary technology platform; the moat is operational and relational rather than technological, built on long-standing publisher relationships, data assets, and integrated fulfillment.
Go-to-market is sales-led B2B, with account executives and media planners serving two primary segments: large advertisers/brands and advertising agencies. The company is part of the wider Mediaforce Group alongside The Leaflet Company (door drops), Face to Face (field marketing), Print Force (production), and Site to Site Logistics (fulfillment), which collectively support year-round direct marketing campaigns across multiple channels. The company is privately held, has not raised outside funding, and shows stable operating status with recent product activity including the January 2024 launch of Metro's first bound-in insert.
The Insert Company firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Insert Company
- Legal name
- The Insert Company
- Website
- https://insertcompany.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1986
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- The Insert Company is a UK-based advertising services firm that plans, executes, and evaluates insert advertising campaigns for advertisers and agencies across 50+ national and regional publisher partners, managing over 50% of UK regional media brands.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Insert Company industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Insert Advertising Services
- NAICS
- Advertising Agencies (54181), Other Services Related to Advertising (541890), Media Representatives (541840)
- SIC
- Services-Direct Mail Advertising Services (7331), Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Integrated Advertising (Brand + Performance + Media) (BPAFAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Mailing, Inserting & Distribution Services (Addressing, Direct Mail, Kitting) (MPAJALAH)
Keywords
Where The Insert Company is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
The Insert Company business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Insert Advertising Services: The company generates revenue by providing insert advertising services to advertisers and agencies. Services span audience planning, implementation planning, execution, and evaluation of direct marketing campaigns. Clients include large advertisers and advertising agencies planning cost-effective Direct Marketing campaigns year-round.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Round & About Magazine inserts - £40 +VAT per 1,000 homes |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
The Insert Company product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Insert Company provides insert advertising placement and integrated direct marketing campaign services, placing promotional materials into national and regional UK newspapers and magazines on behalf of advertisers and agencies. Services span audience planning, implementation planning, execution (insert placement, door drops, print, logistics), and campaign evaluation analytics, supported by a network of 50 publisher partners delivering 5.3 million inserts per week.
Product overview
The Insert Company operates as a unified direct marketing platform offering integrated advertising services through three main service pillars: Audience Planning (data-driven targeting using consumer variables), Campaign Execution (insert placement, door drops, print, and logistics), and Evaluation (performance analytics using metrics like ROI and conversion). The core product is Insert Services, placing promotional materials into over 300 publications including Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, i, Metro, and regional titles. Supporting services include The Leaflet Company (door drops), Face to Face, Print Force, and Site to Site Logistics. The company delivers 5.3 million inserts per week via 50 publisher partners, covering national dailies, Sunday newspapers, regional dailies, local weeklies, and lifestyle magazines including Primary Times and Round & About.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Insert Services Core advertising service that inserts promotional materials into national and regional newspapers and magazines, reaching millions of UK consumers through trusted publication environments.
- Audience Planning Data-driven targeting service that helps advertisers understand consumers according to variables including affluence, age, lifestage, shopping behavior, interests, and attitudes for precise campaign targeting.
- Implementation Planning Strategic campaign planning service covering title selection, timing, frequency, format choices, and creative considerations to optimize insert advertising effectiveness.
- Execution Services Campaign delivery service managing insert placement through three primary methods: National & Regional news media, Magazines, and 3rd Party/Product despatch, matching inserts with suitable audiences.
- Evaluation & Analytics Campaign performance measurement service using metrics including Response Rates, Cost per Response, Cost per Sales, Conversion, Average Order Value, ROI, and Life Time Value, including econometric analysis.
- Round & About Magazine Insert Placement Regional lifestyle magazine offering bound-in inserts with guaranteed distribution to specific geographic areas at £40+VAT per 1,000 homes, with minimum orders of 10,000 homes.
- Metro Bound-In Insert Placement Insert placement into Metro newspaper launched in 2024, allowing advertisers to reach the youngest and most diverse news brand audience through bound-in inserts.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 750 million inserts delivered successfully in a single year
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use The Insert Company
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
The Insert Company technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Insert Company partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- The Leaflet CompanycorePart of the same wider group of companies as The Insert Company. The Leaflet Company provides door drop distribution services as part of the collective direct marketing offering.
- Face to FacecorePart of the wider Mediaforce Group of companies. Provides face-to-face marketing services complementing The Insert Company's print insert offerings.
- Print ForcecorePart of the wider group. Provides print services for insert materials as part of comprehensive direct marketing campaign execution.
- Site to Site LogisticscorePart of the wider group. Provides logistics and distribution services to support the direct marketing campaign fulfillment.
- Mail Metro Media (DMGT)coreMajor publishing partner providing insert opportunities in Metro newspaper, Daily Mail, and Mail on Sunday. The Insert Company manages inserts for these major national titles.
- DC ThomsoncoreScottish media group partner including Sunday Post, Aberdeen Press & Journal, Dundee Courier, Evening Telegraph, Evening Express. The Insert Company represents DC Thomson's insert advertising service.
- NewsquestmajorRegional newspaper publisher providing insert advertising opportunities across Newsquest's portfolio of regional titles.
- Independent News & MediamajorPublishing partner providing insert advertising inventory across their newspaper titles.
- Primary TimesmajorUK's leading FREE 'what's on' publication for families with children aged 4-11, reaching 7.8 million people per issue through hand insertion into children's book bags.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
The Insert Company competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- DMGT (Daily Mail and General Trust): Major UK media group owning the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, and i newspapers. Both a critical publishing partner and a potential vertical competitor if it were to bring insert advertising management in-house given its scale and resources.
- Wunderman Thompson UK: Global integrated marketing agency with direct response and CRM capabilities. Comparable to The Insert Company in offering end-to-end campaign execution, though at much larger scale and with broader digital and data capabilities.
Emerging players
- Flyerlink: UK-based door drop and leaflet distribution specialist with data-driven targeting capabilities. Comparable to The Insert Company's door drop add-on offering through The Leaflet Company but focused exclusively on door-to-door distribution.
- Total Media Solutions (TMS): UK media planning and buying agency with direct response and insert advertising capabilities. Comparable target market (UK advertisers needing channel-neutral planning) and overlapping direct marketing offerings, though smaller and less specialized in inserts.
Others
- JICMail: UK industry body providing measurement and standards for mail advertising effectiveness. Comparable to The Insert Company's evaluation services and relevant as the industry standard the company benchmarks its campaign performance against.
- Carat UK: Global media agency where The Insert Company's MD previously developed direct response products. As a major media buyer, Carat both refers insert business to The Insert Company and could compete by bringing capabilities in-house.
Direct peers
- The Leaflet Company: Sister company within the same Mediaforce Group providing door drop distribution services. Together with The Insert Company it forms a comprehensive insert and leaflet advertising offering for UK advertisers; effectively a sibling peer in the same direct marketing vertical.
- Whistl: UK-based direct mail and door drop distribution company offering end-to-end advertising distribution services. Comparable to The Insert Company in providing mailbox marketing services with full execution capabilities, though less focused on newspaper inserts.
- Royal Mail Marketreach: Royal Mail's dedicated direct mail advertising division, the dominant force in UK direct mail advertising with scale and data capabilities that directly compete with The Insert Company's print advertising services. Operates across door drops, addressed mail, and unaddressed inserts.
Regional players
- Newsquest Media Group: UK regional newspaper publisher and existing publishing partner of The Insert Company. As both a partner and a vertically integrated competitor, Newsquest could bring insert management in-house, making it a relevant strategic comparable.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Insert Company social profiles
Digital presenceThe Insert Company financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Insert Company leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
The Insert Company funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Insert Company M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Insert Company
What does The Insert Company do?
The Insert Company provides insert advertising placement and integrated direct marketing campaign services, placing promotional materials into national and regional UK newspapers and magazines on behalf of advertisers and agencies. Services span audience planning, implementation planning, execution (insert placement, door drops, print, logistics), and campaign evaluation analytics, supported by a network of 50 publisher partners delivering 5.3 million inserts per week.
Is The Insert Company a public or private company?
The Insert Company is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Insert Company founded?
The Insert Company was founded in 1986. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is The Insert Company based?
The Insert Company is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does The Insert Company make money?
One revenue line is on record: insert Advertising Services.
Who are The Insert Company's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are DMGT (Daily Mail and General Trust) and Wunderman Thompson UK. Emerging players are Flyerlink and Total Media Solutions (TMS). Others are JICMail and Carat UK. Direct peers are The Leaflet Company, Whistl and Royal Mail Marketreach. Newsquest Media Group is listed as a regional player.
Does The Insert Company have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Insert Company.
What industry is The Insert Company in?
The Insert Company's product category is Insert Advertising Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAAAA, Integrated Advertising (Brand + Performance + Media), with a secondary code of MPAJALAH, Mailing, Inserting & Distribution Services (Addressing, Direct Mail, Kitting). Its NAICS code is 54181 and its SIC code is 7331.