ThinkinCircles
ThinkinCircles is a Brighton-based, privately held fractional marketing agency that serves recruitment agencies, in-house talent teams, and RecTech suppliers through embedded annual-retainer engagements built on proprietary diagnostic and methodology frameworks.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersBrighton, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What ThinkinCircles does
ThinkinCircles is a privately held UK-based fractional marketing agency founded in 2012 and headquartered in Brighton, operating as THINKINCIRCLES LTD (company number 08001860). The firm specialises exclusively in the recruitment and recruitment technology (RecTech) sectors, serving three primary client segments: recruitment agencies, in-house talent attraction teams, and RecTech suppliers. The company employs between 1 and 10 people and operates without disclosed external funding.
The core offering, branded 'Strategic Market Dominance,' is delivered through embedded fractional marketing engagements structured as annual 'dominance cycles' with quarterly refinement. The firm has codified two proprietary frameworks: the Brand Performance Index (BPI), a diagnostic measuring brand authority across Visibility, Relevance, and Trust (available as a public website checker), and the Dominance Cycle, a five-stage annual methodology (Own the Position, Control the Narrative, Establish Authority, Command Demand, Reinforce Advantage). Ancillary services include social media management, employer branding, content marketing, recruitment marketing audits, and thought-leadership content production through The Marketing Rules Podcast and an associated blog.
Revenue is generated via bespoke annual retainer contracts; pricing is not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is sales-led and founder-led, with initial engagement typically routed through a discovery call with founder James Whitelock via HubSpot. Inbound demand is supported by content marketing, SEO, the founder's personal LinkedIn brand, the podcast, and a published eBook ('Own The Conversation'). The firm is a registered member of AoRMA (Association of Recruitment Membership Agencies) and holds the ThinkinCircles name and 'Circles C' logo as trademarks. Named customers include Oliver Parks (enterprise), Secure and Recruit (mid-market), PhippsCameron (enterprise), Skills City (mid-market), and an unnamed specialist FMCG and manufacturing engineering recruitment agency.
ThinkinCircles firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ThinkinCircles
- Legal name
- THINKINCIRCLES LTD
- Website
- https://thinkincircles.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- ThinkinCircles is a Brighton-based, privately held fractional marketing agency that serves recruitment agencies, in-house talent teams, and RecTech suppliers through embedded annual-retainer engagements built on proprietary diagnostic and methodology frameworks.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ThinkinCircles industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Recruitment Marketing Services
- NAICS
- Marketing Consulting Services (541613), Advertising Agencies (541810)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- B2B Demand Generation & Lead Nurture Agencies (BPAFAKAA)
Keywords
Where ThinkinCircles is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brighton
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
ThinkinCircles business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Fractional Marketing Retainers: ThinkinCircles generates revenue through annual retainer engagements for embedded fractional marketing services. The firm operates through 'annual dominance cycles' with quarterly refinement, suggesting contract-based recurring revenue. Clients engage on structured programmes combining strategic positioning, narrative control, and authority-building. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is likely tiered based on scope and organisational maturity.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Bespoke annual retainer — scope varies per client |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels8 records
ThinkinCircles product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ThinkinCircles provides embedded fractional marketing services exclusively to recruitment agencies, in-house talent attraction teams, and recruitment technology (RecTech) suppliers. Its core offering, branded Strategic Market Dominance, delivers strategy, narrative control, authority-building and demand orchestration through structured annual 'dominance cycles' with quarterly refinement. The firm's work is supported by its proprietary Brand Performance Index (BPI) diagnostic tool and the five-stage Dominance Cycle methodology, executed with human creative judgement supplemented by AI tooling.
Product overview
ThinkinCircles operates as a specialist recruitment marketing agency offering a single, unified service portfolio built around Strategic Market Dominance. The core offering combines Embedded Fractional Marketing with the Brand Performance Index (BPI) diagnostic tool and the Dominance Cycle methodology framework. The company also delivers ancillary services including Social Media Management, Employer Branding, Content Marketing, and Recruitment Marketing Audits. They serve three distinct client segments: recruitment agencies, in-house talent attraction teams, and RecTech suppliers. Additionally, they produce thought leadership content through The Marketing Rules Podcast. This is a service-based business rather than a software product company.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Strategic Market Dominance ThinkinCircles' flagship annual retainer service for recruitment agencies, in-house talent teams and RecTech suppliers. It integrates strategy, narrative control, authority-building and demand orchestration into one coordinated function, executed across five stages — Own the Position, Control the Narrative, Establish Authority, Command Demand, Reinforce Advantage — on annual cycles with quarterly refinement.
- Embedded Fractional Marketing A part-time embedded marketing capability providing clients with senior strategic marketing expertise (strategy, narrative, authority-building, demand orchestration) integrated directly into client operations, without the cost of a full-time marketing hire. Delivered through annual retainers structured as dominance cycles with quarterly refinement.
- Social Media Management Structured social media service for recruitment and RecTech brands covering social media strategy, content calendar development, competitor analysis, community management and performance tracking across LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. Used in engagements such as the Secure and Recruit case study to deliver 20% audience growth across platforms.
- Employer Branding Service helping recruitment agencies and in-house talent teams develop compelling employer brands, including Employee Value Proposition (EVP) development, careers site optimisation, inclusive content and messaging strategies, and social media branding. Used in client engagements such as the Skills City employer branding case study.
- Content Marketing End-to-end content marketing service producing blogs, opinion articles, webinars, podcasts, videos, infographics, industry news, case studies, newsletters and thought leadership content for recruitment and RecTech clients. Underpins the firm's SEO and authority-building efforts.
- Recruitment Marketing Audit Diagnostic service assessing a recruitment or RecTech client's current marketing strategy effectiveness, identifying gaps across positioning, content, social and demand generation, and producing data-driven recommendations for optimisation, including use of the Brand Performance Index.
Quantifiable outcome
- 20% audience growth across LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram for Secure and Recruit client
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use ThinkinCircles
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
ThinkinCircles technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
ThinkinCircles partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- AoRMA (Association of Recruitment Membership Agencies)minorThinkinCircles maintains a visible association with AoRMA, displaying the AoRMA logo on its website footer. AoRMA is a membership body for the recruitment sector. The nature of the relationship is a professional association/membership rather than a commercial or strategic partnership. ThinkinCircles appears to participate in the AoRMA community as a member firm.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
ThinkinCircles competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Cielo: Global RPO and talent acquisition services provider with a marketing component for employer brand and candidate attraction. Comparable as a broad incumbent serving the recruitment-marketing adjacency, but at significantly greater scale and broader scope.
- Universum: Global employer branding research and talent insights firm. Comparable as an established employer-branding specialist serving large enterprises, but focused on research-driven branding rather than fractional execution.
- Havas People: Employer branding and talent marketing agency within Havas. Comparable as a larger employer-brand and recruitment-marketing player serving global enterprises, but operating at much greater scale and as part of a broader network.
- TMP Worldwide: Global employer brand and recruitment marketing agency. Comparable as a large incumbent in recruitment marketing and employer branding, but operating across multiple geographies and segments rather than a niche UK vertical practice.
Direct peers
- Volcanic: UK-based recruitment website and marketing technology provider serving recruitment agencies and employers. Directly comparable as a recruitment-marketing specialist serving the same vertical with overlapping offerings in websites, content, and employer branding.
- The Marketing Centre: UK fractional marketing services firm providing part-time senior marketing leadership to SMEs. Directly comparable as a fractional-delivery model competitor targeting growth-stage businesses, although broader in vertical focus.
- Juicebox: UK recruitment marketing agency providing content, social, and employer branding services to recruitment firms. Directly comparable as a similarly sized specialist agency focused exclusively on the recruitment vertical.
- Harrier: UK recruitment marketing agency offering branding, digital, and content services to recruitment firms. Directly comparable as a specialist recruitment marketing provider operating in the same geographic market.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
ThinkinCircles social profiles
Digital presenceThinkinCircles financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ThinkinCircles leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
ThinkinCircles funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ThinkinCircles 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 ThinkinCircles
What does ThinkinCircles do?
ThinkinCircles provides embedded fractional marketing services exclusively to recruitment agencies, in-house talent attraction teams, and recruitment technology (RecTech) suppliers. Its core offering, branded Strategic Market Dominance, delivers strategy, narrative control, authority-building and demand orchestration through structured annual 'dominance cycles' with quarterly refinement. The firm's work is supported by its proprietary Brand Performance Index (BPI) diagnostic tool and the five-stage Dominance Cycle methodology, executed with human creative judgement supplemented by AI tooling.
Is ThinkinCircles a public or private company?
ThinkinCircles is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was ThinkinCircles founded?
ThinkinCircles was founded in 2012. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is ThinkinCircles based?
ThinkinCircles is headquartered in Brighton, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does ThinkinCircles make money?
One revenue line is on record: fractional Marketing Retainers.
Who are ThinkinCircles's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Cielo, Universum, Havas People and TMP Worldwide. Direct peers are Volcanic, The Marketing Centre, Juicebox and Harrier.
Does ThinkinCircles have an API?
No public API is recorded for ThinkinCircles.
What industry is ThinkinCircles in?
ThinkinCircles's product category is Recruitment Marketing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAKAA, B2B Demand Generation & Lead Nurture Agencies. Its NAICS code is 541613 and its SIC code is 7310.