Whalar Group
Whalar Group is a London-based creator economy ecosystem operating seven specialized companies spanning creator agencies, talent management, gaming, education, physical campuses, and entertainment production. The company serves global enterprise brands and content creators through marketing campaigns, measurement services, and creator enablement platforms across 40+ countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersBrooklyn, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Whalar Group does
Whalar Group is a London-headquartered creator economy ecosystem company founded in 2016 by Neil Waller and James Street. Following the June 2026 Accenture acquisition of its core agency subsidiary Whalar, the group retains an integrated portfolio of seven specialized companies: Foam (digital creator operating system with self-service talent management), Moby Ventures (venture studio for creator-led brand and product development), The Lighthouse (physical creator campuses in Venice and Brooklyn), Sixteenth (global 360-degree creator talent management), Umi Games (gaming studio building experiences in Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft), Business of Creativity (education and consultancy), and Lighthouse Studios (creator-focused entertainment production launched March 2026). The company also entered a three-year strategic partnership with Accenture Song to distribute its remaining portfolio through Accenture's global consulting infrastructure.
The company's revenue model combines agency service fees for creator marketing campaigns with a 15% platform commission (Echo/Foam) on creator-side paid engagements, plus talent management fees, education/consulting revenue, and gaming/entertainment production income. Enterprise customers include Amazon, Google, Spotify, Est\u00e9e Lauder, Johnson & Johnson, PetSmart, and Tribeca Film Festival, served through a direct enterprise sales motion. Whalar Group has managed over $600 million in creator campaigns across 40+ countries with a workforce of approximately 300 employees across London, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Berlin, M\u00e1laga, and Tallinn.
The company's technical foundation rests on measurement infrastructure built through Nielsen Media Mix Modeling and Kantar meta-analysis, positioning it with rare ROI-proving capabilities in creator marketing. Its technology stack integrates YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Vimeo APIs for social account connectivity, with AI-driven creator-brand matching and recommendation capabilities. The Whalar Group ecosystem is distinguished by an advisory board chaired by Sir John Hegarty (Vice Chairman: Bob Greenberg) and industry recognition including Ad Age A-List 2025 Social Media/Influencer Agency of the Year, Adweek 2025 Social/Creator Agency of the Year, and Campaign 2024 UK Social Media Agency of the Year.
Whalar Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Whalar Group
- Legal name
- Whalar Limited d/b/a Whalar Group
- Website
- https://whalargroup.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Whalar Group is a London-based creator economy ecosystem operating seven specialized companies spanning creator agencies, talent management, gaming, education, physical campuses, and entertainment production. The company serves global enterprise brands and content creators through marketing campaigns, measurement services, and creator enablement platforms across 40+ countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Whalar Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brooklyn
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices8 records
Markets served
Whalar Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Agency Services: Full-service creator agency providing influencer marketing, social media campaigns, and brand partnership services. Revenue generated through campaign fees and agency retainer arrangements with brands and platforms.
- Platform Commission: 15% platform fee (Echo/Foam) deducted as commission from Creator's gross compensation for paid engagements facilitated through the platform.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Creator platform fee: 15% commission on paid engagements |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Enterprise brand partnerships - quote-based pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
Whalar Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Whalar Group is a creator economy company that operates an interconnected ecosystem of portfolio companies delivering end-to-end services and platforms for creators, brands, and platforms. Its core offerings include full-service creator marketing agency services (Whalar), digital creator operating-system software (Foam), 360° creator talent management (Sixteenth), gaming experiences in Fortnite/Roblox/Minecraft (Umi Games), a venture studio for creator-led brands (Moby Ventures), a physical creator campus (The Lighthouse), an education and consultancy hub (Business of Creativity), and a creator-focused entertainment production unit (Lighthouse Studios). The group primarily monetizes through enterprise agency fees from major global brands and platforms and via a 15% platform commission on paid creator engagements facilitated through its technology platform.
Product overview
Whalar Group is an independent global creator ecosystem company founded in 2016, consisting of multiple specialized portfolio companies that together provide end-to-end creator economy solutions. The portfolio includes: Whalar (award-winning global creator and social agency), Foam (digital creator operating system for success measurement), Moby Ventures (venture studio for creator brands/products), The Lighthouse (physical IRL creator campuses), Sixteenth (global 360-degree creator talent management), Umi Games (gaming studio for Fortnite/Roblox/Minecraft), Business of Creativity (education and consultancy), and Lighthouse Studios (creator-led entertainment production). The ecosystem is unified by placing creators at the center, supporting them across talent management, technology, brand partnerships, physical spaces, gaming, education, and entertainment production. Headquartered in London with 300 employees across Berlin, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Málaga, New York, and Tallinn.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Whalar: Global, award-winning, full-service creator agency that unlocks the potential of creators, brands, and platforms.
- Foam
- Moby Ventures
- The Lighthouse
- Sixteenth
- Umi Games
- Business of Creativity
Products and services
- Whalar (Creator Agency) A global, award-winning, full-service creator agency that delivers influencer marketing campaigns, social media campaigns, and brand partnership services for enterprise brands and platforms. Manages hundreds of millions of dollars in creator campaigns across 40+ countries with over 170 employees. Sold to Accenture in June 2026 as part of a three-year strategic partnership.
- Foam (Digital Creator Operating System)
Quantifiable outcome
- 62% of Whalar Creator-led campaigns outperformed industry norms (Whalar X Kantar meta-analysis)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Whalar Group
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Whalar Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
AI capability6 records
Feature3 records
Whalar Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
16 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Accenture SongflagshipThree-year strategic partnership established following Accenture's acquisition of the Whalar agency. Whalar Group retains its remaining portfolio companies and enters a strategic partnership with Accenture Song, positioning the creator ecosystem for global enterprise delivery through Accenture's consulting infrastructure.
- KantarcoreJoint research partnership producing Creator Effectiveness Meta-Analysis studying what makes creator content a brand-building powerhouse. Research revealed 62% of Whalar Creator-led campaigns outperformed industry norms.
- NielsencoreMedia Mix Modeling partnership to analyze impact of Creator content across 20+ campaigns in US and UK. First-of-its-kind study demonstrating every dollar spent on Creator content delivers $2.41 in return.
- Alter AgentscorePartnership to understand exactly what drives consumers to engage with Creators - from following them all the way to buying products/services they recommend. Produces 'The Creator Code' research on cross-platform influence.
- TubefilterminorJoint launch of The Creators List - a curated directory featuring more than 200 of the world's top creators expected to attend the Cannes Lions festival, designed to help brands and agencies identify and connect with creators at global advertising events.
- ComscoreminorPartnership providing measurement and audience intelligence to support brands in evaluating creator partnerships alongside traditional advertising spends. Co-launcher of The Creators List directory.
- Gospel StatsminorPartnership co-launching The Creators List - a curated directory of top creators at Cannes Lions festival, providing practical resource for brands, agencies, platforms, and media to identify and connect with creators.
- Lyrical LemonadecoreFirst partnership for Lighthouse Studios - creator-focused entertainment unit. Expanding Lyrical Lemonade TV into a larger programming network, providing creators with capital, production resources, and operational support to develop scalable entertainment brands.
- Creators Guild of America (CGA)minorCommitment to professionalize creator work through adoption of Mosaic verification platform and CGA Rider standardized contract addendum. Displaying CGA Shield as trust signal across Whalar Group ecosystem.
- Scalable (Kaya Yurieff and Jasmine Eniffe)minorPartnership providing The Lighthouse Venice venue for Scalable Summit one-day conference bringing together founders, creators, marketers, investors, and tech executives to discuss AI, live shopping, influencer marketing, and creator economy topics.
- TikTokcoreOfficial partner - one of the major social media platforms powering the creator economy. Listed among official partners on Whalar Group website alongside other platform partners.
- YouTubecoreOfficial partner - major video platform in creator ecosystem. Whalar Group utilizes YouTube API Services for platform functionality. Listed among official partners on website.
- MetacoreOfficial partner - parent company of Instagram and Facebook. Listed among official partners on Whalar Group website.
- SnapchatcoreOfficial partner - one of the major social media platforms in creator ecosystem. Listed among official partners on Whalar Group website.
- iHeartMediaminorOfficial partner - major media company bridging audio and creator content. Listed among official partners on Whalar Group website.
- Tribeca Film FestivalminorOfficial partner - major film and entertainment festival creating opportunities for creator content. Listed among official partners on Whalar Group website.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Whalar Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- IZEA: Public creator marketing platform offering managed services plus a marketplace (IZEA Flex); competes with Whalar across agency services and the SaaS/managed offering adjacent to Foam.
- Obviously: Full-service global creator and influencer marketing agency serving enterprise brands; overlaps Whalar's agency business in campaign execution, talent sourcing, and brand strategy.
- NeoReach: Influencer marketing platform and agency providing campaign strategy, talent discovery, and analytics; a direct competitor to Whalar's agency + measurement stack.
- Captiv8: Creator marketing platform connecting brands with influencers via a self-serve marketplace plus managed services; competes head-to-head with Whalar's agency + Foam combination for enterprise brand spend.
- Billion Dollar Boy: Global creator marketing agency with end-to-end campaign management and proprietary tech; comparable to Whalar in agency scale, geographic reach, and enterprise customer profile.
- CreatorIQ: Enterprise creator marketing platform offering discovery, analytics, and workflow tooling; a direct competitor to Foam on the SaaS side of Whalar's stack.
- Open Influence: Global creator marketing company combining a SaaS platform with managed campaign services; a direct competitor across both the agency and platform layers of Whalar's stack.
Broad incumbents
- Dentsu Creative: Global creative network within Dentsu offering influencer and creator-marketing capabilities as part of a broader media and advertising portfolio; overlaps with Whalar's agency and measurement offerings at the enterprise tier.
- Influencer.com (Publicis): Acquired by Publicis Groupe, this creator marketing agency competes with Whalar at the enterprise layer but now benefits from Publicis Groupe's broader media-buying scale and global holding-company distribution.
- Hogarth (WPP): WPP's content and production network with established creator-marketing capabilities; competes with Whalar for enterprise brand campaigns but as part of WPP's broader holding-company service portfolio.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Whalar Group social profiles
Digital presenceWhalar Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Whalar Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles29 records
Whalar Group subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries8 records
Whalar Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Whalar Group 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 Whalar Group
What does Whalar Group do?
Whalar Group is a creator economy company that operates an interconnected ecosystem of portfolio companies delivering end-to-end services and platforms for creators, brands, and platforms. Its core offerings include full-service creator marketing agency services (Whalar), digital creator operating-system software (Foam), 360° creator talent management (Sixteenth), gaming experiences in Fortnite/Roblox/Minecraft (Umi Games), a venture studio for creator-led brands (Moby Ventures), a physical creator campus (The Lighthouse), an education and consultancy hub (Business of Creativity), and a creator-focused entertainment production unit (Lighthouse Studios). The group primarily monetizes through enterprise agency fees from major global brands and platforms and via a 15% platform commission on paid creator engagements facilitated through its technology platform.
Is Whalar Group a public or private company?
Whalar Group is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Whalar Group founded?
Whalar Group was founded in 2016. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Whalar Group based?
Whalar Group is headquartered in Brooklyn, United States, in the North America region.
How does Whalar Group make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Agency Services are the primary driver. The others are platform Commission.
Who are Whalar Group's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are IZEA, Obviously, NeoReach, Captiv8, Billion Dollar Boy, CreatorIQ and Open Influence. Broad incumbents are Dentsu Creative, Influencer.com (Publicis) and Hogarth (WPP).
Does Whalar Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for Whalar Group.