What Big Bear Creative does

Big Bear Creative is a boutique, founder-led marketing agency headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom, with a secondary office in St. Ives, Cambridgeshire. Founded in 2016 by Dave and Emma Sheppard and operating as a family-run firm, the company positions itself as a strategic thinking partner for in-house marketers in growing SMEs, rather than a traditional execution-only agency. Its core proposition is helping clients decide which marketing tactics to invest in and securing internal budget sign-off before deploying activity.

The company delivers an integrated suite of services covering digital marketing (SEO, PPC, social advertising, paid social, strategy and analysis), branding and design (brand strategy, visual identity, brand guidelines, photography), and website design and development. Production relies on third-party platforms — Webflow, WordPress and Shopify for website builds, Google Ads for paid media — rather than proprietary technology, and the firm is a Google Ads certified partner. There is no disclosed AI/ML capability, no patents, and no proprietary software product; the firm's output is human-delivered creative and marketing services.

Commercially, Big Bear Creative combines monthly retainer engagements (digital marketing retainers of £1,000-£8,000 per month, PPC management fees of £500-£3,000+ per month separate from £1k-£30k monthly ad spend) with project-based work (websites £5,000-£30,000+ plus VAT, plus discrete branding projects). Revenue is not publicly disclosed and the firm is privately held with no institutional funding rounds on record. The client base spans more than fifteen named organisations across hospitality, utilities, healthcare, government, construction, motorsport, environmental consulting, architecture, social care and consumer goods, with engagement types ranging from startup to enterprise and government. Geographic focus is Cambridge and the wider UK, with the website referencing opportunistic international projects (described as spanning 'Cambridge to California').

Name

Big Bear Creative

Legal name

Big Bear Creative Ltd

Website

https://bigbearcreative.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Big Bear Creative is a founder-led, Cambridge-based boutique marketing agency offering integrated branding, website design, SEO, PPC and digital marketing services to in-house marketers in growing UK SMEs and selected public-sector clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marketing Agency Services

NAICS

Media Buying Agencies (54183), Graphic Design Services (541430)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Creative Boutique Agencies (MPAAAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Integrated Full-Service Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAA)

Keywords

• Digital marketing services
• Branding and design
• Search engine optimization
• Paid media management
• Website design development

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Digital Marketing Services: Ongoing marketing activity including SEO, PPC, social advertising delivered as retainer arrangements. Services tailored to client needs with transparent performance reporting.
2. Website Design & Development: Project-based website design and build services ranging from £5,000 to £30,000+ depending on scope and functionality requirements.
3. PPC Management: Google Ads and paid media management. Manages ad accounts with monthly spend of £1k to £30k. Management fees separate from media spend.
4. Branding & Design: Brand strategy, visual identity, logo design, brand guidelines, and design implementation services for establishing or refreshing brand presence.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Big Bear Creative is a boutique marketing agency that sells strategy, branding, website design and development, SEO, PPC management, and paid social advertising services to SMEs, primarily in Cambridge and the wider UK. Deliverables are produced by a senior-led team, packaged as either monthly retainers (£1,000–£8,000) or project-based engagements (websites from £5,000 to £30,000+VAT; branding projects on quote), and are positioned as a strategic thinking partnership for in-house marketers.

Product overview

Big Bear Creative is a boutique marketing agency offering a unified suite of services centred on two core areas: Digital Marketing and Branding & Design. Their integrated approach combines strategy, branding, websites, and digital campaigns to create a clearer journey from visibility to qualified leads and sales. The core offerings include Digital Marketing (encompassing SEO, PPC, Social Advertising, and Strategy & Analysis), Branding & Design (including Brand Strategy, Visual Identity, Design Implementation, and Photography), and Website Design & Development. All services are tailored and delivered by a senior-led team, with pricing for digital marketing retainers ranging from £1,000 to £8,000 per month and website projects from £5,000 to £30,000+ VAT.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Digital Marketing Research-led digital marketing services including SEO, PPC, social advertising, and digital strategy with transparent performance reporting, tailored to client objectives and focused on measurable business outcomes for in-house marketers at growing SMEs.
• Branding and Design Comprehensive branding services including brand strategy, visual identity creation (logo design, brand guidelines), and design implementation across print and digital assets for businesses establishing or refreshing their brand presence.
• Website Design and Development Design and build of modern, user-friendly websites on Webflow, WordPress, and Shopify, built with performance, mobile responsiveness, and conversion in mind, plus hosting and maintenance options.
• PPC Management Google Ads and paid media management focused on generating enquiries, bookings, and revenue, covering Google Search Campaigns, Performance Max, remarketing, and paid social for ad accounts with monthly spend of £1k–£30k.
• SEO Services Search engine optimisation services including technical SEO, on-page SEO, local SEO, keyword research, content strategy and creation, and link building to improve organic search rankings on Google and other search engines.
• Social Advertising Paid social media campaigns designed to introduce offers to defined audiences, support launches, and generate demand, including audience targeting, creative development, and reporting for campaigns with specific audience, message, and commercial purpose.
• Photography Brand and location photography services to represent client businesses visually across marketing materials and digital platforms.
• Strategy and Analysis Expert-led analysis of websites and online performance, including digital marketing strategy development, audience research, and competitive analysis to guide marketing investment decisions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Redesigned site increased conversion by 47% in six months
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• WPP: Global advertising and marketing services holding company. Overlaps with Big Bear across branding, digital and media services but operates at massive scale across many specialist agency brands.
• Dentsu: Global advertising network offering creative, media and digital services. Overlaps on integrated marketing and digital campaign execution but at a vastly larger scale.

Direct peers

• Koto: Branding and design studio offering brand strategy, identity and digital experiences. Comparable to Big Bear's branding and design practice and SME-to-mid-market focus.
• Croud: UK-headquartered digital marketing agency offering paid media, SEO and content. Comparable across PPC management and integrated digital services.
• Jaywing: UK-based data-driven digital marketing agency offering PPC, SEO and analytics. Comparable in digital performance marketing and SME-to-mid-market segments.
• Sticky: UK digital creative and marketing agency working with SME and mid-market clients on web, brand and campaigns. Comparable as an integrated boutique with similar service breadth.
• Propeller: UK boutique digital marketing and web agency serving SMEs with integrated SEO, PPC and web design. Closely comparable to Big Bear in size, service mix and SME focus.
• Rise at Seven: UK-based digital PR, SEO and content agency. Comparable as a mid-sized boutique offering specialist digital marketing services to brand-side clients.
• Tug: UK digital marketing agency specialising in SEO, PPC and analytics. Comparable on PPC management and performance-driven digital services to SMEs.
• Manifest: UK creative and brand agency with integrated marketing services. Comparable boutique positioning and integrated brand-plus-digital offering.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/big-bear-creative-studios

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Big Bear Creative