UNCOVr media

What UNCOVr media does

UNCOVr media is a privately held, research-driven media agency founded in 2014 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, with a distributed partner presence across Boston, New York, Denver, and San Francisco. The agency plans and executes media campaigns for national and local brands across audio, video, digital, print, outdoor, and experiential channels, with service offerings spanning traditional media planning and negotiation, digital strategy and activation, a proprietary market testing methodology, and vertical-focused insights. Operationally, UNCOVr runs a virtual-first model led by owner Mike LaBella (20+ years of agency experience) and Digital Strategy and Activation Director Andrea Giancontieri, supported by a network of 30+ collaborating experts rather than a large in-house staff; firmographic headcount is listed at 1-10 employees.

The company's commercial model is professional services: customized, quote-based agency fees billed under multi-year contracts, with engagements structured as media agency of record or project-based work. Its go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, with senior leaders personally managing client relationships and a marketing posture built on a case-study portfolio (Kabbage, Grasshopper, Society of Grownups, Atrius Health), client testimonials, and referrals rather than broad demand generation. The agency has no disclosed external funding, no parent company, no patents or trademarks on file, and no public revenue figures, reflecting its founder-owned, bootstrap structure.

The technology stack consists of media planning tools carried over from large-agency experience plus UNCOVr's proprietary market testing tool, which has been credited with enabling 3x CPM savings and methodical local-to-national campaign expansion. The firm has no app, no public API, no disclosed AI/ML capabilities, and no technology integrations on record, positioning its differentiation in human expertise and partner relationships rather than platform or product technology.

Name

UNCOVr media

Legal name

UNCOVr media

Website

https://uncovrmedia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

UNCOVr media is a privately held, Boston-based boutique media agency founded in 2014 that plans and buys media across audio, video, digital, print, outdoor, and experiential channels for national and local brands, operating virtually with a two-person leadership team and a 30+ expert collaborator network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Media Planning and Buying Services

NAICS

Media Buying Agencies (541830), Media Buying Agencies (54183)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Affiliate & Partner Media Buying (BPAFABAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Media Barter & Trade Media Buying (BPAFABAL)

Keywords

• Media planning services
• Media buying agency
• Traditional media advertising
• Digital advertising strategy
• Campaign research services

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Media Agency Services: UNCOVr generates revenue as a research-driven media agency helping advertisers find optimal media solutions. The company earns fees for media planning, research, strategy, and negotiation services for brands seeking to connect with target audiences across various media channels including Audio, Video, Digital, Print, Outdoor, and Experiential.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

UNCOVr media is a research-driven media agency that plans, negotiates, and executes advertising campaigns for national and local brands across audio, video, digital, print, outdoor, and experiential channels. The agency provides upfront research, vertical-focused insights, and proprietary market testing methodologies to help advertisers identify optimal media solutions, with senior leaders personally handling client work rather than delegating to junior staff.

Product overview

UNCOVr media is a research-driven media agency that functions as a single unified service offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The company provides integrated media planning and buying services across traditional channels (audio, video, print, outdoor, experiential) and digital channels (display, mobile, search, social). Their core value proposition centers on a proprietary market testing tool and vertical-focused insights methodology, supported by leadership expertise in both traditional media negotiation (Mike LaBella) and digital strategy/activation (Andrea Giancontieri). The agency emphasizes upfront research and data-driven decision-making to guide advertisers toward optimum media solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Traditional Media Planning and Negotiation Research-driven traditional media execution services covering radio, video, print, and outdoor advertising. Mike LaBella personally handles research, ideation, and negotiations for traditional media executions, leveraging 20+ years of large- and small-agency experience. Designed for national and local brands seeking senior-led, full-service traditional media planning and buying.
• Digital Strategy and Activation Digital advertising management services covering display, mobile, search, and social campaigns with comprehensive analytics. Led by Andrea Giancontieri as Digital Strategy and Activation Director, a digital pioneer since UNCOVr's founding. Designed for brands seeking end-to-end digital campaign execution with attribution and measurement.
• Market Testing Tool A proprietary market testing methodology that enables methodical expansion from local markets to national campaigns. Used to identify optimal media strategies before full-scale rollout and credited with achieving 3x CPM savings for Grasshopper's national campaign expansion.
• Vertical-Focused Insights Research-driven consulting service that delivers vertical-focused insights to maximize value for advertisers by exploring optimum media solutions for each brand through collaboration and upfront research. Ensures no surprises before media investment.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3x CPM savings achieved through market testing methodology, expanding from 4 local markets to national campaign
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 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 flagship, core and minor.

• MassMutualflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014UNCOVr served as media agency of record for Society of Grownups brand launch, a millennial-focused venture created in partnership between MassMutual and IDEO. This was a comprehensive media AOR engagement for the brand launch campaign.
• IDEOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with IDEO on Society of Grownups brand launch for MassMutual. UNCOVr provided media strategy and activation while IDEO contributed design and innovation expertise for the millennial-focused venture.
• Outdoor Media Community PartnerscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerUNCOVr leveraged partnerships with outdoor media community to secure over $150K in free media for Atrius Health's COVID-19 frontline worker campaign. These relationships enable added-value media placements beyond standard buying.
• Media Partners (Radio Networks)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUNCOVr works with media partners including radio networks to negotiate added-value placements. For Kabbage, they were the first radio advertiser to feature Lori Greiner, negotiating talent and record as added value within the media package.
• Lori Greiner / Shark TankminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFor Kabbage radio advertising campaign, UNCOVr negotiated to feature Lori Greiner (from Shark Tank) as the first radio advertiser to use a Shark Tank personality. This talent relationship was negotiated as added value within the media package and led to a 3-year partnership.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Omnicom Group: Omnicom Group owns multiple media agency networks including OMD, PHD, and Hearts & Science. It is a broad incumbent comparable to UNCOVr in the categories of services offered, but competes at global scale with the kind of integrated holding company resources UNCOVr consciously does not have.
• WPP: WPP is the world's largest advertising holding company, operating media agencies like GroupM that compete with UNCOVr for media planning and buying budgets. It is broadly comparable as a competitor in the same procurement-driven category, but at vastly greater scale.
• Dentsu: Dentsu is a global advertising holding company with media agency brands including Dentsu Media and Merkle. It is comparable to UNCOVr's media planning and buying services as a competitor, but operates with global infrastructure and integrated creative plus media capabilities.
• Publicis Groupe: Publicis Groupe is one of the four major advertising holding companies, with media agency networks including Publicis Media and Zenith. It competes with UNCOVr for both client relationships and media talent, and represents the kind of large, layered organization that UNCOVr positions itself against.

Direct peers

• Goodway Group: Goodway Group is an independent media and marketing services agency that combines traditional media planning with data-driven digital activation. It mirrors UNCOVr's positioning as a non-holding-company media partner for mid-market and enterprise advertisers.
• Horizon Media: Horizon Media is the largest independent media agency in the US, offering media planning, buying, and analytics across all channels. It is the most direct comparable to UNCOVr as an independent, founder-led agency competing against holding company networks.
• Hearts & Science: Hearts & Science is a data-driven media agency operating within the Omnicom network, focused on analytics-led planning and buying. It is comparable to UNCOVr in its emphasis on research-driven audience targeting and integrated measurement.
• Wieden+Kennedy: Wieden+Kennedy is an independent, creatively-led agency that has built a media planning practice alongside its creative work. It is comparable to UNCOVr as an independent alternative to holding company networks with strong founder cultural identity.
• Mediahub: Mediahub is an independent, full-service media agency that handles planning and buying across digital, traditional, and emerging channels. Like UNCOVr, it competes on senior-led client service and cross-channel integration for national brands.

Emerging players

• RPA (Rubin Postaer and Associates): RPA is an independent, US-based advertising agency with media planning capabilities alongside its creative work. It is comparable to UNCOVr as another independent West Coast-rooted alternative to holding companies, though it has a stronger creative legacy and is somewhat larger.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UNCOVrmedia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uncovr-media

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 UNCOVr media