The Inspired Marketing Group

What The Inspired Marketing Group does

The Inspired Marketing Group (legal entity IMG LTD, registered in England and Wales) is a UK-based, founder-owned private limited company established in 2020 by Richard Johnson and David Coghlan during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company provides flexible, on-demand outsourced marketing expertise to marketing leaders in high-growth businesses and corporates, deploying curated project teams assembled from its independent iMG Community of vetted marketing specialists. Services are delivered under three engagement models — Done For You, Done With You, and Do It Yourself — priced project-by-project via Statement of Work with payments structured 50% upfront, 25% at midpoint, and 25% before release, with no retainers or minimum terms.

The operating model rests on a Slack-based community platform organised around a three-tier membership system (Influencer, Maestro, Genius) where progression is based on tenure, work quality, and client feedback, with higher tiers earning better day rates and access to profit share. Community members generate referrals earning a 5% contract-value bonus, and the company retains discretion over resource allocation and substitution on client engagements. The platform is supported by a CRM and accounting tooling; there is no proprietary AI or machine-learning layer. The company operates virtually with a lean core team of 1-10 employees and references Nottingham, Sheffield, and London as its UK locations, with some community members based internationally.

Revenue is generated primarily from project-based marketing services, supplemented by a nominal community membership subscription of approximately £10/month. The company is bootstrapped and self-funded, with no external institutional investment, and its only named verifiable current customer is The Access Group, for whom IMG delivered marketing support around a New Zealand acquisition. Distribution is direct via the company website and community-led referrals, supplemented by content marketing through The Inspired Marketing Group Podcast, The Inspired Marketing Club events in the East Midlands, and a free Marketing Function Resilience Scorecard diagnostic.

Name

The Inspired Marketing Group

Legal name

IMG LTD

Website

https://theimgroup.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Inspired Marketing Group is a UK-based, bootstrapped provider of flexible outsourced marketing teams and fractional marketing experts, serving marketing leaders in high-growth businesses and corporates via project-based engagements delivered through its curated iMG Community of vetted independent marketing specialists.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marketing Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (54181)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Full-Service Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Customer Journey Orchestration & Campaign Management (BPAFAFAF)

Keywords

• Fractional marketing services
• Outsourced marketing teams
• On-demand marketing
• Marketing consulting
• Freelance marketing community

Headquarters

HQ city

Nottingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Project-based Marketing Services: Clients engage IMG for specific marketing projects (campaigns, strategy, execution). Payments structured as 50% upfront upon signing Statement of Work, 25% halfway through, and balance prior to release of materials. Standard payment terms are 14 days from invoice date.
2. Community Membership Subscription: Freelancers pay a nominal subscription fee (approximately £10/month) to join the iMG Community. This provides access to the Slack channel, lead generation, monthly virtual All Hands meetings, and opportunity to work on client projects.
3. Referral Bonus Scheme: Community members can refer work to IMG. If the referred work moves to a live project, IMG pays the referrer 5% of the contract value as a one-time referral bonus, paid within 30 days of receipt of payment from the customer.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Inspired Marketing Group provides flexible, on-demand outsourced marketing teams and fractional marketing expertise to in-house marketing leaders. Engagements are project-based with no retainers or minimum terms, delivered through three models: Done For You (full outsourced delivery including fractional Marketing Director), Done With You (strategic support alongside the client's team), and DIY. Underpinning the service is the iMG Community, a curated Slack-based network of independent marketing specialists that the company matches to client projects.

Product overview

The Inspired Marketing Group offers a flexible, on-demand marketing function without long-term commitments. The core offering operates through three service models: Done With You (strategic support alongside existing teams), Done For You (full outsourced marketing delivery including fractional Marketing Director), and flexible project-based work. The iMG. Community platform provides freelancers with a Slack-based networking hub, tiered membership (Influencer, Maestro, Genius), lead generation, and access to paid work opportunities. The company also provides free content through The Inspired Marketing Podcast and The Inspired Marketing Club in-person events, plus a free Marketing Function Resilience Scorecard assessment tool.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• iMG. Community: A Slack-based community platform for marketing freelancers to connect, share ideas, and access work opportunities.
• The Inspired Marketing Club
• The Inspired Marketing Podcast

Products and services

• On-Demand Marketing Services Flexible, project-based outsourced marketing delivery for marketing leaders in high-growth businesses and corporates. Clients are matched with vetted specialists from the iMG Community to execute campaigns, strategy, or full marketing function support with no retainers and no minimum term.
• Done For You Full outsourced marketing delivery where IMG acts as the client's fractional marketing team, including a part-time Marketing Director role, strategy setting, and campaign execution.
• Done With You Strategic support alongside the client's existing marketing team, providing coaching, mentoring, and specialist skills to supplement in-house capability without taking over delivery.
• iMG Community Membership Paid subscription-based community for vetted independent marketing specialists, providing a corporate Slack workspace for networking, lead generation, monthly virtual All Hands meetings, and access to paid project work from IMG clients. Members progress through Influencer, Maestro, and Genius tiers based on tenure, quality of work, and client feedback.

Quantifiable outcome

• IMG helped The Access Group execute marketing for the acquisition of a New Zealand business without overloading their in-house team.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Marketing Centre: UK-based provider of fractional marketing directors and outsourced marketing teams for SMEs. Direct peer — both IMG and The Marketing Centre offer flexible, part-time marketing leadership and project-based execution to companies without full in-house capability.
• Propeller: UK marketing consultancy providing fractional and project-based marketing services to growth-stage and mid-market companies. Direct peer — overlaps with IMG on the flexible/fractional marketing model targeting in-house marketing leaders.
• Sookio: UK digital marketing agency offering content, SEO, branding, and social media services to SMEs and mid-market clients. Direct peer — comparable in size, UK focus, and outsourced marketing services portfolio.

Broad incumbents

• Dentsu: Global advertising and marketing services network with strong UK presence. Broad incumbent — competes for enterprise marketing services spend including campaign management, brand strategy, and digital execution.
• M&C Saatchi: Global advertising and marketing services network with significant UK presence. Broad incumbent — competes for enterprise marketing budgets with full-service creative and campaign capabilities, far broader in scale than IMG.
• Ogilvy: Global advertising, marketing, and communications agency network. Broad incumbent — provides integrated marketing services to enterprise clients overlap with IMG's positioning, but at global scale and full-service depth.
• WPP: World's largest advertising holding company, with multiple agency brands (Ogilvy, VML, GroupM) covering the full range of marketing services. Broad incumbent — competes for the same enterprise marketing leaders but at vastly larger scale and breadth.
• Jellyfish: Global digital marketing agency group offering paid media, SEO, content, and creative services. Broad incumbent — overlaps with IMG's SEO, PPC, and content capabilities and targets marketing leaders, but operates at much larger scale.
• Wunderman Thompson (VML): Global creative, digital, and data-driven marketing agency (now part of VML). Broad incumbent — competes with IMG for marketing leadership engagements requiring creative, campaign, and digital execution capabilities.
• Brainlabs: UK-headquartered digital marketing agency offering paid media, SEO, and analytics services globally. Broad incumbent — overlaps with IMG's PPC and SEO capabilities but serves a much larger client base and offers full-service delivery rather than fractional engagements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/InspiredMktGrp
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCt5tccwNsxfWkgnbRQc0wcQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/InspiredMktGrp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/theimgroup
• Instagraminstagram.com/inspiredmarketinggroup

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 The Inspired Marketing Group