About us

Croud is a global full-service media agency that drives growth for brands through reinvention.

We were founded on the belief that the traditional agency model is broken. To help clients thrive in the modern marketing world, we’ve connected a worldwide network of 2,400 Croudies to more than 500 in-house specialists via our proprietary technology. This flexible, specialist approach means we can scale insight and performance internationally.

Part of the Croud Group

The Croud Group includes specialist partners Croud Luxe and Born Social, giving our clients access to even more digital expertise.

Croud Luxe is a luxury digital marketing agency which helps brands reach high net worth audiences through data, creative and media. They support brands with search, media buying, social media and creative content services. Clients include Net-A-Porter, Aston Martin and The Ritz.

Visit Croud Luxe

Born Social is a global social media agency that brings digital-first thinking to the brands of tomorrow. They’re specialists in building brands and delivering real performance impacts on any platform. Their client portfolio includes Guinness, Five Guys, Ford, Mars and Nandos.

Visit Born Social's site

A brief history of Croud

See how we’ve grown from search performance agency to award-winning full-service marketing leader

2011

Croud is born

Former Head of Search Ben Knight and ex-Googler Luke Smith launched their UK agency

2012

Here we grow

One year in, we had seven employees, an expanding Croudie network and a fast-growing client base

2013

Hey, Google

Croud was recognised as Google’s fastest-growing search agency in the UK

2014

More space, please

We moved into bigger offices in London and Shrewsbury to fit our team of more than 40

2015

Digital specialists

We expanded our range of digital services to include programmatic and paid social, alongside PPC and SEO

2016

Moving stateside

We brought our digital expertise to the US market by setting up our New York office

2017

Hitting milestones

We hired our 100th global employee and picked up a multitude of industry awards

2018

Working well

We were named as one of the Sunday Times’ Best Companies to Work For

2019

A new era

We became a Google Marketing Platform reseller, launched our in-housing division and received £30m in funding

2020

Still growing

We welcomed our 200th employee and bolstered our ecommerce and data solutions offering

2021

Croud turns 10

We celebrated our tenth anniversary and fifth year in the US. We were also named Campaign’s Performance Agency of the Year, and welcomed VERB Brands (now Croud Luxe) to the Group

2022

Going global

We opened an office in Dubai, also welcoming global social media agency, Born Social, to the group

2023

Growing the team

We grew our senior leadership team with Avinash Kaushik as Chief Strategy Officer and Audrey Lucy as Chief People Officer, and were named a Sunday Times' Best Places to Work

Our vision and values

Unlocking potential

At Croud, our vision centres around the idea of unlocking potential. We do this by elevating everyone in an inclusive and progressive culture, empowering individuals to deliver their best work. This means we build better brand outcomes, and unlock potential for our people, our clients and our communities.

Elevating everyone

We live and breathe five key values at Croud, which build a culture that elevates everyone, allowing our people to thrive:

In it together: We have a curious spirit and collaborative mindset. We understand we are part of something bigger, and work together to deliver meaningful outcomes for our people and clients.

Eye on the future: We imagine with passion and relentlessly explore new horizons. We are data-driven and hungry for insights to ideate and innovate, building brands for the future.

Generous in spirit: Our workplace welcomes everyone. People are empowered to achieve their potential with support and generosity. Above all, we recognise our efforts and celebrate our progress together.

Do what you say: We believe that being open and honest, and acting with integrity is essential to build trust and partnership.

Make a difference: We are passionate about making a difference, and recognise that many small incremental steps can have a real impact on people, planet and communities.

We're an IPA Member Agency

Being part of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) is a hallmark of professionalism and excellence for marketing agencies.

As an IPA Member Agency, Croud gains access to a wealth of resources, advice, and guidance, which serves as a constant source of inspiration and support. Access to IPA's Insight Team and resources like TouchPoints and media research tools empowers us to deliver effective campaigns for our clients with a measurable impact.

We also benefit from expert advice on diverse talent recruitment, advertising law, and market trends, ensuring our workforce is representative and legally compliant. And through IPA's Continuous Professional Development programme, our team can continually enhance their skills and qualifications so that the best talent is on our client accounts.

IPA membership fosters a community of industry leaders committed to initiatives such as sustainability, diversity, and inclusion, reinforcing our dedication to driving positive change in the marketing landscape.

Learn more

Meet the team

Meet the people who make up Croud's Executive Board, and click here to meet the rest of our senior team.

Luke Smith

Co-founder & CEO

Ben Knight

Co-founder

Avinash Kaushik

Global Chief Strategy Officer

Richard Holmes

Chief Financial Officer