Performance Marketing Agency of the Year winner: Croud

Full-service digital marketing agency Croud delivers global scale and specialist precision through a unique business model, which leverages a network of more than 2,500 on-demand digital experts known as ‘Croudies’. 

Croud acts as a strategic partner and trusted digital performance specialist for leading brands including The North Face, Audible, St. George's University, NewYork-Presbyterian (NYP) and Burrow.

As well as developing relationships with existing clients, Croud has welcomed aboard lots of exciting new brands over the last year, enabling year-on-year (YoY) growth in the US of over 60% despite the pandemic. 

By continuing to deliver innovative, award-winning results for their clients, it was also to achieve an outstanding NPS score of 84. To further expand its scope and better service its clients, Croud also acquired VERB Brands and impakt Advisors' team.

That’s not all – Croud has taken great strides forward in several other important areas – from contributing to industry discussion in key publications and events and publishing its inaugural Diversity and Inclusion report, to launching Croud Campus, a new learning platform for internal staff and ‘Croudies’.

For Amazon’s Audible, Croud supercharged the content creation process by creating over 700 pieces of content in just six months. 

It has also launched a ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ agenda, which involved the formation of a D&I steering committee and the subsequent launch of its inaugural diversity report. Croud’s D&I agenda helped the agency partner with Creative Equals, to help boost the diversity of its global talent pool. It also became Stonewall Diversity Champions and a multiverse partner. 

Judges’ comments

Kyle Jackson EVP, Precision & Performance Marketing for Publicis Media was really impressed by Croud, remarking that “their client base of new business wins is impressive for their size. I am happy to see that they partner with organizations that help them become a more diverse organization. I was also impressed with their investment in a proprietary formal training program like Croud Academy versus solely relying on tech platforms.

“Their ‘Croudie’ picker is a great way to match the right talent for the job and manage workloads. Their focus on analytics and data science is key. I was impressed that they are leaning into in-housing support as well.”

Rachel Ooms, Executive Director of Hearts & Science, was equally impressed and commented on “solid work and provided measurable results. Specifically what is being done within the D&I space was great”. Dalbir Gil, VP of Global Partnerships at Seedtag, commended “a strong team focusing on key areas such as creativity and diversification”.

Highly Commended: Performics

Performics, the performance marketing agency of Publicis, has been a major contributor to the industry's return to growth in these sustained difficult times caused by the pandemic. 

In 2021, Performics drove momentum in new business, as well as existing client growth, through innovation in Advanced Analytics, Intent-Based Marketing, best-in-class talent and success in elevating the stature of performance marketing in the industry.

“A strong proposition in the market with a varied analytical approach making them stand out,” commended Dalbir Gill, VP of Global Partnerships at Seedtag. “They have a strong culture and work ethic with creative ways of keeping employees engaged.”