Walk-In Media and agenda21 merge to create a modern full-service media agency

MSQ, one of the UK’s fastest growing marketing groups, is merging agenda21 and Walk-In Media, to create a modern full-service media agency exclusively focused on delivering data-driven outcomes for brands

Operating under the Walk-In Media name and led by founder Simon Davis, the newly expanded agency will boast 65 media experts working across a full suite of capabilities, including media planning, media buying and activation, search, ad operations and data analytics, insights and visualisations.

The combined entity has clients including Emirates, Vodafone, Buzz Bingo, Equifax, Chiltern Railways, G.Network, Travis Perkins, ASICS, Air New Zealand and TaskRabbit.

Recognising the disconnect between brand and performance marketing that’s currently preventing brands from achieving long-term, sustainable growth, Walk-In Media will bring the disciplines together into one connected ecosystem, so that each interacts with one another to the greatest effect.

The agency will provide brands with a single, holistic view of all marketing activity, throughout the purchase funnel, from broadcast channels delivering long-term awareness, through to short-term performance channels.

As part of MSQ, Walk-In Media will have unrivalled access to the full specialist capabilities and global scale of the group’s 785-strong network. This includes MSQ’s advanced cross-group data capabilities, with which Walk-In Media has created a proprietary platform that optimises a client’s budget allocation across the purchase funnel in real time, to deliver the best outcomes.

Clients can also expect the service, transparency, agility and breakthrough thinking that they’d get from working with an independent agency – Walk-In Media is structured around each individual client to ensure end-to-end delivery and effectiveness.

Simon Davis, Chief Executive of Walk-In Media, says: “Network agencies have saved costs by centralising their performance capabilities, causing brand and performance to diverge into two separate disciplines. The two should be interdependent, but they are not.

“Most independent agencies lack the digital and data skills to bring them together. The networks could do it, but horizontal skills integration is reserved only for the biggest global clients. That’s why we’re bringing together agenda21 and Walk-In Media, to ensure every client gets the best of both worlds.”

Walk-In Media was founded by Davis in October 2019, in partnership with MSQ. He had previously been the CEO of Publicis’ media agency Blue 449, which has since become Spark Foundry.

agenda21 was founded in 2005 and quickly became one of the UK’s best-known digital media agencies, creating award-winning work for brands including Air New Zealand, Vodafone and Travis Perkins. The agency was sold in 2015 to Be Heard Partnership, the marketing group that was acquired by MSQ earlier this year.

Neil Collins, Managing Director of agenda21 says: “This is an important and exciting new chapter for our agency. We're finding that our clients are increasingly looking to us to connect the dots between their digital activation and media activity further up the funnel. Moving forward, we’ll have the capabilities and expertise to do just that.”

Peter Reid, the Chief Executive of MSQ, says: “MSQ prides itself on delivering a genuinely client-centric model, which is why bringing together Walk-In Media and agenda21 is so exciting. Walk-In Media now has all the capabilities necessary to connect all media activity together into one ecosystem, with a laser focus on generating the best outcomes based on a client’s goals.”