Most "best creative agency" lists are written for brand campaigns: TV, billboards, rebrands. If you sell online and your growth comes from Meta and TikTok ads, you need a different kind of agency.
This list is for ecommerce and DTC brands that need paid social ad creative: the statics, UGC and video ads that run in your ad account and decide your cost per purchase.
How we chose these agencies
We only included agencies where ad creative for paid social is a core service, not a bolt-on to SEO, website builds or influencer campaigns. Then we judged them on the same criteria we'd tell any brand to use (see how to choose below).
The list is UK-led, with a short US section for brands selling in both markets. It's in no particular order, and we hold ourselves to the same criteria as everyone else.
The best creative agencies for ecommerce at a glance
| Agency | Based | Best for | Media buying |
|---|---|---|---|
| 225 Media | UK | Ecommerce brands that already have a media buyer and want a creative testing system | No, works with yours |
| Hello Earth | UK | Creative-first growth for DTC brands, creative plus paid in one team | Yes |
| Nest Commerce | UK | Larger ecommerce brands on £75k+ a month who want AI-assisted creative at volume | Yes |
| Spin (Spark) | UK | Brands wanting an end-to-end paid social creative team with strong design and motion | Yes |
| The Social Shepherd | UK | Brands that want social, paid, creators and TikTok Shop under one roof | Yes |
| Y'all | US | DTC brands wanting statics, UGC and video plus media buying | Yes |
| Common Thread Collective | US | Ecommerce brands that want paid media run against profit, with in-house creative | Yes |
| New Engen | US | Larger brands wanting creative-led media with creator and influencer work | Yes |
UK creative agencies for ecommerce brands
1. 225 Media
Best for: ecommerce and DTC brands spending from about £15k a month up to seven figures a month on Meta, with a media buyer or agency already running the account.
We're a Meta-first ad creative agency. We make statics, UGC, video and AI ad creatives, and run them through the WINMAP Method, our creative testing system: customer research first, a written hypothesis for every ad, one variable at a time, and results judged on CPA and new customer CPA rather than hook rate.
- Proof: for a DTC nutrition brand, our creative testing system cut CPA by 58% and grew new customers by 50% in four months, on the same ad spend, with 120+ creatives launched.
- Scale: 5,000+ creatives shipped for 20+ brands over four years, a network of 600+ creators across six markets, and accounts running at seven-figure monthly spend.
- Clients on our site: All Real Nutrition, Nurecover, Legend London, Frive and Syenti.
- Categories: supplements, wellness, beauty, skincare, fashion, accessories, jewellery, home, pet and food.
Not right for: brands before product-market fit, brands with no media buyer (we don't buy media), brand campaigns and shoots, or anyone who wants the most assets for the lowest price. We're also Meta-first, so TikTok-first brands may be better served elsewhere.
2. Hello Earth
Best for: DTC brands that want creative and paid media from one creative-led team.
Hello Earth describes itself as a "creative-first digital marketing agency for ecommerce brands". Its work is split into Create (ad creative, UGC and video production), Acquire (paid social, Google Ads, TikTok and SEO) and Retain (email, SMS and subscriptions).
- Clients on its site: Huel, Seasalt Cornwall and Biotiful.
- Worth knowing: B Corp certified since 2021, and a Meta, TikTok and Google partner.
3. Nest Commerce
Best for: larger ecommerce brands spending £75k+ a month on paid media, often across several markets.
Nest Commerce pairs paid media management with its own AI creative platform, covering performance analysis, creative intelligence and AI-generated ad variants. It describes itself as the UK's "#1 independent agency" for Meta, citing an IPA Beacon listing.
- Clients on its site: Urban Outfitters, Damson Madder and loveholidays.
- Worth knowing: it says it sits on Meta's UK Advisory Board.
4. Spin
Best for: brands that want an end-to-end paid social creative team with strong design, motion and 3D.
Spin is a London social media agency, and its Spark offer is described as an "end-to-end creative solution for paid social". Formats include UGC, 3D, motion graphics, graphic design and video production, and it plans and buys media too.
- Clients on its site: Camper, YuMove and Lovehoney.
- Worth knowing: it works with global brands as well as fast-moving challengers, so it isn't ecommerce-only.
5. The Social Shepherd
Best for: brands that want organic social, paid social, creators and TikTok Shop under one roof.
The Social Shepherd is a full-service social agency rather than an ad creative specialist, but its paid team covers "planning, buying, creative, analytics, testing", backed by in-house video, motion and UGC creators. It has offices in London, Bath, New York and Miami.
- Clients on its site: BARK, Bio-Oil and ASICS.
- Worth knowing: named Best Large Social Media Agency at the UK Social Media Awards in 2023 and 2024.
US creative agencies for DTC brands
6. Y'all
Best for: DTC brands that want statics, animated, video and UGC ads plus media buying from one specialist team.
Y'all, based in San Antonio, calls itself "performance creative that drives serious revenue for DTC brands". It runs creator sourcing and whitelisting as well as media buying across Meta, TikTok and Google, mostly for health and wellness, food and drink, fashion and home brands.
- Clients on its site: Dermaflash, FlavCity and Field Company.
- Worth knowing: listed as a "Top 1% DTC Agency" by 1-800-DTC for 2026.
7. Common Thread Collective
Best for: ecommerce brands that want paid media decisions tied to profit, with ad creative produced in-house.
Common Thread Collective, based in Costa Mesa, California, positions itself as "your ecommerce profit partner". It leads with Meta and Google media buying and runs its own ad creative production team.
- Clients on its site: Liquid Death, ColourPop and Girlfriend Collective.
8. New Engen
Best for: larger brands that want creative-led paid media combined with creator and influencer work.
New Engen, based in Seattle with a studio in Manhattan Beach, uses the line "Creative is our edge". It covers creative, media, influencer and creator, affiliate and measurement.
- Clients on its site: Altra, Everlane and Nordstrom.
Also worth knowing
These came up in our research and are strong agencies, but ad creative isn't their main service, so they're better for other jobs:
- Push Group: AI-led performance marketing, media buying, search and social. Creative is part of a wider offer.
- Socially Powerful: influencer-led, for global brands. Its minimum project is $50k+.
- Cake Agency: an ecommerce agency best known for Shopify Plus builds, SEO and performance marketing.
- Genie Goals: a paid search, paid social and affiliate agency for retailers. Strong on media, not creative production.
How to choose a creative agency for ecommerce
Judge every agency, us included, on these, in this order:
- A testing system with written hypotheses. If nobody wrote down why an ad was made, nobody can explain why it won, so you can't repeat it. Volume without a system isn't testing.
- Judging on the numbers you care about. That means CPA and new customer CPA, read at ad set or campaign level. Hook rate and single-ad ROAS only diagnose. Meta credits the sale to the last ad clicked, so agencies that kill ads on ad-level ROAS switch off the ads that warmed buyers up.
- Real concept variety over volume. Meta now reads the ad itself to decide who sees it, so ten hook swaps on one video can act like one ad. Ask how many genuinely different personas and angles are live, not how many files get delivered.
- Research before production. Customer research (reviews, Reddit, sales calls) should come before any brief, and format should be chosen last. "Let's test UGC" is a format choice posing as a test.
- Working with your media buyer. Creative and media have to share data and review results together.
- Commercial context. A good agency asks about margins and stock, not just ROAS.
- Production quality and speed. It matters, but last. A beautiful ad on the wrong angle is dead on arrival.
Lots of files. No idea why anything won.
Fewer, better tests you can learn from and repeat.
Red flags when hiring a creative agency
- They sell volume ("50 creatives a month") but can't explain how a test is set up.
- They count reskins and hook swaps as separate creatives.
- There's no written hypothesis per ad and no learnings log.
- They call winners on hook rate or single-ad ROAS.
- They pick the format first ("we'll do UGC") before the concept.
- All their ideas come from ad libraries, so you end up looking like your competitors.
- They never ask about your margins, your stock or who runs your ads.
- They scale one winner with nothing else getting spend.
Questions to ask on the first call
- "Show me how you decide what to test next. Can I see a real brief with its hypothesis?"
- "What counts as one creative in your scope?"
- "What metric decides a winner, and at what level of the account?"
- "How do you work with my media buyer, and how often do we review results?"
- "What happens when our best ad starts to fatigue?"
- "What research do you do before the first brief?"
- "Who actually does the strategy on my account?"
- "What do you need from us, and how fast do we need to approve work?"
Agency, in-house or freelancers?
- Do it yourself: before product-market fit or at low spend. Most good agencies won't take you on yet anyway.
- Freelancers or UGC platforms: when you already know what to test and just need more output. The output is only as good as the brief, and a creator isn't a testing system.
- An ad creative agency: when the product is proven, spend is growing and the gap is strategy rather than hands. The signs: creative can't keep up as spend grows, your media buyer keeps asking for more ads, the account has been flat for months, or Q4 is coming.
- In-house: at large, steady spend, when a full strategist, editor and designer team pays for itself. Many brands at that size still combine in-house with an agency or UGC for range.
If you're weighing up creators directly, our guide on how to write a UGC brief shows what good direction looks like. If you want the testing system done for you, that's our creative strategy and testing service.
About this list
We're 225 Media, a paid social creative agency, and we're on this list. Every other agency here is one we'd be comfortable sending a brand to if we weren't the right fit. Facts about each one come from their own website, checked in October 2026, and we've linked to each so you can check them yourself.
Want to see if we're the right fit?
Book a Creative Diagnostic. It's a live teardown of your ad creative on the call: what's carrying your spend, what you're not testing, and whether we're the right agency for you, or which one on this list would suit you better.
Book a Free Creative DiagnosticA live teardown of your ad creative, on the call. No obligation.FAQs
What does an ecommerce creative agency do?
It makes the ads your brand runs on Meta and TikTok: statics, UGC and video, usually alongside the research and testing that decides what to make next. Some also buy the media; others, like 225 Media, work with your media buyer.
How do I choose the best creative agency for my brand?
Look for a testing system with written hypotheses, winners judged on CPA and new customer CPA, real concept variety rather than reskins, and research before production. Ask to see a real brief before you sign.
Should my creative agency also run my ads?
Not necessarily. Some brands prefer one team for both, others keep media buying separate. What matters is that creative and media share data and review results together.
When should an ecommerce brand hire a creative agency?
When the product is proven and spend is growing, but creative can't keep up: your media buyer keeps asking for new ads, the account has been flat for months, or peak season is coming.