A Cardiff-based specialist creative agency and a performance marketing agency for global ecommerce have announced a strategic merger.
The merger between Aura Ads and BARK unites two agencies with a shared ambition to become the “leading growth partner for D2C brands worldwide”.
Boasting an already established client roster that includes Hello Fresh, Wild, Antler and Huel, the merger was said to bring together Aura Ads’ performance-driven creative and content production with BARK’s data-led paid media, predictive strategy and performance expertise.
The combined offering, together, will allow clients to access an integrated D2C growth engine that unites performance-driven ad creative, paid media and advanced data modelling, to “create a powerhouse in customer acquisition for scale-up ecommerce brands.”
The merger will see both agencies operate under the newly formed ‘Consumed Group’. Aura Ads and BARK will sit alongside each other as sister brands.
Three co-founders, Ryan Walton, founder and CEO of Aura Ads, and Daniel Watts and Tom Lambert, co-founders of BARK, will lead the group.
The structure was said to have been established to enhance collaboration and formalise integration, while allowing each agency to retain its specialist focus and distinct brand identity.
“Creative should not exist in a vacuum,” said Ryan Walton. “By integrating directly with BARK’s data-driven strategy team, we can make smarter creative decisions faster, with a deeper understanding of how creative drives results, for different audiences across a variety of channels.”
Daniel Watts said: “Unlocking creative at scale is one of the biggest challenges D2C brands face.
“Partnering with Aura Ads allows us to solve that by tightly connecting creative and media from day one, helping our clients test faster, learn quicker, and compound growth.”
Tom Lambert, co-founder of BARK, said: “By bringing creative and performance marketing under one roof, we’ve closed the gap between ideas and results, giving brands the ability to test and iterate on their ad creative faster and drive more incremental value from their digital spend.”
Aura Ads and BARK will continue to serve clients under their existing brands, while collaborating closely across strategy, creative and media
Retaining all of the current team, Aura Ads’ UK based staff will consolidate into BARK’s London office as a shared hub. This is while maintaining a globally distributed workforce, with planned hires in early 2026.
For 2026, a dedicated New York office is scheduled, leveraging Aura Ads’ existing US presence to accelerate BARK’s expansion.
Progress was said to be already underway, with joint pitches in motion and a growing US pipeline, with the group initially focusing on clients across the US and the UK, with further expansion planned across Europe.
