Ebiquity
Professional services
UnclaimedAn independent marketing and media consultancy that helps advertisers measure, govern and improve marketing effectiveness.
Last updated August 27, 2026
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Overview
Ebiquity is an independent marketing and media consultancy headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It advises advertisers on how to plan, evaluate, govern and improve their marketing investments across traditional, digital and emerging media. Its work combines media benchmarking, agency selection, contract compliance, digital-media governance, marketing mix modelling, brand-equity analysis and broader marketing-effectiveness consulting. The business began in 1997 as Thomson Intermedia, founded by Sarah-Jane and Steve Thomson. Its original activity centred on building a detailed database of UK advertising creative executions and advertising expenditure. The company floated on the Alternative Investment Market in 2000, providing a platform for expansion. A significant early turning point came in 2005, when Thomson Intermedia acquired Billetts, a media and marketing performance consultancy and auditing business founded by John Billett and Andy Pearch. The acquisition added information on the prices actually paid for media, rather than relying only on published rate-card values. After Mike Greenlees and Nick Manning became joint chief executives in 2007, the company expanded through a series of acquisitions and entered additional markets. The holding company adopted the Ebiquity name in 2008. It acquired Xtreme Information Services in 2010, bringing together a larger international advertising-intelligence operation, and subsequently added Echo Research, Fairbrother Lenz Eley, FirmDecisions, Stratigent and China Media Consulting Group. These transactions broadened the business from advertising intelligence into media consultancy, reputation research, contract compliance and multi-channel analytics. Under Michael Karg, who became group chief executive in 2016, Ebiquity increasingly presented itself as an independent strategic adviser to chief marketing officers. The company placed greater emphasis on marketing effectiveness and independence from the media supply chain. This strategy led to the disposal of several activities that were less central to the new direction. Its advertising-intelligence business was sold to Nielsen for £26 million in 2019 after review by the UK Competition and Markets Authority, while Echo Research was sold back to its founder. Ebiquity also expanded selectively in digital consultancy through Digital Balance and Digital Decisions. Ebiquity reorganised and rebranded in 2018, publishing a statement of independence and a code of conduct for independent marketing-effectiveness consultancy. Its current service architecture groups activities under Transform, Govern and Grow. Transform covers agency selection and management and in-housing advice; Govern covers media benchmarking, digital-media governance and contract compliance; and Grow covers marketing-effectiveness work such as econometrics, marketing mix modelling and brand-equity analytics. The company operates through a network of offices in major advertising markets, including London, Paris, Madrid, New York, Sydney, Shanghai and Singapore. It also produces research on media performance and the changing advertising ecosystem, including collaborations with Thinkbox, ThinkTV and the US Association of National Advertisers. In November 2024, Ruben Schreurs became group chief executive, succeeding Nick Waters. In 2026, the company reiterated its focus on marketing effectiveness and its positioning as an independent authority in that field.
History
Ebiquity originated in 1997 as Thomson Intermedia, established by Sarah-Jane and Steve Thomson. The founders built a UK database recording advertising creative executions and expenditure, creating an information base for monitoring the advertising market. Thomson Intermedia floated on AIM in 2000. In 2005, the company bought Billetts for £13 million. Billetts had developed expertise in media and marketing performance consultancy and auditing. Its data on actual media costs complemented Thomson Intermedia's rate-card and advertising-intelligence information. This acquisition strengthened the company's ability to compare media investment with market benchmarks and commercial outcomes. A management transition in 2007 preceded a period of rapid international expansion. Mike Greenlees and Nick Manning became joint chief executives, while the founding management stepped back from daily operations. The holding company changed its name from Thomson Intermedia to Ebiquity in 2008. It acquired Xtreme Information Services in 2010, and in 2011 the Billetts and Xtreme offices were brought under the Ebiquity identity. Echo Research, which specialised in news, social-media analytics and reputation research, joined in 2011. Fairbrother Lenz Eley followed in 2012, alongside FirmDecisions, a specialist in media contract compliance. Stratigent, a US multi-channel analytics company, was acquired in 2013, and China Media Consulting Group was added in 2014. Michael Karg became group chief executive in 2016 after Mike Greenlees retired. Karg shifted the company's strategic emphasis toward a broader advisory role for chief marketing officers. Ebiquity described this orientation as being the independent, analytical adviser to marketing leadership, separate from the media supply chain. The company increased its focus on marketing effectiveness while retaining media efficiency, benchmarking and governance capabilities. The strategic change was accompanied by disposals and targeted digital acquisitions. Ebiquity announced in 2018 that it intended to sell its advertising-intelligence business, formed from Thomson Intermedia and Xtreme Information Services. The transaction was examined by the UK Competition and Markets Authority and was approved after a two-stage investigation. Nielsen acquired the business for £26 million in 2019. Ebiquity also sold Echo Research back to its founder. In 2017 it acquired Digital Balance, an independent digital consultancy in Perth, Australia, and in 2020 completed the acquisition of Digital Decisions, a digital media consultancy founded by Ruben Schreurs. Ebiquity completed a major rebrand in 2018 and issued a statement of independence from the media supply chain together with a code of conduct for its independent advisory work. Karg left in 2019, after which Chief Financial Officer Alan Newman served as interim chief executive. Nick Waters joined from Dentsu Aegis and took over as group chief executive in July 2020. The company continued to build its media governance and measurement platform. In 2022 it acquired MediaPath Network in Sweden, which specialised in agency selection, media-performance measurement and benchmarking, and Media Management Inc., a US media-audit specialist. In November 2024, Ruben Schreurs became group chief executive. He had previously served as chief strategy officer and chief product officer after the Digital Decisions acquisition. In 2026, Ebiquity reaffirmed its concentration on marketing effectiveness and its identity as an independent adviser to advertisers. Alongside client work, Ebiquity has published research on media returns, transparency and the fragmentation of audiences. Its collaborations with Thinkbox produced successive studies of the relative effectiveness of advertising channels, while work with the ANA and FirmDecisions helped bring media-trading transparency issues to wider industry attention. Reports such as TV at the Tipping Point and Mind the Gap examined the declining reach of linear television and the difficulty of replacing mass reach through digital video alone.
- 2024
Ruben Schreurs becomes group chief executive
[1]Schreurs succeeds Nick Waters as group chief executive.
- 2022
MediaPath Network and Media Management acquired
[1]Ebiquity expands media-performance measurement, benchmarking and audit capabilities.
- 2020
Digital Decisions acquisition completed
[1]The transaction strengthens digital-media consulting and brings Ruben Schreurs into senior leadership.
- 2019
Advertising-intelligence business sold to Nielsen
[1]Following competition review, Nielsen acquires the advertising-intelligence operation.
- 2018
Strategic rebrand and independence positioning
[1]Ebiquity rebrands and formalises its independence from the media supply chain.
- 2012
FirmDecisions acquired
[1]Ebiquity adds a global media contract-compliance specialist.
- 2010
Xtreme Information Services acquired
[1]The acquisition expands international advertising and media intelligence.
- 2008
Holding company renamed Ebiquity
[1]Thomson Intermedia adopts the Ebiquity identity.
- 2005
Billetts acquired
[1]The acquisition adds media-audit and actual media-cost data capabilities.
- 2000
AIM flotation
[1]The company floats on the Alternative Investment Market.
Products and positioning
Independent, data-led marketing-effectiveness and media-investment consultancy
Marketing operating-model consultancy
Transform
Ebiquity's Transform services help advertisers design and improve their marketing operating models. They include agency selection, agency-pitch management, agency relationship management and in-housing consultancy. The work is intended to align organisational structures, capabilities, agency roles and commercial arrangements with the advertiser's strategic objectives.
Media governance and audit
Govern
Govern services provide independent oversight of media investment. They include media benchmarking, digital-media governance and contract compliance. FirmDecisions delivers the contract-compliance component, examining whether media-agency activity and supplier arrangements conform to agreed commercial terms and controls.
Marketing effectiveness analytics
Grow
Grow services assess how marketing activity contributes to business and brand outcomes. They include marketing mix modelling, econometrics and brand-equity analytics. These services use quantitative analysis and performance evidence to help advertisers allocate budgets, evaluate channels and understand the longer-term effects of marketing investment.
Media contract compliance
FirmDecisions
FirmDecisions is Ebiquity's specialist media contract-compliance business. It supports advertisers in reviewing agency contracts, media-trading arrangements and related financial processes. Its role is to provide independent assurance over contractual compliance and the commercial governance of media investment.
Marketing campaigns
- 2024Profit Ability 2: The New Business Case of Advertising
United Kingdom
Ebiquity partnered with Thinkbox on research assessing the returns generated by advertising across media channels and presenting evidence for advertising effectiveness.
Outcome. The report extended the partners' series of media-effectiveness studies and informed industry discussion about advertising investment.
- 2020Mind the Gap
United Kingdom
The follow-up study examined the accelerating shift away from live linear television and whether digital video platforms could replace its broad audience coverage.
Outcome. The research argued that digital video did not fully close the reach gap left by declining linear-TV audiences.
- 2019TV at the Tipping Point
United Kingdom
Ebiquity published research on the declining ability of linear television to deliver mass reach at scale for advertisers.
Outcome. The study became part of Ebiquity's broader public research program on changing media consumption and marketing return.
- 2016Media Transparency: Prescriptions, Principles, and Processes for Advertisers
United States
Ebiquity and FirmDecisions co-authored a major report with the Association of National Advertisers on transparency challenges in the US media market.
Outcome. The report proposed principles and processes intended to help advertisers obtain greater transparency in media trading.
- 2014Thinkbox marketing-effectiveness research
United Kingdom
Ebiquity and Thinkbox collaborated on an earlier study of the effectiveness and return on investment of different advertising media.
Outcome. The research contributed to the partners' recurring evidence base on media returns.
Brand decisions
2026
Recommitment to marketing effectivenessStrategyBackground
Following Ruben Schreurs's appointment as group chief executive, Ebiquity reiterated the centrality of marketing effectiveness to its corporate identity.
Action taken
The company positioned itself as an independent authority on marketing effectiveness.
Aftermath
The announcement reinforced the strategic direction established through the 2018 rebrand and subsequent portfolio changes.
2022
Expansion through MediaPath Network and Media ManagementM&ABackground
Ebiquity sought to strengthen its international media-performance measurement, benchmarking and audit capabilities.
Action taken
It acquired Sweden-based MediaPath Network and US media-audit specialist Media Management Inc.
Aftermath
The acquisitions broadened the company's geographic reach and added capabilities in agency selection, performance measurement, benchmarking and media auditing.
2019
Sale of advertising-intelligence business to NielsenM&ABackground
Ebiquity decided to dispose of the advertising-intelligence operation as part of its strategic move toward independent marketing and media consultancy.
Action taken
The business was sold to Nielsen for £26 million after a two-phase review by the UK Competition and Markets Authority.
Aftermath
The disposal reduced exposure to advertising intelligence and was presented as enabling greater concentration on marketing effectiveness and consultancy.
Sale consideration. £26 million (2019)
2018
Refocus on independent marketing effectivenessStrategyBackground
Under Michael Karg, Ebiquity sought to become a more strategic adviser to chief marketing officers and to distinguish itself from companies connected to the media supply chain.
Action taken
The company rebranded, published an independence statement and code of conduct, and concentrated its service proposition around Transform, Govern and Grow.
Aftermath
The strategy was accompanied by the disposal of the advertising-intelligence and reputation-research businesses and targeted investment in digital consultancy.
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
Ebiquity appoints Nick Waters as CEO[3]
Ebiquity appointed Nick Waters as group chief executive officer. He was to join the company on 1 July and become an executive director of the board.
- Unconfirmed
Ebiquity announces COVID-19 cost-reduction measures[3]
Ebiquity announced cost-reduction measures in response to COVID-19, including salary reductions for senior management and board members, a deferred pay review and dividend, a temporary recruitment freeze, and furloughs for some staff in the UK and France.
Reported
Ebiquity announces acquisition of Digital Decisions[4]
Ebiquity announced its acquisition of Digital Decisions for an initial consideration of €700,000 (£593,000).
Reported
Ebiquity CEO Michael Karg steps down[5]
Ebiquity announced that chief executive Michael Karg would stand down with immediate effect. Alan Newman, the company's chief financial officer, was to succeed him on an interim basis.
Sources5 sources
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