Leeds-based marketing agency 21 Degrees Digital has set out its growth ambitions for 2026 after passing the £1m turnover mark and recording strong year-on-year growth driven by demand last year.
The agency ended 2025 with projected revenues of £1.026m, representing 30% year-on-year growth, and is now targeting a further 40% increase in revenue in 2026 as it expands geographically and deepens its focus on high-performing sectors.
Founded in Leeds, 21 Degrees Digital has built its growth around what it calls Outcome Marketing – a model that brings brand, performance, SEO, GEO (generative engine optimisation), paid media, PR and web together. The approach has gained traction as businesses grapple with rapid changes in customer behaviour driven by AI-led discovery and search.
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Rory Mason, CEO of 21 Degrees Digital, said: “What we’re seeing across the market is a real shift. Brands don’t want fragmented activity anymore – they want outcomes. They want brand and performance working together, not competing. That’s where we’ve found our sweet spot, and it’s driving strong, sustainable growth.”
Sector traction has been particularly strong in home & garden and financial services and insurance, where the agency says clients are demanding clearer accountability and measurable returns.
“In sectors like home & garden and financial services, there’s a huge appetite for performance that’s properly joined up with brand,” Mason added. “We’ve got proof in those spaces, and that’s where we’ll continue to lean in.”
Geographically, the agency is extending beyond Leeds and Yorkshire, with plans to grow its presence in Manchester and Newcastle, coupled with a broader push across the North of England. Alongside this, 21 Degrees Digital is continuing to invest in how it operationalises AI internally, using it to improve speed, consistency and quality while keeping human decision-making central.
“AI is now baked into how people discover and choose brands,” said Rory. “Our job is to help clients adapt quickly without losing the human element. People buy people – and that matters even more as AI scales how marketing works.”
The agency is also investing in talent and infrastructure. Recent hires include a new head of SEO and two apprentices, with plans to appoint a head of PPC early in 2026 and continue team expansion. The business is also exploring potential acquisition opportunities as part of its medium-term growth strategy.
Community and thought leadership will play a central role in 2026, with at least four events planned across the year, including roundtables and PR-led activity focused on the key home & garden and financial services sectors.
“There’s never been a more important time to focus on the humans in the communities around your business,” adds Rory. “AI will change everything over the next five years, but as an ethical agency with real heart, we’re committed to staying on the right side of that change – and making sure our clients do too.”
