Merging two specialist agencies into one integrated growth partner
Today, we are excited to share a new chapter for BARK and Aura Ads.
After months of collaboration, alignment and shared ambition, we have made the decision to join forces. The merger will enable our two specialist teams to collaboratively solve a problem we both see clearly in the market: performance marketing only truly scales when creative and data-based strategy work as one.
By bringing BARK and Aura together, we are building a more integrated growth partner for our clients, one where creative strategy and execution are guided by data, not gut feel.
Why We’re Joining Forces
BARK has spent years helping global ecommerce brands grow through a smart, data-informed approach to paid media strategy. From incrementality testing to marketing mix modelling (MMM), platform experimentation and forecasting, our focus has always been on understanding why growth happens and how to repeat it with confidence.
Aura Ads has built its reputation as a performance creative specialist, producing high-impact creative designed to grab attention and convert it into action. Their strength lies not just in output, but in developing diverse creative concepts, structured testing frameworks and the operational excellence required to keep modern paid social accounts fresh, relevant and competitive.
Individually, both approaches work well. Together, they are far more powerful.
“We have always believed that creative is the biggest lever in paid media, but only when it is informed by the right data,” says Daniel Watts, Co-Founder of BARK.London. “This merger allows us to fuel an already proven performance approach with a broader and more diverse creative pipeline. That is how we scale what we know works, faster and with greater confidence.”
From Aura’s perspective, the decision was equally clear.
“Creative should not exist in a vacuum,” says Ryan Walton, Founder of Aura Ads. “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.”
What Makes This Different
Many agencies aspire to combine creative and data-based strategy. What is rarer is having deeply specialised teams in both disciplines, working together to deliver a single, coherent growth strategy.
This merger brings two highly focused disciplines together, with each strengthening the other.
- Creative diversity, at scale. Aura continues to lead UGC and studio production, delivering the speed, diversity and volume modern ad accounts demand.
- Data-led performance strategy. BARK continues to lead on performance strategy, measurement and data science, including MMM, incrementality testing, advanced attribution and forecasting.
- One integrated system. Creative strategy, production, testing and optimisation operating as a single feedback loop, informed by robust data and statistical confidence, not vanity metrics.
The result is creative that is not just tested against what worked yesterday, but shaped by insight into what is likely to work next: creative at scale, guided by data-led strategy.
What This Means for Clients
Practically, both brands will continue to operate under their existing brands. BARK will lead on strategy informed by data and measurement, while Aura Ads will lead all creative production under the Aura brand. Behind the scenes, teams are fully aligned.
For clients, this means:
- More effective creative testing. Diverse creative concepts informed by real performance insight, not guesswork.
- Faster learning cycles. Creative and strategy teams working side by side, reducing friction and accelerating optimisation.
- Stronger outcomes. Better decisions, clearer signals and campaigns built to scale with confidence.
- Operational efficiency. Less complexity, fewer handovers and a more joined-up partner model.
Importantly, the way we work with our clients remains consistent, now strengthened by deeper capability and closer integration across creative, measurement and strategy.
Looking Ahead
We have always believed that the future of performance marketing belongs to specialists who collaborate deeply, bringing depth of expertise together rather than spreading focus too thin. This merger reflects that belief.
By combining creative scale with data-led strategy, we are building something rare in the market: an agency model designed for how growth actually happens today.
To our existing clients, thank you for trusting us. To future partners, we are excited to show you what this integrated approach can unlock.
This is just the beginning. We’re looking forward to what comes next.
