Made in the UK Mondays: Media Bodies?

How this UK business got its marketing edge by playing the influencer game.

When the digital marketing wave hit, Media Bodies | Influencer Marketing Agency was already ahead of the game.??

Its secret? Using data to tap into the rise of the influencer.??

Edward Fuller founded Media Bodies in 2012 as an influencer marketing agency initially specialising in YouTube for the gaming industry.???????

The agency’s unique use of deep performance data analytics to optimise campaigns, started to attract big players from other industries to its portfolio too such as Zynga, air up, Emma - The Sleep Company, Supercell and more.?

Since then, the business has levelled-up from its gaming roots to service various industries across multiple marketing and media platforms, and currently boasts an impressive 500+ campaigns across 20 countries with key markets in Spain, US, Germany, Japan, the Nordics, and China.?

The agency has also expanded its client base, now working with clients spanning multiple sectors from its four offices in Leeds, Manchester, London, and Barcelona.??

Earlier this year, Media Bodies was announced as the winner of the ‘Creative Industries’ category in our Made in the UK, Sold to the World Awards 2024, which celebrates the exporting success of businesses across the UK.??

We spoke to Media Bodies Founder Edward Fuller about how the business has unlocked its potential since expanding internationally:

1. How has selling overseas helped your business grow?

Successfully entering new countries has allowed us to keep a pulse on developing market trends and establish a strong regional network and reputation, which has been instrumental in driving further growth in those markets.????

We’ve identified a wider range of opportunities internationally. Initially, we had one core service, YouTube influencer marketing, but after speaking to early adopters outside of the UK, we were able to develop our services beyond YouTube to include other emerging channels like Podcasts, Tiktok, and experiential campaigns.??

Very early on we invested in growing a diverse, multilingual team that would always be accessible to a global clientele and developed a flexibility in working hours, which can allow us to maintain our standards of client support.??

2. What has exporting taught you about how your service differs in international markets?

Exporting has helped us understand that what is fundamentally valued by our clientele does not change, irrespective of where they’re based.??

There’s a demand for influencer marketing across various industries, whether it’s tech, gaming, e-commerce, and so on, and ultimately our clients use our marketing services to reach global markets too.??

With that being said, there are regional service differences like delivering marketing campaigns in different markets.??

For example, Germany’s regional taxes make influencer marketing considerably more costly than in the US. Similarly, there’s crucial differences between consumers in those countries and how they like to be marketed to.??

We’ve noticed how clients from different countries have varying communications preferences, so we ensure we’re accessible across all channels. It’s been important for us to understand these differences in global markets and adapt.?

3. What’s been a key strategy in your growth journey???

Trade shows. They’ve been fantastic grounds to meet potential new clients from other countries who may otherwise be difficult to reach. It’s not only easier to break the ice but we also meet people and establish a first impression while they’re in a more open, pro-networking mind space.?

When we attended the Tokyo Game Show, we were able to meet and establish relationships with 11 different major Japanese gaming companies, which is ordinarily challenging considering contacts in several Asian countries are often not as accessible on networking platforms like LinkedIn.

4. How has the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) helped your business????

We joined the DBT mission to the Game Developers Conference (San Francisco) in 2023 and 2024.??

Both years we’ve had the opportunity to meet and develop relationships with some major global gaming industry companies that we’ve been keen to work with for years. The dedicated networking space that DBT provides is a great advantage at a massive, crowded conference like GDC.???

It really allows you to meet major potential clients in a comfortable environment and leave a memorable impression when you’re not surrounded by all the distractions of a loud conference hall, cafe, or common networking spot. Prospects are also more trusting of businesses when they see you’re part of an official Government trade mission, so it also adds a lot of credibility.??

5. What’s are your future growth plans??

In 2024, we’re aiming for our fourth consecutive year of over 100% growth. We want to continue to focus on being the most data-driven agency in influencer marketing through further expansion of our services.??

We’ve already taken key steps to develop our experiential marketing service offering by investing in making more potential clients aware of our achievements in this area last year.? We've already been chosen as a finalist in 3 categories for the 2024 DRUM awards for a key project, so we know it is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate our abilities in this area and grow the service. We expect this will be massively instrumental in acquiring new clients in key markets.??

We’d like to take on more key clients and develop our services, including our TikTok campaign offering to clients. Exporting will provide a massive opportunity for growing this area of the business for us and we already have several trade shows booked around the world to take this forward.?

Every Monday we’re profiling one of our Made in the UK, Sold to the World Award Winners, next up: Warner’s Distillery | B Corp?

To access free business support along your international journey, visit great.gov.uk.