If you run a direct-to-consumer brand, you already know that creative is the thing holding your growth back. Not targeting, not bidding, not your pixel setup. Creative. The brands scaling right now are the ones producing enough creative volume to give platforms like Meta, TikTok, and YouTube the variety they need to find new customers. And most in-house teams simply can't keep up with that pace.

That's what performance creative agencies exist for. They sit at the intersection of creative production and paid media, building ads specifically designed to convert, not just look pretty. The good ones are testing a statistically significant amount of new concepts per month, building structured testing frameworks, and constantly iterating based on data.

This list was compiled based on agency specialization, publicly available case studies, and direct-to-consumer performance track records. The agencies below are ordered by specialization fit rather than overall ranking. each excels in different scenarios. If you're looking for an agency specializing in performance creative for DTC brands, these are the ones worth talking to.

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1. Y'all

Y'all is a boutique performance creative and media buying agency that combines in-house creative production with integrated Meta, TikTok, and Google buying for health, wellness, and CPG brands ready to scale.

Best for: DTC and CPG brands spending $20K+/month on Meta that need rapid creative testing, structured message validation, and the same team managing both creative production and media strategy without client volume constraints.

What stands out: The production methodology is methodical. Every variant Y'all creates is structurally different from a storytelling standpoint, rather than just swapping hooks. That's how you feed Meta's Andromeda system the variety it actually rewards. Recent work scaled one health brand's ad spend 9x in three months while dropping CPA by 49%, and drove a 300% ROAS increase for a wellness brand through creative diversification while cutting CPMs by 73%.

Pros:

• Structured message testing framework means each creative variant has a purpose, not just different copy on the same concept.
• Integrated creative and media teams reduce the lag between testing insights and production changes.
• Ranked in the Top 1% of Agencies by 1-800-DTC. Recognized as a Meta Business Partner, Google Partner, Shopify Plus Partner, and Motion Creative Analytics partner.

Cons:

• Boutique agency that intentionally keeps its client roster limited to focus on driving the best results, so availability can be tight.
• Primarily focused on Meta, TikTok, YouTube, and Google. Does not offer media buying for Amazon.

Disclosure: Y'all is the agency behind this list. You can check actual case studies here and more on creative testing here.

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2. Hawke Media

Hawke Media operates as an outsourced CMO service for DTC and ecommerce brands, offering an a la carte model across paid social, paid search, email, SEO, content, and creative production.

Best for: Growing DTC brands with $20K-$200K/month spend that want generalist marketing support across multiple channels without committing to a full retainer.

What stands out: Offers an a la carte pricing model where clients pay for specific services rather than a fixed retainer. Manages ad spend across Meta and Google for brands at multiple scales.

Pros:

• A la carte service selection lets you pick which channels and services you need.
• Larger team provides access to multiple specializations across channels.
• Can work for brands extending in-house marketing capacity without adding headcount.

Cons:

• Generalist approach across seven service areas means individual channel expertise may be limited.
• Larger agency structure may assign junior staff to smaller accounts.

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3. Darkroom

Darkroom combines creative production, media buying, and retention marketing for mid-market DTC brands.

Best for: Mid-market DTC brands with $50K-$300K/month ad spend that want to balance acquisition creative with retention marketing strategy.

What stands out: Integrates retention marketing alongside acquisition focus. Works primarily with mid-market brands, offering experience at that scaling stage.

Pros:

• Retention marketing approach complements acquisition work.
• Mid-market focus brings scaling-stage experience.
• Publishes content on performance creative strategy.

Cons:

• Creative production may be less intensive than agencies that exclusively focus on production volume.
• Adding retention marketing can extend timelines compared to pure acquisition focus.

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4. Pilot House

Pilot House is a Canadian-based agency that combines paid social, paid search, creative production, email, and marketplace management for DTC brands

Best for: Mid-size DTC brands with $30K-$250K/month ad spend that scale across Meta, TikTok, Google, and Amazon.

What stands out: Offers in-house creative production alongside paid media. Manages ad spend across four platforms including Amazon marketplace.

Pros:

• In-house creative production provides feedback loop between performance and creative iteration.
• Amazon marketplace management available if marketplace is part of your sales mix.
• Operates across multiple platforms.

Cons

• Broader service model may limit creative production intensity compared to pure creative shops.

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5. Lilo Social

Lilo Social combines paid media, creative production, and conversion rate optimization for DTC brands.

Best for: Ecommerce brands with $20K-$150K/month ad spend that want both paid media and on-site optimization handled together

What stands out: Offers both paid media and CRO services. Works across multiple DTC vertical.

Pros:

• Combines paid media and CRO rather than treating them separately.
• Cross-vertical experience across multiple DTC categories.
• Integrated approach connects landing page performance to creative strategy.

Cons:

• CRO component adds complexity and may extend engagement timelines.
• Less specialized in individual channels compared to agencies that focus on a single platform.

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6. Superside

Superside is a creative-as-a-service platform providing on-demand design and creative production.

Best for: DTC brands with in-house media buying expertise that need additional creative volume on a flexible subscription basis.

What stands out: Subscription-based model allows monthly adjustment of production volume. Offers statics, video, and animation services with fast turnaround.

Pros:

• Subscription pricing allows scaling production up or down month to month.
• Fast turnaround times on production.
• Handles multiple asset formats.

Cons:

• Limited strategic guidance. Requires a clear creative direction from the client before engaging.
• Works best as a supplement to existing media expertise, not as a standalone solution.

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7. Parah Group

Parah Group is a growth marketing agency focused on DTC brands in the mid six-figure to eight-figure revenue range, combining paid media, CRO, email marketing, and creative strategy.

Best for: Mid-market DTC brands with $40K-$250K/month ad spend working toward eight-figure revenue.

What stands out: Focuses on the $500K-$10M revenue range. Takes a hands-on approach to media buying and creative direction.

Pros:

• Focused on mid-market revenue range brings scaling-stage experience.
• Hands-on media buying approach rather than delegating to junior staff.
• Structured creative direction ties production to account performance.

Cons:

• Mid-market focus may not fit early-stage startups or large-scale established brands.
• Hands-on approach requires more client engagement than some retainer models.

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8. Sweatpants Agency

Sweatpants Agency specializes in social media marketing for CPG and DTC brands, combining organic social strategy, paid social, creative production, and influencer partnerships.

Best for: CPG and DTC brands that want organic and paid social integrated rather than handled separately.

What stands out: Integrates organic and paid social strategy. Includes influencer partnerships as part of the service. Focuses on CPG and DTC categories specifically.

Pros:

• Integrated organic and paid approach rather than siloed channels.
• Influencer partnerships built into the service model.
• CPG and DTC specialization.

Cons:

• Organic social requires consistent content production and engagement, adding operational overhead.
• Influencer partnerships may not drive ROI equally across all product types or categories.

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9. Avenue Z

Avenue Z combines PR, influencer marketing, and paid media for DTC brands, integrating earned media with paid advertising.

Best for: DTC brands in crowded categories (health, wellness, beauty, food and beverage) spending $30K-$300K/month that want to combine earned and paid media.

What stands out: Integrates earned media (PR and influencer partnerships) with paid media. Works across health, wellness, beauty, and food and beverage categories.

Pros:

• Combines earned media with paid advertising.
• Category specialization in competitive verticals.
• Publishes content on agency and brand strategy.

Cons:

• Earned media component (PR and influencer outreach) adds complexity and extends timelines.
• PR and influencer results are harder to attribute to revenue than paid media metrics.

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10. Disruptive Advertising

Disruptive Advertising is a larger performance marketing agency operating since 2012, specializing in paid search, paid social, and CRO for ecommerce and DTC brands.

Best for: Larger DTC and ecommerce brands with $100K+/month ad spend that prioritize media buying over creative production.

What stands out: Has been operating since 2012 and manages significant ad spend across Google and Meta. Focuses on paid media optimization rather than creative production depth.

Pros:

• Long operational history provides experience across platform changes.
• Established processes and frameworks for account management.
• Larger team size provides multiple specializations.

Cons:

• Focuses on paid media optimization more than creative production volume.
• Larger agency structure may assign junior staff to smaller accounts.

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11. NoGood

NoGood is a growth marketing agency specializing in paid social, paid search, content marketing, and CRO for DTC, SaaS, and healthcare brands.

Best for: Scaling DTC brands with $30K-$200K/month ad spend that want a dedicated cross-functional team on their account.

What stands out: Uses a growth squads model with dedicated teams assigned to each client. Offers structured experimentation framework. Works across multiple verticals.

Pros:

• Growth squads model provides consistent team ownership rather than rotating staff.
• Structured experimentation framework for testing.
• Cross-vertical experience across DTC, SaaS, and healthcare.

Cons:

• Growth squads model requires more client engagement and collaboration.
• Broader service scope may limit depth in individual specializations.

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How to Choose the Right Performance Creative Agency

Picking an agency from a list is the easy part. Making sure they're actually the right fit takes more work. Here are a few things worth evaluating.

First, understand how they think about creative testing. Are they building structurally different concepts that give Meta's algorithm real variety to work with, or just changing copy on the same concept? This distinction matters, especially with Meta's Andromeda update rewarding creative diversity.

Second, ask about creative volume. DTC brands spending $30K or more on Meta need to test at least 10 to 20 new concepts monthly. If an agency can't commit to that level of production, results will likely plateau.

Third, evaluate how integrated their creative and media buying teams are. The best performance improvement happens when the teams producing ads work directly with the teams managing spend. Separate teams with handoffs between them create delays and missed optimization opportunities.

Fourth, consider their client load and your access to experience. Boutique agencies typically provide more focused attention, while larger agencies offer more resources. Both approaches can work, but the trade-off should be clear.

Finally, ask for real results. Not case studies with vanity metrics, but specifics: the spend managed, actual ROAS delivered, how they handled scaling, and what happened when initial testing didn't work. If an agency hesitates to show this, that's a red flag.

For more on what to ask, check out the guide on questions to ask your agency before committing.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is a performance creative agency?

A performance creative agency specializes in producing ad creative, statics, video, and UGC designed to drive measurable business outcomes like purchases, sign-ups, or app installs. The "performance" part means everything is evaluated by how it performs in paid channels, not just visual appeal.

How many ad creatives should a DTC brand test per month?

Most DTC brands spending $20K or more monthly on Meta should test at least 10 to 20 new concepts monthly, with multiple variants per concept. The more budget, the more creative variety the algorithm needs to find winners.

What's the difference between a creative agency and a performance creative agency?

A traditional creative agency focuses on brand aesthetics, campaigns, and visual identity. A performance creative agency focuses on ads that convert. Performance agencies build for the feed, test constantly, and optimize based on data rather than subjective preference.

How much do DTC performance creative agencies charge?

Boutique agencies might start at $5K to $15K per month. Larger agencies or those managing significant spend may charge 10 to 20% of monthly spend. Some use project-based pricing. The key question isn't the cost but the return delivered.

Should I use the same agency for creative and media buying?

Ideally, yes. When the same team handles both, the feedback loop between account performance and production is much tighter. Separate teams can work but introduce communication delays and slow iteration.

How long does it take to see results from a performance creative agency?

Expect the first month or two to be an intensive testing period where the agency learns what resonates with your audience. Meaningful, scalable results typically start showing around month two or three.

What platforms should a DTC performance creative agency cover?

At minimum, Meta (Facebook and Instagram) and TikTok. Google Ads is important for search intent, and YouTube is increasingly relevant for DTC. The right mix depends on where your customers spend time.

How do I know if my current agency is underperforming?

Watch for creative output that has flatlined, the same ad formats month after month, declining ROAS without a plan to address it, or unclear answers about what's being tested and why. A good agency should proactively test new approaches rather than waiting for direction.

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Wrapping Up

This list covers agencies ranging from boutique shops to larger operations. The right choice depends on brand size, spend level, vertical, and preferred partnership structure. Different approaches work for different situations.

For brands in health, wellness, food and beverage, or CPG that combine integrated creative and media buying with structured message testing, Y'all offers that specific combination. Reach out to discuss what a performance creative partnership could look like. 

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Last updated: February 2026