“ROAS is at the heart of everything we do, right down to the pi sign for never-ending optimisation,” says founder Ollie Bishop. A decade on, ROAST has grown “from SEO to full-service and we’re having a record year,” with offices in London and Cape Town, and New York opening soon. The philosophy is simple: “Passion beats scale.”
In an industry where agency-client relationships often resemble revolving doors, ROAST has built something increasingly rare: longevity. With 50% of clients staying for over four years and staff retention rates that would make most agencies envious, the independent shop has quietly established itself as a performance powerhouse with an expanding international footprint.
From SEO specialists to full-service media
ROAST’s origin story begins with Bishop and co-founder Charlotte sitting on the floor of a freezing cold flat in 2015, brainstorming what would become their new agency venture.
"We knew we were going to launch with SEO in mind because effectively there were low barriers to entry," Bishop recalls. "The name 'ROAST' came from the fact we're a performance agency – ROAS (Return On Ad Spend) is at the heart of everything we do. The 'T' for us is the pi sign, a symbol of never ending optimisation and refining clients' campaigns."
What started as an SEO-focused shop quickly evolved into a full service media agency offering paid media, content, web development and more – all underpinned by a relentless focus on measurable results.
That journey now includes offices in London and Cape Town, with their first team member recently established in New York. "Having a strong US presence increases innovation across the group and enables growth. Budgets tend to be larger in the U.S., which means there’s often more room to experiment and try new things."
Building client relationships that last
When asked what makes client relationships thrive, Bishop emphasises the importance of spending time together: "We're a bit old school in that we believe in spending time with our clients, having lunches with them, going out to build that relationship."
This investment in relationship-building has paid dividends. Many of ROAST’s new clients come through word-of-mouth referrals from marketers who've worked with them previously. "I could probably name a dozen clients that have all come to us because someone's worked with them previously at one place, and now they've gone to the next place and called a pitch, they've invited us back in," Bishop explains.
John Campbell, who leads innovation at ROAST, points to the agency's collaborative approach as another key factor: "We're one cog within that machine for the client, so we've got to be a good partner to their creative agency, a good partner with their web dev team."
This collaborative mindset extends to how they measure success. While the agency conducts biannual client surveys (scoring an impressive 9.5 NPS in their most recent evaluation), Campbell notes that willingness to participate in award entries and case studies is perhaps the most telling indicator of client satisfaction.
Culture as competitive advantage
With 13% of staff having been with ROAST for over 10 years and 22% for over five years, the agency's culture clearly serves as a powerful retention tool.
"People are at the heart of our business," Bishop emphasises. "That's why we're based in Soho. We invested heavily in our Frith Street office to give people a place they’d actually want to come together in. We believe innovation comes from spending time with each other."
The cultural investment is evident in how the agency operates: organised into five "houses" with roast dinner-themed names (Stuffing, Gravy, Cauliflower Cheese, Horseradish and Mash), new team members are placed into houses that span different departments, encouraging cross-team collaboration from day one.
This people first approach has earned significant recognition – ROAST has been named as a Best Company to Work For eight times running and recently achieved B-Corp certification. The agency also invests heavily in talent development through their annual ROAST Academy, which brings in graduates for a two-week intensive training programme, with positions offered to the most promising candidates.
Navigating the AI revolution
Like many agencies, ROAST finds itself at the centre of the AI revolution – but they've positioned themselves ahead of the curve.
"Through AI, because it is such a fast-moving world and we are at the forefront of that, it's a great way for us as a digital-first agency to have the ear of the CMO and the CEO because it will affect their whole business," Bishop explains.
Campbell adds that the agency has long encouraged innovation by giving team members time to explore emerging technologies: "With ChatGPT, we were all over that 2.5 years ago before it was on clients' agendas."
This forward-thinking approach has already yielded tangible results. Campbell highlights the "ROAST Writer" – an AI-powered content creation tool initially developed for client WEX that has since been sold to six other clients including All Saints and AJ Bell.
Looking ahead, the agency sees AI transforming the search landscape: "We're going from one and a half search engines to potentially 11-12, and consultants are going to be needed even more," Bishop notes. "For us, that's super exciting."
Future focus: data-driven incrementality
When asked what kind of work they'd love to be doing more of, both Bishop and Campbell point to data as the next frontier.
"We're investing heavily into data," Bishop explains. "Instead of just doing traffic tracking, analytics and insights, we're going to be looking into incrementality – if you invested more here with us, or more there with us, we could take x% away from your competitors or make you x more money based on data."
Campbell elaborates: "There's a good amount of work to do with looking at incrementality of digital marketing and traditional marketing – if you spend more on TV here, how's it going to impact there."
This data-driven approach aligns perfectly with the agency's performance heritage while enabling them to expand their remit. Bishop notes that while all clients do digital marketing with them, about 30% do offline work: "I would like more of our clients to do that."
Values that drive performance
When asked about the agency's values – collaboration, purpose, restless minds, and integrity – Bishop has no trouble identifying which matters most.
"Even though integrity is probably the least sexy of the lot, it's the most important," he reflects. "If we didn't have integrity, I don't think people would work with us, I don't think clients would trust us."
As the marketing landscape transforms through AI and other emerging technologies, ROAST's combination of performance focus, cultural strength, and client-centricity positions them well for the next decade. With data capabilities expanding and a growing international footprint, the agency that began on a freezing floor has clearly found its recipe for success.
For brands seeking a performance partner that balances data-driven decision making with cultural strength and innovation capability, ROAST's decade-long journey offers a compelling case study in how agencies can evolve while staying true to their founding principles.
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