Background

Founded in 2011, MSQ is a London-based advertising and public relations holding company.¹ “MSQ Partners,” The Drum, Archived May 20, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/KT8DC  It has worked for fossil fuel clients BP²(Press Release). “Browne Jacobson advises LDC backed MSQ Partners on MBA acquisition,” Browne Jacobson, March 18, 2021. Archived October 4, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/5zl7F and Shell.³Charlotte Rawlings. “MSQ appointed to Shell global roster,” Campaign Asia, June 13, 2022. Archived April 27, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/fY8sJ In June 2023, private equity firm One Equity Partners became a majority shareholder in MSQ.⁴“One Equity Partners Makes Significant Investment in MSQ to Fuel Next Growth Stage,” Little Black Book Online, June 12, 2023. Archived June 12, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/JazHP

MSQ’s agencies include Brave Spark, Elmwood, Freemavens, MMT, Smarts, Miri Growth, Stein IAS, The Gate, Walk-In Media, MSQ Sustain, and 26.⁵“Elmwood Parent Company MSQ Acquired by Leading Private Equity Firm,” Elmwood, June 12, 2023. Archived March 12, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/1dwHb

MSQ/Sustain, an agency focused on addressing the climate crisis, is run out of the MSQ headquarters.⁶“MSQ Sustain,” MSQSustain, Accessed May 27, 2024. Archived July 12, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/cAHcY 

Stance on Climate Change

MSQ has advertised its commitment to reducing its emissions.⁸(Press Release). “MSQ Launches Low Carbon Website for Ground Breaking Sustainability Report,” MSQ via Little Black Book Online, April 26, 2023. Archived September 23, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/UqZfV MSQ says it became a carbon-negative business in November 2020, in part due to its tree-planting initiatives.⁹(Press Release). “MSQ appoints CSO and pledges to cut carbon emissions per head by 50% by 2024,” MSQ Partners via The Drum, April 22, 2021. Archived April 27, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/WNEaf MSQ reported its 2022 emissions were 4238.6 metric tons of CO₂e.

MSQ became a B Corp company in May 2023 and had its emissions reduction target verified by the Science-Based Targets initiative in 2021.¹⁰“Target dashboard,” Science Based Target Initiative, 2021.  Accessed April 26, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 

On October 20, 2023, advertising trade publication The Drum reported that 26 fellow B Corp companies had lodged a complaint against MSQ with B Lab, which grants B Corp status.¹¹Ellen Ormesher. “B Lab hit with official complaint as calls mount to strip some agencies of B Corp status,” The Drum, October 20, 2023. Archived November 1, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YTTKg B Lab confirmed it would conduct an initial review of the complaint, which called for MSQ to lose its B Corp status because of its work for Shell. In July 2024, a separate holding company, Havas, lost its B Corp status following a review of its work for Shell.

Funding

In 2023, One Equity Partners, a private equity firm, became a majority shareholder.¹²“One Equity Partners Makes Significant Investment in MSQ to Fuel Next Growth Stage,” Little Black Book Online, June 12, 2023. Archived June 12, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/JazHP In 2022, MSQ generated £125 million.

Key People

Select Fossil Fuel Clients

Actions

March 2024

MSQ subsidiaries The Gate and MBAStack, both of which did work for Shell, merged to become The Gate.²⁴“MSQ Unites The Gate And MBAstack,” Creative Salon, March 26, 2024. Archived July 12, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/9howM

October 20, 2023

The Drum reported that 26 fellow B Corp companies had lodged a complaint against MSQ with B Lab, calling for MSQ to lose its B Corp status over its work for Shell.²⁵Ellen Ormesher. “B Lab hit with official complaint as calls mount to strip some agencies of B Corp status,” The Drum, October 20, 2023. Archived November 1, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YTTKg

MSQ told The Drum: “MSQ worked with B Corp submitting responses to all their requirements, we have been transparent in sharing our position on, and relationship with, all of our clients, including businesses in controversial industries, and we have been evaluated by B Corp to their high standards.”

September 23, 2023

Clean Creatives, a campaign calling for advertising and PR companies to cut ties with fossil fuel companies, featured MSQ Partners in its annual “F List” for its work for Shell.²⁷ “F-List 2023,” Clean Creatives, 2023. Archived September 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/kCbeA 

May 2023

MSQ Partners received B Corp status. “What’s lovely about B Corp is this incredible alignment to the values that we have and the work that we’ve been really trying to do in terms of the transparency, particularly in carbon footprint reporting,” said James Cannings, MSQ Partners’ Chief Sustainability Officer.²⁸“B Corp,” MSQ Partners, June 2023. Archived .mov available at DeSmog.  

May 2023
MSQ Partners’ subsidiary The Gate²⁹“We are still celebrating after last night’s exciting win in The Drum Awards for MSQ and Shell,” Stephen Maher’s LinkedIn Account, November 29, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/xTQFJ launched an influencer campaign for Shell Helix by bringing 12 influencers from China, Egypt, India, Thailand, and the UK to an event at the Ferrari factory in Italy³⁰“Shell Helix on how it brought influencers behind the scenes at Ferrari,” The Drum, November 28, 2023. Archived November 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/1dVMu While influencers were at the #OnTheRoadtoMaranello event, MSQ Partners filmed a five-episode gameshow, The Ultimate Performance Challenge, and created over 200 pieces of content with the invited influencers. MSQ Partners rolled out the game show and influencer content in a social media advertising campaign for the next three months.

June 2022

MSQ won a contract with Shell after a six-month competitive pitch process.³¹Charlotte Rawlings. “MSQ appointed to Shell global roster,” Campaign Asia, June 13, 2022. Archived April 27, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/fY8sJ MSQ subsidiaries The Gate and MBAStack formed a global team to work on the Shell contract, with their London office supported by teams in the Americas and Asia. MSQ’s agencies joined the existing team of agencies working for Shell, including WPP’s Wunderman Thompson and Hill & Knowlton,³²,“Campaign Imminent: Shell taps new agency partner amid spend increases (Score 63),” Winmo, 2022. Archived May 20, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/nLWWd  Chime Communications’ VCCP Group,³³“VCCP Group,” Chime Communications, Accessed April 27, 2024. Archived March 27, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/8lFiz and Edelman.³⁴“VCCP Singapore Supercharges Leadership Teams,” VCCP London, August 4, 2023. Archived September 24, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Z3yBm PR Week reported that the global Shell assignment was worth $30 million.³⁵Charlotte Rawlings. “Smarts owner MSQ reports 57% revenue growth in full year results,” PR Week, September 20, 2022. Archived May 20, 2024. Archive .pdf available at DeSmog.

2021

MSQ Partners published “Superior Emotional Capital,” a report about building brand loyalty among customers.³⁶“Superior Emotional Capital,” MSQ Partners, 2021. Archived May 26, 2022. Archived .pdf available at DeSmog. The agency quoted Carl Pring, Shell’s Head of Global Marketing & Communications: “I think where a lot of brands go wrong is that they try to act like one thing when really people see them as another. They need to celebrate who they really are and why they’re important to customers.”

March 24, 2020

Beri Cheetham, chairman and CEO of MSQ subsidiary The Gate San Francisco, wrote an article for Little Black Book Online, an advertising trade publication.³⁷Beri Cheetham. “A Post-Apocalyptic View from the West Coast: Vol. 1,” Little Black Book Online, March 24, 2020. Archived October 3, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/nj1eH 

“Tesla has pretty much created a monopoly in electric cars in California. You only need to look at its peak share price to see how in demand they are. Generally speaking, buying a petrol car and filling her up with gas seems akin to buying a box of Marlboro Red, and filling your lungs with toxins. So electric makes more sense, if not for the joy, then purely for the environmental and health reasons,” Cheetham wrote. “Conventional petrol cars will become a thing of the past during the next decade or so.” 

Related Organizations

Select Subsidiaries:

Brave Spark

Elmwood

Freemavens

MMT

Smarts

Miri Growth

Stein IAS

The Gate

Walk-In Media

MSQ Sustain

26

Contact & Address

34 Bow Street

London

WC2E 7AU

[email protected] 

+44 (0) 20 3026 6000

Social Media

• X: https://x.com/msqpartners/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msqpartners/ 
• LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/company/msq-partners/

Resources

• 1
   “MSQ Partners,” The Drum, Archived May 20, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/KT8DC
• 2
  (Press Release). “Browne Jacobson advises LDC backed MSQ Partners on MBA acquisition,” Browne Jacobson, March 18, 2021. Archived October 4, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/5zl7F
• 3
  Charlotte Rawlings. “MSQ appointed to Shell global roster,” Campaign Asia, June 13, 2022. Archived April 27, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/fY8sJ
• 4
  “One Equity Partners Makes Significant Investment in MSQ to Fuel Next Growth Stage,” Little Black Book Online, June 12, 2023. Archived June 12, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/JazHP
• 5
  “Elmwood Parent Company MSQ Acquired by Leading Private Equity Firm,” Elmwood, June 12, 2023. Archived March 12, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/1dwHb
• 6
  “MSQ Sustain,” MSQSustain, Accessed May 27, 2024. Archived July 12, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/cAHcY
• 7
  “Shell “Helix”: Rescue Worker (Dir’s Cut) Dir: Simon Cracknell @simonhcracknell DOP: Jeffrey Ang @jeffrey_angpohwee Agency: The Gate London/MSQ,” Taprod Instagram account, February 21, 2023. Archived .mp4 available at DeSmog.
• 8
  (Press Release). “MSQ Launches Low Carbon Website for Ground Breaking Sustainability Report,” MSQ via Little Black Book Online, April 26, 2023. Archived September 23, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/UqZfV
• 9
  (Press Release). “MSQ appoints CSO and pledges to cut carbon emissions per head by 50% by 2024,” MSQ Partners via The Drum, April 22, 2021. Archived April 27, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/WNEaf
• 10
  “Target dashboard,” Science Based Target Initiative, 2021.  Accessed April 26, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 
• 11
  Ellen Ormesher. “B Lab hit with official complaint as calls mount to strip some agencies of B Corp status,” The Drum, October 20, 2023. Archived November 1, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YTTKg
• 12
  “One Equity Partners Makes Significant Investment in MSQ to Fuel Next Growth Stage,” Little Black Book Online, June 12, 2023. Archived June 12, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/JazHP
• 13
  (Press Release). “MSQ Achieves B Corp Status across Its Global Network,” Little Black Book Online, May 26, 2023. Archived May 27, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/tdnac
• 14
  Kim Benjamin. “Charles Courtier joins MSQ Partners as chairman,” Campaign, May 29, 2019. Archived May 19, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Hef8Q
• 15
  “MSQ heads Stateside as expansion drive gathers pace,” Decision Marketing, July 15, 2021. Archived August 4, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/cm78V 
• 16
  “MSQ Appoints Rajet Gamhiouen as First Head of New Business,” Little Black Book Online, August 3, 2022. Archived July 12, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/VExB2
• 17
  Shauna Lewis. “MSQ acquires design agency Elmwood to deliver multi-platform experience,” Campaign Asia, December 1, 2021. Archived July 12, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/5K2tc
• 18
  “Chris Newbould. “One Equity Partners acquires Stein IAS owner MSQ,” Prolific North, June 12, 2023. Archived July 12, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/4xKT6
• 19
  “Stephen Maher: Chair, The Gate,” Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, 2024. Archived July 22, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/rAru1
• 20
  MBAStack. “Shell Energy,” Creative Brief, 2023. Archived December 10, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/9MwAK 
• 21
  Charlotte Rawlings. “MSQ appointed to Shell global roster,” Campaign Asia, June 13, 2022. Archived April 27, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/fY8sJ
• 22
  (Press Release). “MMT named digital agency of the year,” MMT, May 8, 2022. Archived November 30, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/5FIUl
• 23
  (Press Release). “MMT named digital agency of the year,” MMT, May 8, 2022. Archived November 30, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/5FIUl
• 24
  “MSQ Unites The Gate And MBAstack,” Creative Salon, March 26, 2024. Archived July 12, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/9howM
• 25
  Ellen Ormesher. “B Lab hit with official complaint as calls mount to strip some agencies of B Corp status,” The Drum, October 20, 2023. Archived November 1, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YTTKg
• 26
  Simon Cracknell & The Gate. “Race Never Ends: Shell,” Sweetshop Films, 2023. Archived .mp4 available at DeSmog.
• 27
   “F-List 2023,” Clean Creatives, 2023. Archived September 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/kCbeA
• 28
  “B Corp,” MSQ Partners, June 2023. Archived .mov available at DeSmog.
• 29
  “We are still celebrating after last night’s exciting win in The Drum Awards for MSQ and Shell,” Stephen Maher’s LinkedIn Account, November 29, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/xTQFJ
• 30
  “Shell Helix on how it brought influencers behind the scenes at Ferrari,” The Drum, November 28, 2023. Archived November 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/1dVMu
• 31
  Charlotte Rawlings. “MSQ appointed to Shell global roster,” Campaign Asia, June 13, 2022. Archived April 27, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/fY8sJ
• 32
  ,“Campaign Imminent: Shell taps new agency partner amid spend increases (Score 63),” Winmo, 2022. Archived May 20, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/nLWWd
• 33
  “VCCP Group,” Chime Communications, Accessed April 27, 2024. Archived March 27, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/8lFiz
• 34
  “VCCP Singapore Supercharges Leadership Teams,” VCCP London, August 4, 2023. Archived September 24, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Z3yBm
• 35
  Charlotte Rawlings. “Smarts owner MSQ reports 57% revenue growth in full year results,” PR Week, September 20, 2022. Archived May 20, 2024. Archive .pdf available at DeSmog.
• 36
  “Superior Emotional Capital,” MSQ Partners, 2021. Archived May 26, 2022. Archived .pdf available at DeSmog.
• 37
  Beri Cheetham. “A Post-Apocalyptic View from the West Coast: Vol. 1,” Little Black Book Online, March 24, 2020. Archived October 3, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/nj1eH