Bristol agency Earworm wins UK marketing startup award

Earworm, the Bristol podcast and video agency, has been named Marketing & Advertising StartUp of the Year at the 2026 UK StartUp Awards. The win caps three years of rapid growth, as the business expands to 16 people, counts major brands among its clients and prepares to open in the United States this autumn.

Why it matters: - Earworm’s national award signals growing demand for podcast and video production that can also measure performance, not just audience reach. - The recognition comes as video podcasting is changing listening habits and platform share in the UK. - Earworm’s expansion to the United States this autumn raises the stakes beyond a Bristol startup story.

What happened: - Earworm won Marketing & Advertising StartUp of the Year at the 2026 UK StartUp Awards. - The national final took place last night at Ideas Fest at Champneys in Tring. - The agency started in Bristol in 2023. - Earworm has grown from three people to sixteen in three years.

The details: - More than 2,000 businesses entered the awards this year. - More than 900 were shortlisted across ten UK nations and regions. - Only regional winners advanced to the national final. - A panel of more than 100 people from industry, academia and investment judged the awards in their fifth year. - Earworm makes podcasts and video for IG Group, KPMG, Cisco, Soldo and Mirakl. - The agency also builds its own software alongside production work. - Earworm’s analytics platform, Insight Studio, shows clients what their content is doing rather than focusing only on download counts. - Edison Research found in July that YouTube had overtaken Spotify as the service UK weekly podcast listeners use most, 29% to 28%, for the first time on record.

Between the lines: - The award suggests buyers are rewarding agencies that combine creative production with measurable business insight. - Earworm’s client list shows the agency has already moved beyond early-stage work into enterprise accounts. - The software layer gives Earworm a point of difference in a crowded content market. - The UK podcast market appears to be tilting further toward video-first distribution.

What's next: - Earworm plans to open in the United States this autumn. - The company will likely use the award to strengthen its pitch to new clients as it expands. - More brands may look for podcast and video partners that can prove performance as well as produce content.

The bottom line: - Earworm is turning a Bristol start into a national profile, backed by award recognition, fast hiring and a US launch ahead.