10+
Years in performance marketing
#41
Top 50 PPC Experts 2026
9K
LinkedIn followers
NDA
Finalist – Start-up Agency
THE STORY
From AO.com and Matalan to building something better.
“I’d worked in-house, I’d worked with agencies, and I knew the gap between what was being promised and what was actually being delivered. I started can-do to close it.”
— Chris Nightingale, Founder
Chris spent over a decade running paid media inside two of the UK’s biggest retail brands.
At AO.com – the FTSE 250 online electrical retailer with revenues exceeding £1 billion – he was Senior Acquisition Manager: building teams, running paid media strategy at scale, representing AO at Microsoft Advertising panels and industry events. Before that, he managed digital at Matalan, one of the UK’s biggest fashion and homeware retailers.
That background – managing real budgets inside real businesses, defending spend to real FDs – shapes everything about how can-do is run. Chris knows what it feels like to own a number. And he knows what agencies look like from the client side.
He left the corporate world to build the kind of agency he’d have wanted to hire: small, senior, honest, with no lock-in and no account managers standing between clients and the expert running their account.
At AO.com – the FTSE 250 online electrical retailer with revenues exceeding £1 billion – he was Senior Acquisition Manager: building teams, running paid media strategy at scale, representing AO at Microsoft Advertising panels and industry events. Before that, he managed digital at Matalan, one of the UK’s biggest fashion and homeware retailers.
That background – managing real budgets inside real businesses, defending spend to real FDs – shapes everything about how can-do is run. Chris knows what it feels like to own a number. And he knows what agencies look like from the client side.
He left the corporate world to build the kind of agency he’d have wanted to hire: small, senior, honest, with no lock-in and no account managers standing between clients and the expert running their account.
With a wealth of experience collaborating with agencies of all sizes, networks, and independents, we’ve encountered the full spectrum of the industry – the highs, lows, and everything in between.
Harnessing this extensive experience, we’ve crafted a one-of-a-kind agency that places clients at the forefront. Our focus is on empowering SMEs and agencies, equipping their internal teams for unparalleled success. Unlike agencies driven solely by growth, scale, and self-promotion, we stand out as advocates for nurturing client relationships and delivering genuine value.
We have a vision. To enable SMEs to scale at speed without the ludicrous cost of a national agency.
Our ethos revolves around trust, integrity, and exceptional execution. In our world, exceptional work translates to delighted clients and a team
Harnessing this extensive experience, we’ve crafted a one-of-a-kind agency that places clients at the forefront. Our focus is on empowering SMEs and agencies, equipping their internal teams for unparalleled success. Unlike agencies driven solely by growth, scale, and self-promotion, we stand out as advocates for nurturing client relationships and delivering genuine value.
We have a vision. To enable SMEs to scale at speed without the ludicrous cost of a national agency.
Our ethos revolves around trust, integrity, and exceptional execution. In our world, exceptional work translates to delighted clients and a team
THE OFFICE
Civic, Wigan.
We’re based at Civic – Wigan’s independent workspace for ambitious local businesses. A short walk from Wigan North Western and Wallgate stations, with parking on-site.
You’re welcome to come in for a kick-off, a quarterly review, or just to put a face to the team. Coffee’s on us.
You’re welcome to come in for a kick-off, a quarterly review, or just to put a face to the team. Coffee’s on us.
RECOGNISED BY PEERS
What the industry says about us.
Top 50 Most Influential PPC Experts 2026
#41
Voted by 1,306 PPC professionals worldwide.
Factoring in peer recognition, speaking engagements, LinkedIn presence and content contribution. Being in the global top 50 puts Chris alongside the most respected paid search minds in the world – a standard of thinking we apply to every campaign we run, whether that’s PPC, paid social or SEO.
AWARDS
National Digital Awards Finalist
Start-up Agency of the Year.
CERIFICATIONS
• Google Ads Certified
• Microsoft Advertising Certified
• Meta Blueprint Certified
• Microsoft Advertising Certified
• Meta Blueprint Certified
SPEAKING & APPEARANCES
Where you’ve heard can-do thinking.
Conference stages, podcast booths and Microsoft’s own customer panels – the platforms that ask Chris on are the ones that shape the industry.
april 2026
BrightonSEO / HeroConf
Feeding the Beast: How We Turned a 10,000 SKU Construction Store into a Profitable Shopping & Lead Machine. The world’s largest independent PPC and paid social conference – Hero Conf stage, Brighton Centre.
KEYNOTE
May 2025
PPC Live Podcast · EP318
The £50 Bid Disaster – the f*ck-up that led to a triumph. The PPC community’s most candid podcast.
PODCAST
Dec 2024
Lunio Webinar
How to run hyper-efficient branded search campaigns in 2025. Invited as expert guest on why branded CPCs have risen tenfold since 2018.
WEBINAR
2024
Marketing Showcase Podcast
Transitioning from a billion-dollar company to running your own agency. The story behind can-do.
PODCAST
2024
Digital Marketing Masterclass
Keynote: The links between creativity and AI. “A great session… I would recommend him to anyone.” – Event organiser.
KEYNOTE
2023
connective3 Digital Marketing Conference
E-commerce panel, Victoria Warehouse, Manchester. What good e-commerce digital strategy actually looks like.
PANEL
2021
Microsoft Advertising Customer Panel
How AO adapted its digital retail strategy through the pandemic. “Chris’s deep knowledge… a fantastic partner.” – Microsoft Advertising.
PANEL
RECENT WINS
The last twelve weeks.
MAY 2026
Top 50 PPC Experts – #41 globally
Voted by 1,306 PPC professionals across paid search, paid social and the wider digital marketing community.
April 2026
BrightonSEO / HeroConf speaker
Selected to speak at the world’s largest PPC conference.
2026
Car leasing client: 12-month target hit in 6
Google QBR celebrated. Google have requested a branded case study.
Ongoing
Maker & Son Australia
Paid social sold out an ambitious international furniture tour.
PRINCIPLES
How we actually
work.
01
The expert is always on the account
No bait-and-switch. No graduates managing your £50k budget while the senior who sold you the work pitches someone else. Whoever you speak to is doing the work.
02
Flexible contracts
We don’t lock you in for 12 months. We earn the right to keep working with you, every month – and that keeps us honest.
03
Reports that mean something
No 47-tab dashboards. No “activity completed” bullets. Custom reporting built around the commercial metrics that actually matter to your business.
04
Honest first
No bait-and-switch. No graduates managing your £50k budget while the senior who sold you the work pitches someone else. Whoever you speak to is doing the work.
THE TEAM
The people who’ll run your account.
Small, senior team. The people
you meet are the people who do the work.
you meet are the people who do the work.
Chris Nightingale
FOUNDER & DIRECTOR
Ranked #41 in the 2026 Top 50 Most Influential PPC Experts (voted by 1,306+ peers). Ex-AO.com Senior Acquisition Manager & Matalan. BrightonSEO / HeroConf speaker. NDA finalist. Manages strategy on every can-do account.
FOR AGENCIES
Running an agency? We can be your secret weapon.
We work with agencies as a white label PPC and paid social partner – providing expert-backed execution under your brand. Whether you need overflow capacity, specialist support on a new client, or someone to step in during a busy period.
Your client sees your brand. You get the can-do quality. No awkward handovers.
Your client sees your brand. You get the can-do quality. No awkward handovers.
AWARDS & CERTIFICATION
Recognised for the work
Awarded by the industry, certified across every channel we run. The shorthand for: we know what we’re doing.
AWARDS • 2023 – 2026
National Digital Awards
FINALIST
Great British Entrepreneur Award
FINALIST
41st Most Influential PPC Expert
RUNNER-Up
Wigan Business Awards 2026
FINALIST
Google
Premier Partner
Meta
Business Partner
Microsoft
Advertising Partner
Like the sound of us? Let’s talk.
We’re taking on new clients now. Free 30-minute audit call — three things we’d do first.
TRUSTED BY 48 BRANDS & COUNTING
