About Ad Astra
We’ve worked with brands like:
We aren’t a one-size-fits-all agency.
We love to work with clients as if their brands are our own. We spend time to truly get to know their campaign aims before we start any planning to make sure that we make their budgets work hard, no matter the size.
“They have a solid understanding of our brand and history, as well as our future ambitions, meaning they’ve been able to cherry pick the right locations for us, to capture our next generation of fans.”
– Heidi Biney, Global Retail Marketing Manager
Dan Shepherd
Co-FoundeR
Dan began his career in advertising back in 2015 with Gaydio, where he built creative campaigns for both new and established brands — many of whom remain trusted clients today. His focus was always on collaboration: understanding each brand’s personality, goals, and challenges, and bringing fresh ideas to life in ways that truly connected with audiences.
From there, he moved into the major league of UK radio - working with Smooth, Capital, and HeartFM delivering national campaigns while still maintaining a hands-on, client-focused approach. Dan’s strength has always been in combining creativity with strategy, helping clients translate their vision into campaigns that drive real results.
The move into agency life was a natural progression. Building on long-standing relationships, Dan expanded his expertise from radio into out-of-home and television, allowing for bigger ideas and more impactful campaigns.
That evolution ultimately led to co-founding Ad Astra Advertising with Rachel - where integrity, creativity, and measurable results sit at the heart of everything the company does.
Dan’s biggest achievements are working closely with multiple brands over the decade of his career. He highlights getting clients involved in Channel 4’s Great British Bake off , a cinema ad within Taylor Swifts Eras tour movie release and PensionBee’s Times Square ad.
Rachel Douglas
Co-FOunder
Rachel started her career in activation at Channel 4, so she understands building TV campaigns from the ground up. From there she moved agency side to expand her planning and buying skills into OOH, print and radio in the UK. One of her career highlights was managing a global launch for a major beauty brand which won her the Thinkbox TV Planner of the Year awards in 2022.
Her interests evolved from planning and buying media into a more hollistic role, working with clients to help build their wider brand strategy. This allowed her to be able to work more cohesively with clients to get the most from their marketing budgets. The freedom to work with clients on her own terms gave her and Dan the drive to set up Ad Astra Advertising in 2023 to work with brands who wants to create camapigns with meaning.