DCA profiled You’re the Goods, where founder Dom Goldman built his studio around a simple premise: what if experienced people stayed involved from brief to delivery, not just at pitch? Goldman estimates senior leadership at traditional agencies only touches 10-20% of creative output. His model eliminates the bait and switch entirely—the senior team you meet delivers the work. Results: two D&AD Pencils and three Cannes Lions shortlists in 18 months.
Mischief @ No Fixed Address shared the strategic thinking behind Tinder’s turnaround. Their “It Starts With A Swipe” repositioning changed perception of what a hookup can be, spiking third-quarter-2023 revenue by 11%. As Jeff McCrory told ADWEEK: “We wanted the world we were creating for Tinder to be hopeful.”
But perhaps the most striking pattern is how many of these wins come from agencies solving real problems instead of riding trends.
🏆 Awards that validate the approach
Creative establishment gets it right occasionally
Innocean drove home the Grand Prix at MAD STARS 2025 with their Night Fishing campaign, bringing their total to 14 awards this year.
Serviceplan Group claimed “Agency of the Year Germany” at The Gerety Awards, with their PENNY Deutschland Price Packs winning a Grand Prix in Product & Packaging Design.
Red Door Interactive added two more MUSE Awards for their Shea Homes work—Gold for Integrated Marketing Campaign and Gold for Video: Real Estate.
💸 Scale worth discussing
Numbers that demand attention
Pereira O’Dell unveiled “When It Counts” for Zelle, celebrating more than $1 trillion sent in 2024—cementing its place as the most-used peer-to-peer payments platform in the U.S.
When your client processes a trillion dollars annually, human connection becomes the only story worth telling.
📊 Industry problems worth solving
Challenges that separate trend-riders from problem-solvers
Bluestripe Group highlighted something critical: despite explosive growth and private equity attention, influencer marketing has a measurement problem holding it back.
As marketers integrate influencer work into broader campaigns—from events to traditional broadcast—the lack of standardized measurement becomes problematic.
👔 Leadership moves that suggest momentum
Hires that indicate bigger plans
Noble People welcomed Ben Hurst as President, bringing experience from evoke, Madison Square Garden, Paramount, and Goldman Sachs. He joins during major momentum: AdAge’s 2025 Small Media Agency of the Year Gold, Adweek Media Plan of the Year, and 8+ new business wins.
Corner Table Creative welcomed The Goddard School, focusing on creator-style shoots to build ownable social content that connects with today’s parents.
Fortnight Collective welcomed Andrea Cruz to their team, bringing nearly 20 years of Account Management expertise with brands from Fortune 500s to start-ups.
🎯 Specialist expertise pays dividends
Deep knowledge beats broad capabilities
Brandon earned coverage in Petfood Industry for research showing taste trumps health as the top pet food driver—the kind of specific insight that only comes from category focus.
Eight Oh Two Marketing positioned themselves ahead on Generative Engine Optimization, arguing that GEO isn’t the future of search, it’s already rewriting it.
White Rabbit Group featured John Harris from Worldwide Partners on their Pixel Perfect Podcast, discussing what separates thriving agencies from those treading water across 90+ indie agencies.
📱 New partnerships worth noting
Account wins and launches
Need Pastel launched their relationship with ARCHER, the dating app for gay men, with a Taylor Swift post that became one of their best-performing notifications.
Untamed Outdoor Agency showcased their work for Raymarine with “Earn Your Strikes” campaign.
Reverve Agency featured Vuori’s CMO Karen Riley-Grant on their Humans & Brands podcast, discussing how to move fast while being present.
🎨 Creative work that cuts through
When the work works
Tombras created “Ghosted Sweethearts” for Halloween—blank conversation heart candies that let people ghost others back.
The Mayor brought an 18-year-old Coach Gundy rant back to life for Consumer Cellular, complete with the classic “BIGWIRELESS MAKES US WANT TO PUKE” line.
Strike saw their Greenpeace France campaign nominated by Dans Ta Pub among the most striking French ads of July & August.
📚 Thought leadership that matters
Insights worth sharing
Blurr Bureau‘s Laura Carrick shared advice with The Dieline: “For women entering the creative industry, find your community, build relationships with other creative women, and seek out mentors.”
Lupine Creative‘s Kate Wolff was featured on ProveHER – Badass Women in Business Podcast discussing how she built four companies and raised millions.
Lewis became a finalist for PRNEWS’ Platinum Awards – Campaign of the Year (Nonprofit category) for their Birmingham Zoo 70th Anniversary campaign.
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