Ad Age’s 2026 Small Agency Awards arrived this morning, and many of the names are familiar. Of the 62 agencies that won something this year, 31 are Indie Agency News members — a strong turnout for the independents, spread across nearly every category.
The night’s top prize, Small Agency of the Year Gold, went to Conscious Minds. Here is the member roll call, category by category, with credit to the Ad Age writers who profiled each one.
Small Agency of the Year
Zambezi — Small Agency of the Year, Silver
Revenue up nearly 42% on a move into integrated services. By Ewan Larkin.
Agency of the Year, by size
X&O — 1-10 Employees, Gold
The Mr. Pibb relaunch, and a year that nearly doubled revenue. By Brian Bonilla.
Familiar Creatures — 1-10 Employees, Silver
Serious results without taking itself too seriously. By Judann Pollack.
Quality Meats — 11-75 Employees, Gold
Pitch wins and a Manscaped Super Bowl spot with a choir of mourning body hair. By Tim Nudd.
Preacher — 76-150 Employees, Gold
A growth year built on a relationship-first model. By Sabrina Sanchez.
Bakery — 76-150 Employees, Silver
The Austin shop starts with product, packaging and strategy before creative. By Sabrina Sanchez.
The regional winners
Gus — Northeast, Gold
By Lindsay Rittenhouse.
Party Land — West, Gold
By Ewan Larkin.
Raindrop — West, Silver
By Lindsay Rittenhouse.
FerebeeLane — Southeast, Gold
By Asa Hiken.
Cornett — Southeast, Silver
The Lexington, Kentucky shop. By Brian Bonilla.
The disciplines
Six+One — Design, Gold
Work guided by a “Truth, Tension, Transformation” framework. By Jon Springer.
Powers of Reasoning — Media, Gold
Led by a team of former holding-company executives. By Lindsay Rittenhouse.
Hunterblu — Media, Silver
By Lindsay Rittenhouse.
Another Thing — Newcomer, Gold
Nearly $4 million in revenue in its first year. By Parker Herren.
Good Sports Creative — Newcomer, Silver
By Parker Herren.
Sukle — Purpose-Led, Gold
The Wild Oats reposition. By Asa Hiken.
Loop — Social Media/Influencer, Gold
Added 30 new clients in 2025, including DoorDash. By Gillian Follett.
Saylor — Social Media/Influencer, Silver
By Gillian Follett.
Best Agency Culture
Lafayette American — Best Agency Culture, Gold
Community work that put student poetry on billboards. By Parker Herren.
Corner Table Creative — Best Agency Culture, Silver
Daily huddles and profit sharing that keep the team connected. By Sabrina Sanchez.
Campaign of the Year
Loop — Digital, Gold
The near-impossible “World’s Hardest Captcha” for World, the Sam Altman-backed app. By Garett Sloane.
Super Nice — Experiential, Gold
A Norwegian Cruise Line activation that drew more than 100,000 visitors in three days. By Parker Herren.
Colossus — Healthcare, Gold
The New England Center for Children’s “One Powerful Place.” By Judann Pollack.
DNA&Stone — Healthcare, Silver
Promoting gun lock boxes with Seattle Children’s Hospital. By E.J. Schultz.
RP3 — Integrated, Gold
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s “Take a Hike.” By E.J. Schultz.
WorkInProgress — Integrated, Silver
The Domino’s brand refresh. By Jon Springer.
Fuse Create — Media, Gold
Maple Leaf Foods’ “Look for the Leaf” and its “Buy Canadian” moment. By Lindsay Rittenhouse.
Powers of Reasoning — Media, Silver
Dude Wipes’ “The Big Dump.” By Lindsay Rittenhouse.
270B — Best Use of AI, Silver
The AI “Guac Guru” that gave Avocados From Mexico a Super Bowl boost. By Adrianne Pasquarelli.
The people
Alex McInnis, Murder Hornet — Executive of the Year
Leads the 10-person Atlanta shop and its “nest and swarm” model. By Judann Pollack.
Pimm Buddhari, SpecialGuest — Creative of the Year
Design-first work spanning OK Go and Ray-Ban Meta. By Tim Nudd.
Vanessa Watts, Laughlin Constable — Media Planner of the Year
By Erika Wheless.
The rest of the class
Strong shops outside our membership shared the stage and earned it: Conscious Minds on that top Gold, No Fixed Address (International Gold), Honeymoon (PR Gold), Aisle3 (Business Impact Gold), De-Yan (Experiential Gold), Bear Meets Eagle on Fire (Best Body of Work for Telstra) and Wigz (Best Use of AI Gold for Nike).
Congratulations to every member on the list, and to the full 2026 class.
Learn more
Ad Age Small Agency Awards 2026: Winners
Full winner profiles by the Ad Age staff, with the framing essay by Judann Pollack.
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