As noted previously, we’re stoked that of the 62 honors given out at Ad Age’s awesome Small Agency Awards, 20 were Indie Agency News members. Stretching the limits of our streaming production platform (we may need to upgrade soon), 11 folks from winning agencies joined us to bask in the awesomeness.
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Here are a few snippets in the order of guests:
Leyla Touma Dailey, Doe-Anderson, Executive of the Year.
She is surprised and excited about winning the award, which she sees as validation of the hard work and dedication of the entire agency team. She hopes this award will help raise the agency’s profile and attract new clients.
“We do excellent work. We are excellent partners. I think small agencies are uniquely, obviously, as we all know, are positioned to seek and destroy do amazing things without the layers and layers and layers.”
Mark Fitzloff, Öpinionated, Agency Northwest Gold, and creatives Lauren Olson and Nate Corrado won Creatives of the Year. The Voodoo Ranger campaign also won Experiential Silver.
Mark says this has been a transformative year for the agency, with bigger wins and more AORs. He attributes the agency’s success to the team’s hard work and client support.
“I think that suddenly it’s really humbling to recognize, oh, I got invited to a lot of things [like pitches], or did a lot of things. We’re mostly all in the same boat when we start.”
Kelsey Hodgkin, Special U.S. The agency won Campaign of the Year, Integrated Silver, for their work on Uber Eats.
She is proud of the relationship with Uber and the work that they have created together. She believes small agencies are uniquely positioned to take risks and create work that goes to places other people aren’t willing to go.
“If you use that wisely and to your advantage, you can create work that goes to places other people aren’t willing to go to, aim to do things other people aren’t willing to aim to do, and won’t take no for an answer, because you are banking on your own belief.”
Christian Jaekle, Curiosity, Best in the Midwest Gold. Tricia Wolfer also won Media Planner of the Year.
He says it’s special to have an award that rewards everyone at the agency at once. He is excited to see the agency continue to grow and deliver on its big wins.
“It’s just a really fun celebration [thanks to] everybody’s collective hustle over the course of a year. I don’t think Trisha Wolfer has stopped floating around the office. Seeing the [positive] reaction from her speech, which was, she’ll be the first to tell you, just raw, she blacked out and just spoke from [the heart].”
Amanda VanAntwerp, Preacher, Agency Southwest Gold.
She has been with the agency for nine years and has seen it grow and evolve. She believes the agency’s success is due to its focus on finding talented and passionate people and its willingness to take risks. She is excited about Preacher’s future and looks forward to seeing what the agency will achieve in the next ten years.
“We’re going to bring [the work in] the way that Preacher would do it. We’re going to bring it our style. That’s why [brands] hired you. That’s why they hired us.”
Amy Edwards, Quality Meats, Agency 11-75 employees.
Originally from Minneapolis, Edwards has lived in Chicago for seven years and has been with Quality Meats for 18 months. She highlights the “Midwestern ethos” of rolling up sleeves and getting things done as a critical part of the agency’s winning culture. She describes the Chicago atmosphere as “nice, but blunt,” reflecting a direct and humble approach informing the work.
“There’s that [vibe of], let’s just do it and get it done. And that, I think, is very Chicago.”
Jessica Davis Vincent, Cornett, Agency Southwest Silver.
She is proud of the agency’s work and commitment to being independent, small, and female-owned and led. She believes that awards like this help elevate the work of small agencies and give them the confidence to take big swings.
“I think it all starts with some of the recognition that we get and that validation that comes from awards like this.”
Peyton Sutton and Chris Cannon, Terri & Sandy, Campaign of the Year, Digital Silver for their work on Orchard Belly Harvest.
They are proud of the recognition and believe it is a testament to the hard work and creativity of the agency team. They are excited about the future of Terri & Sandy and are looking forward to continuing to create award-winning work.
“One thing that was really cool for me too, just as my first time here with Terri & Sandy, I found out afterwards, we’ve taken the stage eight different times for eight different types of awards [at Ad Age’s Small Agency Awards].”—Peyton Sutton
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Doug Zanger is the founder and editor-in-chief of Indie Agency News. He is also the founder of the Creative Bohemian consultancy, lives in the Pacific Northwest and is insufferable about it.
