Indie Agency News members spent the week post-Super Bowl doing what indies do best—dissecting what worked, what flopped, and why brand still matters when half the room is arguing about wings. Meanwhile, others tackled loyalty programs that miss the point, AI’s infiltration of recruiting, and the case for out-humaning the machines. Oh, and Walrus made yacht invitations contingent on fresh breath.
The through-line? Indies aren’t waiting for permission to rethink fundamentals. They’re already doing it.
🏈 Post-Game Intelligence
Highdive proved you don’t need a Super Bowl slot to win Super Bowl chatter. Their “Billy Goes To The River” spot for Jeep dominated the conversation so thoroughly it got named a top Super Bowl ad despite not airing during the game. Jeep will always take you where others won’t. Even when that’s the cultural conversation.
RP3 Agency took a longer view. After 60 years of Super Bowl advertising, their Chief Creative Officer Tuesday Poliak noted the real winners weren’t the loudest or most star-studded—they were wildly original. The shift: insight can replace budget, strategy meshes with zeitgeist, and emotion works best when earned, not engineered.
Left Hand Agency CEO Lauren Ridgley watched the game like normal humans do—in a loud room, snacks everywhere, conversations competing with commercials. Her takeaway? What cuts through in fragmented attention isn’t perfection. It’s brand that persists when nobody’s watching perfectly.
Campfire turned post-game analysis into a Spotify episode dissecting favorite moments, halftime standouts, and what actually landed. Not content with just watching, TiNY created what might be the most meta campaign—a Super Bowl commercial about Super Bowl commercials, featuring cute pets instead of celebrity cameos. It got a shoutout from Indie Agency News. Mission accomplished.
🎯 The Loyalty Program Reckoning
TravelBoom Hotel Marketing dropped data that should make every hotel CMO rethink their playbook. According to their Leisure Travel Study, 64% of travelers want instant discounts and 61% value perks like free Wi-Fi or late checkout. Fewer than half care about traditional points. The insight: loyalty today isn’t about bringing guests back. It’s about getting them to book with you in the first place. Travelers want value now, not someday.
🤖 AI Ate the Application Process
White Rabbit Group flagged a shift that should terrify lazy employer brands. Candidates aren’t Googling “jobs near me” anymore. They’re opening ChatGPT and asking real questions: “What’s it like to work at this company?” “Do people feel valued here?” AI gives them answers based on Glassdoor, Indeed reviews, and Reddit threads from years ago. Shawn Kessler’s advice after 20+ years in employer branding: get three things aligned—what leadership says, what employees experience, and what your external content communicates. Then encourage your people to share the real story.
🧠 Out-Human the Machines
Doe-Anderson‘s SVP Jennifer Billiot Garrett explored the existential turning point for strategists in the AI age. While AI acts as the “super professor” handling heavy logic, it’s the “artist” in us that creates work that moves people. Her advice for WARC? Get back to IRL, trust your somatic intelligence, and reclaim the role of anthropologist. Being super at strategy now means being super at being human.
🛒 Social Commerce Isn’t Coming. It’s Here.
Unruled Outdoor Agency asked the uncomfortable question: Why are you still marketing like it’s 2015? Today’s buyers find gear in reels, stories, and posts—not on your website. If your brand isn’t selling directly through Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook, you’re already missing conversions. They’re breaking down how outdoor brands can turn content into revenue and partner with creators who move product.
🎭 The Chief Mutiny Officer
Worldwide Partners introduced a new CMO archetype worth studying. The Chief Mutiny Officer operates undercover, embraces ambiguity, and lets the myth of declining influence linger because it creates room to focus on what moves the business. As their Confessions of a CMO report notes: “Mutiny, when it works, is rarely loud or showy. It is precise. Tactical. Often disguised as something smaller than it truly is.” LBB’s deep dive celebrates CMOs comfortable operating in the margins.
🎬 Easter Eggs and Origin Stories
Territorial caught what eagle-eyed Strange Coordinates listeners spotted—a movie poster in the Super Bowl trailer for Brad Pitt’s upcoming Tarantino/Fincher film. Want to know about the grisly murder behind “Looking for Mr. Goodbar” and what it has to do with a candy bar? Their podcast has answers.
🇺🇸 Indivisible
The Perception shared their work on Visit Philadelphia’s campaign marking the nation’s 250th anniversary. With Patti LaBelle lending voice and presence, Indivisible shines light on generations of resilience, struggle, and the belief that launches new beginnings. In their words: a humbling project to be part of.
📊 Give Us Your Real-World Experience
Legal+Creative | Toerek Law launched the 2026 Agency Core Study—free, community-led research designed to give agencies clearer context without prescriptions, agendas, or paywalls. If you’re a founder, owner, or leader at a creative, media, PR, or marketing services agency, your participation contributes to shared, real-world insight instead of guesswork.
🚤 Don’t Be the 27%
Walrus dropped the statistic nobody asked for but everyone needs: Studies show 73% of yacht invitations go to people with fresh breath. Don’t be the 27%. Berns’ Business Mints exist because your ROI shouldn’t smell like coffee and desperation.
🎙️ Moonshot Marketing on Small Budgets
Raindrop asked what happens when just 5-10% of your budget creates a moment big enough to change how people feel about your brand. Their Marketing People Love episode with Jacques Spitzer and Rabah Rahil explores moonshot marketing, high-FOMO moments, and how small, intentional bets drive outsized impact when fundamentals are right.
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Kyle O’Brien is managing editor of Indie Agency News.
