Taylor Guglielmo, president of Chemistry, is having a small moment of revelation. She’s sitting next to chief creative officer Chris Breen and chief marketing officer Tim Smith, walking through the strategy and culture that defines their agency — when she realizes, on camera, that Chemistry just turned 10. “Why am I just now realizing that?” she laughs. Breen, ever the deadpan creative: “Nobody bought us a cake.”
The Atlanta agency was forged a decade ago when the creative shop breensmith merged with a digital agency named Chemistry. Today it’s 165 people, with a Nashville office taking shape and a client list that includes Five Guys, Hannaford, Netflix and the NBA. “Culture isn’t really the goal,” Breen says of the work. “It’s the outcome.”
How Chemistry got here (and missed its own birthday)
A decade ago, creative shop breensmith — led by Breen and Smith — merged with a digital agency named Chemistry, and kept the more interesting name. Why “Chemistry”? Because the original truth behind it, Guglielmo says, is that “we don’t want to work with assholes.” The agency was named for the relationships it would or wouldn’t take on. Ten years later, the trio has built a 165-person shop with offices in Atlanta and a Nashville one opening soon — though apparently, nobody on the team thought to mark the anniversary.
What Chemistry is known for: outcome junkies in a culture lab
Chemistry built its reputation on culture-led work, but the secret weapon is strategy — knowing which fights to pick. A few years ago, they layered a data science practice on top of the creative engine, and the agency rewired itself into what Guglielmo calls “outcome junkies.” Translation: not chasing ROAS, chasing incremental sales. Not chasing awareness, chasing market share. The team gets addicted to the scoreboard. Breen, on the band-name potential of “outcome junkies”: “So with copper, is a good conductor.”
Three things Chemistry does differently
First, connected strategy. Every brief starts with the whole business, not the marketing problem, which gives creative a sharper springboard. Second, creativity that performs. The data science practice means every idea is pointed at a measurable outcome, and the team can see the needle move. Third, speed to learning. “It’s not rushing for the sake of rushing,” Guglielmo says. “It’s intentional. It’s disciplined curiosity.” Her one-liner for the house philosophy: out-learn rather than out-spend.
Why indie (and why staying indie matters)
Smith puts it simply: Chemistry has talked about joining bigger groups, then chosen to stay independent. “We’ve built this thing and founded it the way we want,” he says. “We make our own rules.” That means no red tape, no flagpole runs, fast decisions. Most of Chemistry’s specialty practices were stood up to solve a client problem already on fire — something you can’t do at speed if you’re answering to a holding company. Independence is what lets the agency build the plane while flying it.
Why brands hire Chemistry: built to be in the mess
Most agencies pass batons. Chemistry brings every specialist into the room from day one — “master of all trades, jack of one,” as Guglielmo puts it. The magic in the seams is what they call “the in-betweens”: informal gut checks, sneak peeks, real-time collaboration. The house motto, “What’s the best that can happen?” sounds naive until you watch it ship. The brands that thrive here, Guglielmo says, are the ones willing to be in the mess with the team — and willing to abandon yesterday’s scope when the goalpost moves.
Why talent chooses Chemistry
The pitch to talent is honest. This is not a cog-in-the-machine shop. “If you’re not into it, it’s not going to work,” Breen says. The trade is real autonomy and a runway to grow careers, with karaoke nights and a fail-forward training mindset thrown in. Smith calls the agency a live experiment that prizes “systems over silos” — disciplines stretch across one another and go deep where they’re strongest. Failure is expected. Titles are less interesting than ownership. The talent doesn’t wait for a call; they bring the solutions up.
Weirdos, misfits or underdogs? All three, question mark
Asked to pick a tribe, Guglielmo claims weirdo: “Every person here is idiosyncratic. There’s no copy-paste.” Breen takes underdog, citing his late father’s wisdom — “life isn’t like the brochure” — and copping to a healthy dose of “permanent imposter syndrome.” Ten years in, 165 people deep, the founders still feel like they’re “fighting the Death Star.” That’s the engine. Misfits with a business plan, and a Nashville office on the way.
Dear Doug Martin: a flare to Wawa
Guglielmo’s CMO shout-outs are split between gratitude and ambition. The gratitude: Molly Catalano at Five Guys and Sarah Guzman at Hannaford, two leaders she says build “an environment of care” that ripples into the agency team. The ambition: Doug Martin at Wawa. Chemistry is a fan, the brand is rolling toward both Atlanta and Nashville, and Guglielmo wants in on the fandom. Consider this a flare. (And maybe a hoagie.)
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