This year, Adweek is not only celebrating the best ad agencies in the business but also striving to help other shops understand what makes the best of the best truly stand out.
That’s why, for the first time, Adweek has a theme for its Agency of the Year awards program: Building a Better Agency. Adweek asked each finalist across all seven categories to explain how it is building a better agency for the future.
Last year, Anomaly took home the title of Adweek’s U.S. Agency of the Year.
How we got here
Adweek invited any agency to enter (without a fee) its yearly Agency of the Year awards program by providing information about its past year and best work.
A team of Adweek editors and reporters combed through the entries and generated a list of five finalists in each category. Adweek’s internal jury deliberated over these finalists, taking into account three main factors:
- Business success: client wins and losses, revenue growth, strategy and use of technology
- The work: a reel featuring the agency’s 10 best and most effective pieces of creative
- Talent and ESG: creating an environment for employees to succeed through its culture and benefits, as well as advancing DEI and sustainability
On Oct. 10, Adweek will reveal the winning agencies. Below, in alphabetical order, are the finalists for U.S. Agency of the Year.
Deutsch LA
The IPG agency recorded a turnover rate of about 6%, and it is one of a select group of holding company-owned shops truly putting in the hard work needed to be a more inclusive agency. It’s participating in the 13% pledge to increase Black leadership at the agency, investing in BIPOC talent with its Nourish mentorship pledge, continuing longstanding partnerships with the One Club and the 4A’s MAIP, and supporting Black-owned businesses with its Blackness in Full Bloom program.
Taco Bell, which puts culture at the core of its strategy, expanded its relationship with Deutsch LA. The agency extended its Mexican Pizza campaign with a musical featuring Dolly Parton, and used LeBron James to eliminate the trademark for Taco Tuesday. Deutsch LA also created one of the first great uses of ChatGPT in marketing for Snapple, and brought The Count in to help NerdWallet out.
How it’s building a better agency: “Tough moments breed opportunity for progress. And if you’re an agency with a rich legacy like Deutsch LA, your heritage can either serve as a barrier or a springboard. It depends on where you focus the energy,” said CEO Kim Getty. “This year we consciously directed our resources toward the part of our business most synonymous with making: our production studio, Steelhead. Since its inception, it’s been our secret weapon. We put maker/creator culture at the center of our process. This sparked new means of inspiration for our people. As a community, it enabled us to think of every project as its own new starting line.”