FCB
At 150 years old, FCB clocks in not as an agency scrapping to get by but one that is adding to its already impressive list of clients with Pfizer, Budweiser, QuickBooks, Danone and more signing on with FCB over the past year. The agency invests heavily in inclusion programs for its workforce, maintaining that inclusion is a three-legged stool consisting of the workforce, workplace and the work. If any of those three legs are off, the agency is out of balance. It has grown partnerships with the Black Executive CMO Alliance and The Cannes Can: Diversity Collective by sponsoring its Inkwell Beach in Cannes.
FCB delivered some of the best purpose-driven work in the world last year with campaigns such as Adidas’ “Runner 321,” which makes marathons more inclusive for runners with Down syndrome, Michelob Ultra, “Dreamcaster,” a campaign that helped a blind fan call in an NBA game, “TR For Teacher,” which shined a light on teaching as an undervalued profession in India, and Budweiser’s “The Billboard Is Yours To Take,” which called out gender inequality at one of the U.K.’s biggest award shows.
How it’s building a better agency: “FCB has thrived over the past 150 years because of our belief in the economic power of creativity. Fundamentally, we believe we are a product company and that everything we do is designed to create exceptional work that creates timeless brands and actives the business in a timely way,” said Tyler Turnbull, global CEO. “Building a better FCB is as much about what you say ‘yes’ to as what you decline. Across the company, we empower our leadership teams to stand up for our people, work and business. As a result, we have found clients who believe, as we do, that creativity drives exceptional growth and that true partnership means that when one side wins, we all win—creatively, reputationally and financially.”
Gut
On the other end of the longevity spectrum sits Gut, which formed in 2018, but has already opened seven offices across three continents. The indie network is investing in its next era of growth as the agency went from being founder-led behind Anselmo Ramos and Gaston Bigio to CEO-led with the hiring of Andrea Diquez as its first global CEO. She also brought in Sandra Alfaro as the U.S. president for the shop—both coming to the agency from DDB.
The agency’s rapid expansion is fueled by pushing its clients to be braver. In Brazil, the agency initiated a deal for Mercado Livre to sell the country’s constitution after protestors stormed its federal government buildings. In Argentina, the agency created a push notification for food delivery company Pedidos Ya to track the World Cup trophy’s trip to Argentina. The Miami office redesigned the cream cheese bagel for Philadelphia Cream Cheese to highlight New York’s absurd tax on cream cheese bagels.