Media by Mother is opening as part of Mother’s U.S. operations and will initially be located in Mother New York’s Gowanus office opening in April, while also building a presence in Los Angeles. The independent media agency will be led by founding partner and CEO Dave Gaines, who was formerly global head of media strategy for WPP and partner, COO Will Heins, previously senior principal, global offering development for Accenture and a veteran of Omnicom Media Group.

As part of the broader Mother family, Media by Mother will report to Mother in the U.S. partner, CEO Peter Ravailhe. Media by Mother is an independent agency with the broader Mother U.S. network and will pursue its own client opportunities outside of existing Mother relationships while also working with Mother clients. Plant-based milk brand Califia Farms is Media by Mother’s first client.

“With Dave and Will we have leaders that we believe will help brands redefine their relationship with media, creativity and ultimately their customers: A media agency with the business rigor and integrity yet fueled by the creative vision, ambition and values Mother has always been known for,” Ravailhe said in a statement. “While Media by Mother is set up as an independent company, it will also be integrated with the broader Mother agency in New York and Los Angeles further enhancing the media and business acumen of the entire organization.”

In a statement, Mother claims its independence allows it to construct a media agency designed to earn trust with both clients and consumers through a differentiated approach built around a business model focused on client growth and approach tailored to honestly connecting with consumers.

“This isn’t about uncovering a gap in media agency offerings,” Gaines said in a statement. “It’s about getting out from under the flow of money that has defined media, particularly in the last decade. If we lead with smart people, who get how media really works and we do it within a culture that puts creativity first, we’ll go a long way to making this business respectable again. It won’t be for everyone and that’s OK. If it is, we’re probably doing it wrong.”

Mother has been growing its extended family in recent months. The opening of Media by Mother follows Mother’s backing of Other, a new independent creative agency in London, last October.

It also follows a number of new agency debuts in 2020, although Mother’s venture into media stands apart from these launches. The second half of 2020 saw former BBDO New York CCO Greg Hahn opening Mischief as part of No Fixed Address, Gerry Graf and Maxi Itzkoff opening Slap Global and Chris Garbutt and Colin Mitchell introducing creative consultancy Pltfrmr.