VaynerMedia Becomes Social and Media AOR for H&R Block

VaynerMedia has consolidated its relationship with H&R Block, taking on duties as both social and media agency of record, the agency told ADWEEK exclusively. The remit marks a major step in the tax-prep giant’s push to stay relevant outside of tax season and establish itself as a year-round financial services brand.

The partnership began in tax season 2024, when Vayner handled H&R Block’s organic social. “We saw some pretty tremendous success of doing organic social—a high volume of content that threw up all sorts of great insights and powered a lot of their paid campaigns,” said John Terrana, chief media officer at VaynerMedia.

Building on that success, the agency added paid social in 2025, becoming H&R Block’s full end-to-end social AOR. As of this month, the brand has expanded the relationship again. “They’re [our] social AOR and we’re their media AOR as well,” Terrana said. “It’s all organic growth … as we get in, prove ourselves and grow with awesome partners.”

H&R Block CMO Jill Cress described the consolidation as a competitive advantage: “VaynerMedia’s integrated approach fuels agility, sharpens our cultural edge, and ensures we’re building stronger connections with more customers all year long by integrating H&R Block into daily interactions.”

H&R Block’s marketing overhaul comes as the company posts steady financial gains. In its fiscal 2025 results, the brand reported $3.8 billion in revenue, up 4.2% year over year.

Beyond agency moves, H&R Block has been modernizing its own marketing. The company rolled out AI Tax Assist to support customers around the clock, and it’s turning to TikTok and even gaming tie-ins to make financial literacy less intimidating—particularly for Gen Z.

By leaning on marketing to extend its relevance beyond tax season, the brand is aiming to sustain that momentum. As Cress put it, the consolidation with Vayner is designed to ensure H&R Block is “building stronger connections with more customers, all year long.”

Terrana emphasized speed and consumer-centricity as the key drivers. “Tax seasons are a pretty short window, about 105 days or so every single year, and that requires a level of agility and integration to be able to really execute,” he said. “When you combine speed, an awesome torrent of daily consumer signals, and outcomes, it sort of led us to today.”

The agency is leaning on a “fail fast, learn fast” model, producing dozens if not hundreds of social assets weekly and using real-time signals to determine what scales. “Instead of us debating if we should change the color from red to green, our energy is: let’s just put it out into the world and allow the consumer to dictate what is working and what’s not,” Terrana said.

H&R Block has worked with a series of agencies in recent years. In October 2021, Gale was named digital, media, and CRM agency of record; in September 2022, Ogilvy took over creative, brand, and PR duties; and in November 2024, Ogilvy One was appointed CRM agency.

Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of VaynerMedia, added: “Social media organic creative is at the core of modern marketing. When social content is supercharged with strategic media efforts, the results speak for themselves.”

Per COMvergence estimates provided to ADWEEK, H&R Block’s U.S. media spend in 2024 was about $87 million.