Ad Agency

Marketing is dead. Advertising is deader. Long live growth hacking? Part 3

By Gonzalo López Martí - Creative Director

• Many growth hacks are glorified, carefully orchestrated bait & switch maneuvers.
• Throw in a little word of mouth* and BINGO.

Michelle Cobas joins MEL as Managing Director, Chief Growth Officer

MEL, a culture-forward creative collective, announced that Michelle Cobas has joined in the role of Managing Director, Chief Growth Officer.

Influyente launches Marketing Agency for Multicultural Audiences

Catalyzed by strong market demand, Refuel Agency spins off new multicultural agency, driven by AI insights and a network of multicultural influencers.

20 Ideas for marketers & agencies

Can you imagine working daily with the smartest, most successful CEOs, CMOs, and marketers? Or interacting daily with the very best agencies in the world – of all sizes and shapes – and across all disciplines (creative, media, PR, digital, etc.).

Casanova//McCann named “Best US Independent Agency”

Last week, El Ojo de Iberoamérica named Casanova//McCann the Best U.S. Independent Agency for 2024.  And on Friday at the Ad Color Awards, Casanova also received 2024 Best Campaign of the Year for its work in partnership with McCann for U.S.Bank. The work recognized is “Translators” a documentary developed to celebrate the role of immigrant children as translators for their parents. This work was developed to support the launch of U.S. Bank’s Spanish-language app and has received 40+ awards since it launched.

Two-thirds (65%) of marketers expect business conditions to improve next year

Improving economic conditions, the tension between social media and brand safety, the growing cohort of consumers leading more solo lifestyles, expanding brand building to encompass the entire customer experience, and managing the impact of AI technology on the environment, are five key trends that will shape global marketing strategies in 2025, as revealed in WARC’s Marketer's Toolkit 2025.

‘We can’t cry about the milk that’s spilled’: As DE&I fallout continues, multicultural agencies grapple with changes

Brands like Ford Motors, John Deere and Molson Coors, among others, have reversed course on their diversity, equity and inclusion commitments. The shift is leaving multicultural and diverse-owned agencies grappling with the fallout.

Agencies: treat your people well; they may run a future agency review

Agencies: treat your people well; they may run a future agency review The agency business is a tough business. Clients expect a lot. Agency economics are strained. And staff often move around for promotions. It’s hard to run a successful agency.

“Embracing Purpose Beyond Politics: A New Opportunity for Brands in a Divided America.”

As the dust settles on one of the most divisive elections in recent memory, brands have a rare opportunity to refocus on their purpose. Beyond the bitter politics and polarized discourse, there’s a deep desire among consumers for connection and unity. This presents a pivotal moment for brands: they can now help bridge divides, uplift communities, and inspire optimism. But this requires brands to step boldly into their purpose-driven messaging—while avoiding the political pitfalls that can alienate their audience.  By Luis Miguel Messianu. Founder, President-Chief Creative Officer- MEL

How to evaluate agency proposals

Very few marketers are taught how to evaluate an agency proposal, whether it is a formal written response to an RFP, a presentation or some other format.

How Much Longer Can The Agency/Client Model Survive?

“The agency model is broken.” This refrain is so worn out it’s a cliché. Yet, despite its obvious flaws, the model has survived for decades. Here’s how it works: agencies base their fees on the number of “Full-Time Equivalents” (FTEs) assigned to a client—essentially, headcount. In theory, more complex projects require more FTEs, allowing agencies to scale revenue with staff allocation. More FTEs mean higher fees; simple math, straightforward billing.  By Shelly Palmer

After Transforming Advertising, AI Is Coming for Marketing

Over the past decade, artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the way advertisers manage advertising campaigns. Platforms like Meta and Google have deeply integrated AI into their systems, automating the once-tedious processes of ad targeting, creative testing, and bid optimization. This transformation has enabled advertisers to scale campaigns with minimal manual input, maximizing performance while reducing operational burdens.

2024 Top Agencies in the World by Revenue

Agency Mania Solutions have released their 2024 edition of the Top 15 Agencies in the World.

The Continuing Education of In-House Agencies

The proliferating number of in-house ad agencies blending creative talent, media buying, and online analytics underscores the growing need to train such agencies to keep up with accelerating demands from senior management and adapt new skillsets. Companies have learned the hard way that building these teams requires more than just slapping a name on a unit within the marketing department and pegging it as an in-house agency.

d expósito & Partners unveils Cultural Dexterity positioning and its forward-thinking discourse for today’s New America.

In a fresh, bold move, d expósito & Partners, LLC today unveiled its differentiated positioning “to help brands reach and conquer the New American Mainstream.” Anchored in its U.S., Hispanic-centric roots, the ad agency’s innovative positioning takes into account the major economic force of the U.S. Hispanic Market — at 62M consumers with a contribution of 3.7 Trillion to the national GDP —, while ambitiously reaching far and beyond to capture a unique space in the minds of consumers and achieve success for brands in the cross-cultural intersections of a new economy.

Cientochentaº Agency makes its Mark in the U.S. Market with a Powerful Campaign That Saves Lives

Cientochentaº, a multicultural advertising agency based in Tampa and an affiliate of Oneighty/FCB in Puerto Rico, recently expanded into the U.S. market with a new office in Tampa. Cientochentaº launched an impactful campaign for LifeLink of Florida and LifeLink of Georgia across Florida and Georgia, respectively, to increase organ, eye, and tissue donor registrations.

How Do Marketers Fix Broken Agency-Client Relations?

Stephanie McCarty, chief marketing and communications officer at Taylor Morrison, shares her frustrations with ad agencies and possible remedies to improve the situation.

Media Agency Pitches Don’t Talk About Creative Data, Here’s Why They Should

If there's one universal truth for agencies, it's that no client agreement is guaranteed to last forever. Sooner or later, they will face a request for proposal (RFP) that initiates the familiar dance of re-courting client favor. But as advertising trading methods and targeting approaches evolve, sticking to "how we've done things before" won't be enough.

Your Agency Is Built on Your Actions, Not Your Appearance

We recently took a giant leap into the unknown, leaving stable jobs to nurture the seed of an idea. We wanted to create a new kind of creative shop, one that was female-founded (only one percent of agencies are!), designed to meet the needs of a new digital reality (faster speed, higher volume, lower budgets), and rooted in the ethos of radical hospitality. Our idea was to treat each client as though they were guests at the corner table, to give them the best seat in the house and make sure that they – and their audiences – were seen, heard, and valued in every aspect of the work.

Eighty percent of brands have concerns about agency use of GenAI

Nearly two-thirds of brand owners (63%) are already using generative AI in their marketing strategies, according to new research from the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) but many have serious concerns about the technology.