Agency news you need to know this week

Welcome back to Agency Brief. This week, we’re taking a look at some cool new agency logos, an indie agency’s hiring spree, WPP’s return to growth and more. Want to be included in a future edition? Reach out to ewan.larkin@adage.com and brian.bonilla@adage.com for consideration. Gut gives its offices some branding In partnership with design agency &Walsh, Gut has created logos, or so-called “icons,” for each of its 10 offices, including Miami, Singapore, Buenos Aires and New York. The logos are designed to capture the respective cities’ “spirit, culture and personality,” Gut Founder and Creative Chairman Anselmo Ramos wrote on LinkedIn. Check out a couple of them above. Also read: Gut opens a New York office A-List & Creativity Awards Enter for a chance to be recognized as the best in advertising Submit your entry here Curiosity expands exec team Curiosity is bolstering its senior leadership team with three new positions as it continues to grow. The independent shop’s revenue is expected to increase by 40% in 2024, fueled by wins with clients such as Stop & Shop and Bridges Consumer Healthcare, according to a statement from the agency. The Martin Agency’s Taylor Wiegert is joining the shop as executive VP and head of strategy. At Martin, where he was VP and group planning director, Wiegert worked with brands including Bud Light and Axe. Dan Mayer, formerly VP of media platforms at Kroger Precision Marketing, has also joined as executive VP of analytics, where he will oversee the analytics team. Ashley Neel has also been promoted from VP of activation to executive VP. Laura Matthews, who was managing director, agency growth strategy at Mirren, will serve as VP of client partnership. Matthews replaces Peyton Sutton, who in May joined Terri & Sandy. In case you missed it Before we go any further, here are a few of Ad Age’s biggest agency stories this week: Agency Review Tracker Stay up to date with the latest account reviews Click here WPP ‘encouraged’ by quarter WPP has returned to organic growth following declines in previous quarters. The ad giant on Wednesday reported that like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs increased 0.5% in the third quarter. During the quarter, WPP notched media wins with Amazon and Unilever. Last week, it picked up Starbucks’ creative business in the U.S. WPP still expects its like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs to be flat to down 1% this year. “We are encouraged by progress during the quarter, but with recent new business wins primarily impacting 2025, and continuing macroeconomic pressures, our expectations for the full year remain unchanged,” Mark Read, CEO of WPP, said in a statement. Read: Arthur Sadoun responds to Mark Read's industry comments Another design unit pops up VML is the latest agency to launch a dedicated design practice. Led by Robb Smigielski, chief design officer for North America, the 80-person unit will work with clients such as Intel and Dell, according to a statement from the WPP agency. The design practice, called “Brand Design at VML,” recently helped Spirit Airlines revamp its brand identity. Below, some of that work. More: Spirit Airlines names Tombras AOR Just briefly The BLAC Internship program (Building Leaders & Creators) is accepting new agency participants, as the initiative expands to meet the needs of a growing pool of candidates. BLAC is a collective of agencies, including Majority, Preacher and Pereira O’Dell, committed to bringing more young diverse people into advertising. Moderna has named Known as its U.S. media agency of record, the independent agency announced this week. The identity of the incumbent wasn’t immediately clear. Kepler Group named Chris O’Brien as executive VP and head of client solutions, a new role. O’Brien was formerly a managing director and global client lead at Omnicom Media Group, where he led accounts such as State Farm, SC Johnson and Culver’s. Taylor Farms, the Salinas, California-based producer of healthy foods, appointed Erich & Kallman as creative agency of record. It was not clear which agency previously held the account. Miami Beach, Florida-based Hunterblu is managing media. Clothing and footwear brand Columbia Sportswear named adam&eveDDB as its global creative agency of record following a competitive pitch. Acceleration Community of Companies promoted Monica Chun to the new role of president. Chun was formerly chief client officer and president of brand advisory. ACC is not replacing her previous role.

Agency news you need to know this week

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