2. VaynerMedia
Thanks to the outsize personality of founder Gary Vaynerchuk,
VaynerMedia shot onto the scene in 2013, handling social projects
for an impressive array of marketers including PepsiCo, General
Electric, Mondelez, Unilever, Budweiser and Hasbro. The agency saw
57% growth of $22.5 million in net revenue. One of its best
campaigns got people talking about old-school board game Monopoly
again; the agency cast a worldwide vote to sacrifice an old token
and introduce a new one, leading to a kitty cat replacing the
iron.
3. Edelman
The largest and longest established in their industries aren't
always the most progressive. But Edelman, the largest PR agency in
the world, continues to dabble in capabilities outside its comfort
zone. In 2013, the shop officially launched its newsroom offering,
complete with dedicated offices and staff across the country, hired
senior-level agency executives, including Vivaki's Chris Paul to
round out its digital offeringn and the firm's senior officers
began investigating new areas like talent management. Edelman ended
its fiscal year (the 12 months ended in September) with $716
million in global revenue and 11.5% growth.
4. SteinIAS, New York
The merger of New York's Stein & Partners Brand Activation and
London's IAS b2b Marketing is indicative of the global ambitions of
independent b-to-b shops. SteinIAS has won AOR accounts including
American Water Resources, Columbia University Planned Giving,
Pinstripe, Savvis/Century Link and Vree Health and b-to-b revenue
climbed 11% to $13.5 million. Watch for more growth in 2014.
5. BBH
In 2012 Publicis Groupe's BBH faced layoffs and lost its footing
amid a wave of management changes. But when it stole the Sony Playstation account from
Deutsch last February, it was a sign that the
shop, under new chief creative John Patroulis, was making a
turnaround. Then, in October Newell Rubbermaid consolidated all
advertising with the agency, cementing it as one to watch on the
new-business circuit in 2014.
6. Possible
Possible is the product of a digital agency mashup within WPP, and at the helm is a CEO who owned an
analytics firm. Sounds like a recipe for disaster but Possible's
Shane Atchison might have been just the ticket to lead the shop in
a three-year search for identity. He's steered the agency toward
double-digit growth in 2013 and launched ventures like Amazon
practice group, which, among other endeavors has led to a handful
of new-business prospects, he said.
7. Sparks & Honey, New York
This Omnicom-backed "newsroom"-oriented agency starts each morning
with a cultural briefing for clients such as Hyatt, Jarden and Life
is Good, for whom it developed six "culture-to-commerce" T-shirts.
In 2013 it grew from two to 17 clients and quadrupled its staff to
20.
8. Pitch
What started out in 2008 as a largely promotional shop in Culver
City, Calif. has grown into an integrated agency that boasts a 43%
revenue increase n 2013, a 50% increase in clients and an employee
count rise to 47 from 27. It's been a longtime Burger King shop,
but it added more general market and global duties to its account
last year, along with other 2013 wins such as Pinkberry and
Maaco.
9. Code and Theory
This summer, The Verge covered the launch of Comcast;s cloud-connected
entertainment platform, X2. It was the first time Code and Theory,
a 12-year-old independent digital shop, could say it created both
the physical X2 product and the Verge's website.The shop, best
known for website design work, is one of the few indies that
successfully expanded its scope to cover many aspects of digital
marketing and branding. In 2013, the shop supported the Comcast
project: a Mashable redesign; content for Maybelline and broad
digital tasks for Dr Pepper and
Snapple and others. If its 50% increase in revenue is any
indication, it;s on the right track moving into 2014.
10. Firstborn
For Dentsu's Firstborn, 2013 was a year of record growth
-- 50% in revenue with new retainer duties for brands like L'Oreal Luxe products and
Mtn Dew -- and expansion beyond its digital roots. The shop snagged
lead global agency duties for Japan's All Nippon Airways, with a
scope spanning social, digital and a TV campaign slated for 2014.
It also doubled the size of its content studio and continued to
grow its expertise in areas like digital loyalty and rewards
programs.
