That kitchen-table approach is emblematic of how Droga5 works,
even as it expands from small shop to an international force to be
reckoned with. Newly minted Chief Creative Officer Ted Royer
describes the culture the agency tries to retain as having
"funkiness" and "scrappiness." Droga5, though, is far from an
underdog, posting a healthy 40% U.S. revenue growth in 2013, the
shop's seventh straight year of more than 30% growth.
Droga5 feels like it grew up this year -- signing mature clients
like American Express,
Diet Coke and Chobani, as well as more experimental ones like 3-D
printing firm Makerbot. The agency had a perfect record -- not a
single lost pitch. It also opened its first European office, in
London, and signed a historic deal with Hollywood agency William
Morris Endeavor that Chief Strategy Officer Jonny Bauer said will
help the agency do bigger and more wonderful things.
Leanne Fremar, senior VP-exec creative director at another new
client, Under Armour's women's business, called Droga5 a
"world-class agency," which goes to "every length to ensure that
both the work and the experience of making the work is nothing
short of extraordinary."
And the work, as one has come to expect from this shop, was
strong. One of our favorites was a TV campaign for the Moto X that
positioned your phone as a lazy, good-for-nothing, pudgy man. For
Newcastle Brown Ale, it refreshed its successful, disruptive "No
Bollocks" campaign with TV and a Facebook app that exposes the BS
behind social-media posts.
And for Droga5, it wasn't just about big brands. For the New
Museum's "NYC 1993" exhibit, the agency created an experiential
campaign that transformed Manhattan payphones into time capsules
that take you back to 1993.
Its in-house incubator, De-De, took home an Innovation Lion at
Cannes for social-amplification platform Thunderclap -- which
Droga5 says is now its own standalone business used by the White
House, One and by political parties in India.
