How Bandits & Friends is building its shop, one relationship at a time

When Liberty Mutual was looking for a new creative partner to reenergize its brand last year, the insurer turned to the architects of its well-known brand, spokes-duo LiMu Emu and Doug, six years ago. The former Goodby Silverstein & Partners executives behind the campaign, Danny Gonzalez and David Suarez, had since co-founded their own independent agency, Bandits & Friends, with Courtney Berry in 2023. Bandits & Friends’ new Liberty Mutual work will debut this summer. “They realized working with us, and our style of work, was something they appreciated,” said Suarez, co-chief creative officer. See all of Ad Age’s 2025 Agency A-List winners here Winning the Liberty Mutual work is an example of how Bandits & Friends leverages the relationships its founders spent their careers building to grow its client roster and create new marketing. Last year, Bandits & Friends, which now counts 17 staffers, expected to hit billings of $5 million. The agency has developed its reputation as a counterweight to the transactional relationships prevalent across much of the industry amid shortened chief marketing officer tenures and AOR turnover. “We said we can develop a friendship model, with mutual trust and engagement throughout the process, and have that be our special sauce,” said Gonzalez, co-chief creative officer. Another of Bandits & Friends’ biggest clients, Angi, the home services brand, came from a similar rapport-based model. Leaning into existing friendships, the agency convinced Angi not to do a pitch when it was looking for a new agency, according to Berry, the agency’s president. “In conversations, we had shared some strategic thinking and let them in on what our creative vision is as an agency and how we go about doing things,” she said. “That pitch format can be so superficial and shallow.” Bandits & Friends’ campaign for Angi debuted last fall. The humorous series of spots shows how easy it is to get tricked on the internet by wannabe experts with very dubious credentials; in contrast, Angi’s roster of skilled home professionals provides reliability. Gonzalez noted that breaking through to consumers is especially challenging in an environment where there are so many distractions—something the team at Bandits & Friends keeps in mind in their creative process. “When we approach them, it has to be written in a certain way to grab attention and maintain it,” he said. See all of Ad Age’s 2025 Agency A-List winners here As Bandits & Friends continues to scale its business, its founders stressed the importance of staying grounded to maintain its unique appeal as an advantage for clients. “If you’re not thoughtful about it at the beginning, you inevitably, by muscle memory, become exactly like every other shop your size,” said Gonzalez.

How Bandits & Friends is building its shop, one relationship at a time

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