Producing campaigns capable of changing lives, or even saving them, is the cornerstone of New York-based agency Alto’s past-year success. 

Alto debuted its campaign “Live and Let Live,” in partnership with Montefiore Einstein, at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival. The two-minute film, directed by Oscar-nominated Derek Cianfrance, was the lead video for the campaign's effort to get more kidney and liver donors by telling patients’ own moving stories. The hospital has since received 226 calls from individuals looking to become living donors. Three patients who were part of the campaign have found life-saving organ matches.

The Montefiore campaign exemplifies the goal of Hannes Ciatti, Alto founder and former co-founder of JohnXHannes (the other co-founder of that now-dissolved agency runs Mirimar, our West Gold Agency of the Year. Alto, which means “to stand tall” in Italian, confidently established itself as a selective agency since its inception in 2019, exclusively working on projects that are good for people and the planet. Recent campaigns include Alto’s partnership with H&M, “Role Models," which received more than 34,000 nominees and recognized hundreds of kids working to make the world a better place. 

Other brands, including Expensify, Upwork and Ketel One, have also been drawn to the agency to produce not only ads but cultural movements that speak on broader topics such as diversity and climate change. 

Alto’s revenue grew from by almost 30% to $21.1 million from 2020 to 2021, and is projected to increase by another 24% by next year. And true to its mission, Alto contributes 1% of its annual revenue toward environmental causes as a member of the organization 1% of the Planet. The agency has also partnered with talent discovery platform Free the Work and St. John’s University to hire underrepresented and diverse creators.