The pandemic undoubtedly made health care one of the hottest categories in advertising. Recognizing that, Dagger went into 2021 targeting clients in the space, and despite not having any prior experience in the sector the agency was able to secure wins for three different brands within “the same global health care conglomerate,” according to the agency. That played a big role in Dagger growing its revenue from $13 million in 2020 to more than $19 million in 2021.

The Atlanta agency helped launch an Aflac campaign around the college football season to encourage individuals, especially communities of color and Black Americans, to take action around medical debt. The “Earning the Aflacket” campaign, which included spots with University of Alabama coach Nick Saban and NFL legend and Jackson State University coach Deion Sanders, delivered a 9-point lift in consideration, a 10-point jump in connection and a 12-point rise in trust among the African American audience for the brand. The social campaign also drove awareness and engagement with 253 million impressions, 3.6 million social engagements and 6,500 campaign mentions over five months.

The agency used its in-house media company, Butter.ATL, which has an Instagram profile with more than 115,000 followers, and original content featuring Atlanta legends including rapper Killer Mike and Mayor Andre Dickens, for a campaign promoting the fast-food chain Krystal. Dagger helped launch a dual-branded experience called KrystalxButter at the Krystal restaurant in West Midtown, transforming the space into one that celebrated the city’s culture. The launch party led to a 100% lift in sales throughout the duration of the activation. (Butter.ATL majority owner Brandon Butler left the agency last March to join Majority.)

Dagger also showed off its nimbleness when it secured a partnership with rapper Jack Harlow for Buffalo Wild Wings and launched a social campaign that included securing time with a celebrity photographer and shooting TikTok videos in-house within just a week. The campaign achieved more than 2.6 million impressions on social.