The Industry Darlings
Spotlighting the agencies changing our industry for the better.
Independent agencies are creating the future of our industry - experimenting, innovating, challenging.
These nimble, passionate teams are proving daily that you don't need global scale to make a global impact. They're creating new models, championing fresh values, and showing what's possible when vision matters more than venture capital.
These darlings aren't just building their own businesses - they're lifting others as they climb. Here's how they're contributing to a stronger independent agency ecosystem...
These are the darlings and the women and men behind them.
Marissa Shapiro
Bertha!
“We’re a hybrid CMO / Agency team. We understand and prioritize impact equally with breakthrough creative work”
Alison Matheny
Best Creative Studio
“We're all rowing the same yacht. This is our studio agreement at BEST and applies to the practice both inside and out. Staying committed to operating with integrity, authenticity and a very low bullshit tolerance keeps our team healthy, our clients happy and the work solid.”
Lauryn Warnick
Villain Branding
“We’re a team of executive-level, independent consultants, who’ve led strategy and creative teams at the world’s biggest agencies. We don’t have layers of approval, our clients have direct peer-to-peer conversations to build measurable brand value, faster.”
Ashley Rector
Quimby
“Social media thrives on authenticity—and so do we. After years of deeply connecting brands to their customers through organic social media marketing, we're stepping up to transform the industry itself. It's time for a social tool built strategically by humans, for humans.”
Leona Kohen
Ideas + Experiments
“We believe that growth doesn't need to be high-risk or high-cost. We help clients imagine and build bold ideas through smart strategy, structured experimentation, and the kind of insight that turns guesswork into impact.”
Dana Farber
Moonstone Marketing
"We're approaching marketing in a mindful way, establishing a process based around intentional growth & strategy."
Christine Olivas
No Single Individual
"Agency business isn't predictable, but talent strategies haven't fully evolved past the AOR days. We're helping to eliminate the hiring-and-firing cycle by giving agencies a profitable and people-centric way to flex up and down."
