Thanks Fast Company for the shoutout. You’re our favorite magazine, “among others.”
We’re proud but humbled to be mentioned in this Fast Company article about the rise of the independent ad agency. And in such amazing company too; Preacher, Humanaut and Haymaker, “among others.”
Sure, we’re not named by name or anything. But it’s super obvious to everyone, especially Josh Denberg’s mother, that the “among others” reference is a nod to her son’s small, San Francisco ad agency, Division of Labor. Clearly, all that bragging to yenta friends Carole Rosenberg and Linda Randall “among others” paid off. Fast Company, indeed, took notice. Unconfirmed reports also suggest that Josh’s mother cornered Fast Company CEO, Eric Schurenberg’s mother at a Zoom Canasta tournament to sing her son’s praises.
“The “among others” group is a small, but tight-knit community of people, most of whom worked for Goodby, Silverstein, and Partners in the late nineties to early 2000s and then left to start independent ad agencies. Places like Chemistry Club, Cutwater, Funworks “among others.” “We even use the “among others” line among ourselves,” says, Division of Labor founder and chief creative officer, Josh Denberg. “It’s always been our little inside joke. So when Fast Company decided to run with it, rather than call us out individually, we all got a chuckle.”
But the bottom line: all of us “among others” agree with Jeff Beer that indy ad agencies are having a resurgence and the past year’s economic situation has certainly influenced that. At last week’s virtual gathering at Grumpy’s, the group was just talking about how the situation is really similar to when Division of Labor started in 2009.
There was economic instability after the 2008 economic crash, there was a new president trying to clean up the mess of the previous administration and the agency world was a shit-show of new tech, media fragmentation, and brands looking for an alternative to the high costs and cruddy service of the holding companies.
So thanks Fast Company for the mention and for recognizing the importance of small ad agencies like ours, “among others.”
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The Small Agency Blog is produced by Division of Labor; a top San Francisco ad agency and digital marketing firm that’s been named Small Agency of the Year twice by Ad Age. The award-winning creative shop services clients on a retainer or project basis. They also offer brand consulting services and hourly engagements for startups and smaller brands. Click here for a free consultation.