Agency News You Need To Know This Week

See Scotts’ backyard content studio, Mojo’s tiny messages to this year’s Small Agency winner and more

By Aleda Stam. Published on July 28, 2023. 

It’s a small world

This year’s Ad Age Small Agency conference is a wrap! The event was held this year in Atlanta and was a rousing success (even if we do say so ourselves).

From the keynote, done masterfully by WPP Global Chief Creative Officer Rob Reilly to all of the panels, case studies and the big finale— The Small Agency Awards—attendees shared learnings and compared notes with their peers.

And, as is customary at the awards show, the prior year’s winner prepares a handoff video for the incoming Small Agency of the Year. This year’s submission was a delight from Mojo Supermarket.

For those who didn’t get to see it (or who want to see it again), here is the video Mojo created for this year’s winner.

Don’t know who the 2023 winners are? Check out all of the Small Agency of the Year winners here.

Wavemaker bolsters client leadership

Wavemaker, the media agency that is part of WPP’s GroupM, expanded the remits of its three global client presidents this week.

Alastair Bannerman will now lead the Fast Growth practice dedicated to scale-up brands such as Back Market, Coinbase, DoorDash, SeatGeek, Square and Zwift.

Anna Hickey will run Wavemaker’s Global Consultancy, which uses applied innovation, e-commerce, content and brand experiences, data strategy, measurement and analytics, addressable solutions and tech consulting in its work with clients.

And Alex Altman now oversees Wavemaker’s B2B practice, which works with clients including AXA, Deloitte, General Electric, Reuters and TikTok from a global center of excellence in London and hubs in North America and Asia Pacific.

Scotts turns a backyard into the ideal content studio

Ever heard the expression “it’s like watching grass grow?”

Well now you can—and a lot more. Lawn care brand Scotts is taking content creation to the great outdoors in its latest campaign. Creative data agency Performance Art, which became Scotts’ digital innovation agency in January, turned a pristine, green lawn into “Lawnstream,” a content studio.

“Lawnstream” uses a suburban backyard all day for content for Scotts, which includes product tutorials and little moments of entertainment and experiences. The activities are streamed live on YouTube by Earthcam, a network of streaming web and traffic cams, which in turn creates content for Scotts’ social channels. Events have included backyard wrestling, a Corn Dog Cornhole Challenge, the Fall Haul Music Fest, goat yoga and, of course, tips for caring for the perfect lawn.

“From childhood memories of playing catch, to backyard barbecues and nights under the stars—a lot of life’s great moments happen on our lawns,” Nick Bayne, group brand creative director at ScottsMiracle- Gro, said in a statement. “We want Lawnstream to be a reminder of that feeling.”

Media support was provided by Scotts’ media agency, MediaHub.

Mother teams with cannabis rolling paper brand Vibes

Creative agency Mother has partnered with Vibes, the rolling paper brand created by rapper and entrepreneur Berner, to support the Last Prisoner Project and advocate for individuals imprisoned for marijuana-related convictions.

“Release Papers” is a line of rolling papers created to educate the public into participating in advocating for prisoners. Each paper includes the name of one of four incarcerated people along with a QR code that brings the user to release-papers.com. The site encourages people to sign the Cannabis Clemency Now petition, which asks President Biden to release federal cannabis prisoners, and to participate in a letter-writing program that sends letters to the featured inmates.

“So many people are still locked up with lengthy sentences related to cannabis,” Berner said in a statement. “While at the same time, so many states have made up their mind that cannabis should be legal, and those states are where those people are still serving time, which makes absolutely no sense.”

Havas names James Turnham chief production officer

Havas has appointed James Turnham chief production officer for its flagship creative agency, Havas London. Turnham was also named senior VP of Create at Prose on Pixels, Havas’ recently launched global content network.

Turnham replaces Katie Keith, who left her position as head of production and global content in June. He joins Havas from Channel 4 in the U.K., where he was a founding member of 4creative, the in-house agency where he was head of production and operations. Turnham was also head of integrated production at Uncommon Creative Studio and previously worked at Mother.

Chemistry named organic social content AOR for Focus Brands

Restaurant chain operator Focus Brands has selected independent Chemistry as its first organic social content agency of record. As organic social content AOR, Chemistry’s in-house production team, @TestTube, will work with Focus Brands’ in-house social media team to produce content and grow the various chains’ social presence.

Chemistry will work on content for the Auntie Anne’s, Carvel, Cinnabon, Jamba, Moe’s Southwest Grill, McAlister’s Deli and Schlotzsky’s brands.

Just briefly

Executive search and talent strategy firm Baker Montgomery has chosen 50,000feet to redesign the company’s brand identity and digital experience, including modernizing its website.

Destination Vancouver, the city’s official visitor and convention bureau, has named Havas Media Network and Noise Digital as its media agency of record following a competitive review. The identity of the previous agency was not known at deadline.

Photobook company Mixbook has chosen Quigley-Simpson as its media agency of record after a competitive review. It’s unclear who held the account previously.

Duncan Channon has named Kumi Croom to the newly created role of managing director. Croom was previously director of collaboration and equity, and will oversee the project management and account management teams in her new role.