• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, September 24, 2020

Cult Collective has been servicing U.S. brands from Canada for more than six years, and now the Calgary-based agency has established its first outpost in the U.S.

The collective has set up shop in Los Angeles where its biggest U.S. client — UCLA Health — is based.

The agency does a lot of project work and relies on a talented pool of seasoned freelancers, so it can quickly scale up or down depending on the size of the project. Its name reflects part of its mission: help brands create cult-like adoration from consumers.

The LA office isn’t fully staffed yet, due to the pandemic, but itdid create a campaign for UCLA Health that broke during the NBA playoffs. The work featured a young cancer survivor now thriving, thanks to the efforts at the medical center.

The freelance network that Cult Collective utilizes helps boost the agency’s agility quotient, says Bradley Foster, the outfit’s recently named president. "We’ve hacked the age-old agency dilemma of variable revenue stifled by high fixed expenses,” he says. “We can help clients by being cost-effective, but not skimping on the best talent needed to achieve their goals."

Foster has been with Cult since 2014, when the agency acquired his digital production agency. Prior to being named president, he was Chief Growth Officer at the firm and is credited with helping to boost the agency’s U.S. roster with notable clients, including Zappos, Harley-Davidson, UCLA, GoDaddy, and Keurig. Part of his remit is to continue ramping up the agency’s growth across North America.

A few years back, the agency’s CEO Chris Kneeland and cofounder Ryan Gill created an event called The Gathering that attracts top brand leaders from well-known companies, like Marvel, Coca-Cola, Spotify, Beats by Dre and the Los Angeles Lakers, among others. Attendees flock annually to the Canadian Rockies to learn from and celebrate with some of the world’s best known brands. 

That’s a nice combination for an agency — agility and thought leadership. Sounds like a model built for the present and the future.