Amid recent (and frequent) news of agency conglomerate mergers, consolidations, and other transitions, brands fall into one of two camps.   

Brands with nine-figure marketing budgets can ride the wave of uncertainty to the shore without much impact on their bottom lines, but “mid-size” brands that aren’t massive corporations, though still with healthy marketing budgets, might be more prone to consider other options.  

Industry changes like these often breed confusion, staff turnover, and shifting account priorities. This gives independent agencies--already accustomed to working with mid-size brands--a golden opportunity to be the reassuring presence for said brands based on their unique value proposition.   

Independent agencies scale from the roots of their clear sense of purpose. They know who they are, what they want to become, and can set themselves apart with individualized ethos and creative strategies.    

Mid-size brands prioritize campaign creation speed, without sacrificing creative quality. They want hands-on access to senior-level talent and equal say in creative collaboration.   

Within indie agencies, everyone on the creative team, no matter their experience level, sits at the same table. We encourage the egalitarian sharing of ideas with equal consideration and support. often, the boldest creative plans come from ideas someone may have otherwise been too nervous to share in different settings, but these ideas can’t be coaxed without the promise to receive them with full empathy and support.    

And mid-size brands, we find, are more eager to be the risk-takers, leaning into bold creative that cuts through the noise.  

Indies champion strong ideas, no matter how far out of left field they seem, if they think they can elevate the brand’s messaging and marketing goals, even if it means not playing a marketing strategy “safe”.   

In indie environments where teams are close-knit, high-level, and foster deep collaborative partnerships, creatives who joined advertising to maximize their biggest ideas thrive, and their clients reap the rewards of staying on marketing’s cutting edge.   

Some may point to these mergers consolidating creative, media, data companies, and more, but this trait isn’t unique to conglomerates. Many indie agencies run as full-service companies with in-house creative and media offerings.  

Ultimately, recent mergers and acquisitions should signal to indie agencies that broaching mid-size brands with their unique skillset can build successful partnerships long-term.