Gold
Minds + Assembly
With new branding, this agency pushed into the power of design — long one of its strengths — in new ways. That enabled it to bolster its culture, even as it added new business and created groundbreaking work for long-term clients such as Otsuka and Takeda, as well as those won in the last year, including Ambit, Fractyl Health and Reset Pharma.
With $48.3 million in revenue in 2022, it continued to expand. Last year, it built new capabilities, going beyond agency to enterprise. It launched Studio 164, an in-house creative studio, to close the gap between idea and execution. It also deepened its social media strategy, technology and data and analytics offers.
Exceptional work included the creation of Otsuka’s Society of Valued Minds, a social media movement to change people’s beliefs about mental health conditions. For the One Love Foundation, it made a live-action PSA to address digital relationship abuse. Unhealthy Connections scored 19 million views in one month. And for Argenx’s Vyvgart, it successfully launched a novel drug from an unknown company.
For its 160 employees, it crystallized the new “A design force for good” rebranding in several ways. That included M+A Youni, an internal university; Calm + Masterclass, which supports mindfulness; and a $10,000 scholarship to encourage three staffers to take a “base jump into the unknown.”
“Minds + Assembly is different from other agencies I’ve worked with throughout my career,” said a global strategy lead at Takeda. “The thinking is stronger. The creative is some of the best I’ve ever seen. The service is incredibly attentive.”
Silver
Deloitte Digital
Deloitte has always been known for its consulting acumen. But the way it has reimagined the ad agency model continues to impress, supercharging creativity with deeper data and smarter tech. It expanded its expertise with the Deloitte Health Equity Institute, using data-driven social innovation to advance equitable health outcomes through pro bono programming and collaboration. And it added new services for ESG.