Gold
Area 23
Long known for consistent growth and best-in-class creative, Area 23 outdid itself in 2022 with creative work the judges say is the best in the industry, setting new standards for all other agencies.
Area 23 does that because it believes an agency needs to be the best place to work to do the best work. Its efforts to improve agency culture, employee engagement, mental health and job satisfaction paid off in retention and exceptional growth.
In 2022, that growth reached double digits, bolstered by both new partnerships and organic growth. New clients include Allergan Aesthetics and a co-promotion between Biogen and Sage.
In 2022, the agency stepped-up offers in AI, training some 200 of its 831 employees on image generation. It developed Eyedar, a groundbreaking AI app for Horizon Therapeutics that lets blind people “see” by using sound to navigate.
And to prepare for the launch of Boehringer Ingelheim’s generalized pustular psoriasis treatment, it took patient empathy to a new level, partnering with fashion designer Bart Hess to create the The Unwearable Collection.
Its Lil Sugar campaign, a philanthropic effort with Hip Hop Public Health voiced by Run-D.M.C. rapper Daryl McDaniels, reached more than 5 million school children, using an AR app to “catch” sugar in foods. And while experimenting with the private beta of Midjourney AI, it realized how naturally the interface could translate to those with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who rely on eye-tracking technology. So it partnered with the Motor Neurone Disease Association to create The Mind’s Eye, a web-based AI prompt and image generator.
Silver
FCB Health New York
With its “Never Finished” mantra, this agency impressed with its promise to continuously embody a startup mindset throughout every department, discipline and campaign. With more than 20% growth in 2022, that hunger showed in new client partnerships with Alexion, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Novocure and Pfizer. And it is also reflected in its expanded experience design lab, working with AI, conversational design and prototypes of robots and video games.
