5 lessons from the Ad Age Small Agency Conference—celebrating innovation and independent spirit

It’s Miami, summer of 2016. The Ad Age Small Agency of the Year awards show is in full swing.

After two days of inspiring presentations and connecting with like-minded entrepreneurs, the awards ceremony at the annual conference was coming to a close.

Four of us had flown to Florida with high hopes after we got a call from Ad Age, encouraging us to attend. But sitting in the audience, we weren’t feeling so optimistic. Instead, we were on the edge of our seats, anxiously awaiting the results with Coronas in hand (a client of ours at the time). One agency after another had walked to the stage to accept their trophies, and the only category we entered had been awarded to another shop. At this point, we started thinking maybe this had all been a ploy to just get us to buy tickets to the conference.

Then, the biggest and final award of the evening was announced: overall Small Agency of the Year. As Ken Wheaton, Ad Age editor at the time, began to describe the winner, it finally dawned on us that he was talking about Zulu Alpha Kilo. Sure enough, as our work filled the screen behind him, we finally realized why we were there. We won! Ad Age had done a masterful job of giving nothing away and completely surprising us.

It was an unforgettable moment, a burst of elation after years of sacrifice and hard work to get to this moment. It was immediately followed by 48 hours of interviews by journalists from around the world, a deluge of press accolades and congratulatory emails from clients, colleagues and peers.

It was also a big signal to us that we were on the path to achieving some of our audacious goals as a small independent. And it taught us some important lessons:

Lesson #1

In a business so famous for its rivalries and professional jealousies, the small indie community is anything but. There is an openness, a sharing of knowledge and experience, all driven by a hunger to learn from each other. It’s a chance for up-and-comers to hear from greats like David Droga and Lee Clow. The team at Ad Age has created an atmosphere of support, inspiration and encouragement.

Lesson #2:

The conference is attended by many of the industry’s most influential search consultants. Like top sports recruiters, they are on the hunt for the next superstar agency. That agency could be yours. For that reason alone, it’s worth being there.

Lesson #3:

Nobody cares where you’re from. Being an agency from Toronto had zero negative impact. We now have a successful and growing office in New York, but at the time we didn’t, and no one cared. Everyone embraced us just as we were.

Lesson #4:

It’s a support network for new agencies. Emerging small agencies are good for the industry. Their entrepreneurial and creative energy constantly renews and rejuvenates the business, keeping it fresh and innovative. They have not yet been jaded by an industry that can get too big, too fat and too risk-averse to stay creative. Years later, we’re still in contact with many of the agency leaders we met, helping and supporting each other.

Lesson #5:

Keeping the indie tradition alive. When we won, 2015 winner OKRP (O’Keefe, Reinhard, and Paul) gave us a metal briefcase with whiskey and bananas in it (apparently a ritual at their shop). The winner in 2017 was New York’s Terri & Sandy, founded by two fearless women who broke away from bigger shops to do their own thing. At the awards show, we presented them with a Small Agency of the Year Survival Kit. We’ve been cheering each other on ever since.

Now that we’re more than 150 strong in Canada, we’re no longer eligible to enter. Instead, we’ll be keeping our eyes out for the next crop of small indies and cheering them on from the sidelines.