Indie Agency News

It's Spring Break in Oregon, so we're giving the boss a little break so that he can fly down a mountain before all of the snow melts. And, as is now tradition, it's the Indie Agency News Spring Break Replay, where we're rerunning two Meet an Indie Agency shows back-to-back each day. This episode features Full Contact + Yes&.

The Top 40: Design deadline is now noon Pacific today. A few extra hours to get your entries in. And this is one of the easiest in the biz. Three fields to complete. Use previous entries—copy, paste, done! The current record to get an entry completed is 9 minutes. Full details in the link in the comments below! #indiework #indieswork

It's Spring Break in Oregon, so we're giving the boss a little break so that he can fly down a mountain before all of the snow melts. And, as is now tradition, it's the Indie Agency News Spring Break Replay, where we're rerunning two Meet an Indie Agency shows back-to-back each day. Here's the 2025 slate: Monday, March 24: Full Contact + Yes& Tuesday, March 25: Uncharted + Zambezi Wednesday, March 26: hunterblu + Colossus Thursday, March 27: Lewis + Noble People Friday, March 28: Convicts + TBA WW All shows start at 9:30 a.m. Pacific. Enjoy getting to know some of our members, and thank you to everyone who joined and supports our mission. #indieswork

One of our biggest mantras for members? We don't care where you get visibility, as long as you get it. That's why we love looking at your trade press pitches and awards entries. And ya'll are probably in the mix on Ad Age Small Agency. Good! Starting April 7th (we're on Spring Break next week), members can use their 15-minute consulting sprints for Small Agency entries. We'll help make sure your story comes to life as much as possible. And the good news? We're 1-for-1 on helping members win this important award. Members, get logged in, go to the Members Area, and schedule your Indie Agency 15-Minute Member Sprint! Let's get more Indie Agency News members in the winner's circle! #indieswork

This business moves fast! And we want to keep you updated on all the action. The Indie Agency News Action Tracker is where we share what’s going on in the indie agency world. It's not exaaaactly real-time, but we work to share a few things each day from our members. Biz wins! New hires! Cool work! Indie thinking! All the things indie to stay on top of what’s what. Currently on the tracker: Bluestripe Group Klick TravelBoom Hotel Marketing Quality Meats Creative PB& Highdive Fire Kite Curiosity Hit the link in the comments! #indieswork

We're splitting up Indie Thinking a little. After you watch Kyle O'Brien and Noble People at 9:30 a.m. Pacific, get a little coffee, water ... whatever works ... and join us for a conversation with PB& and Space Needle and Chihuly Garden and Glass. Britt Fero and Randy Cote break down how the partnership started and why the brief/RFP mattered so much in the process. Britt explains why it was a great brief and how it sets the tone for building smart work for the Seattle icons and a rewarding partnership. We also touch on how the strategy and creative media will continue to evolve as the Space Needle celebrates a huge milestone. Plus, we learn how Chihuly fits into the brilliant mix of Seattle must-dos and a ton more. #indiework #indieswork

We err on the side of alliteration. And brilliant budget balancing is a good topic. Kyle O'Brien sits down with Indie Agency News members, Noble People, to talk budgeting, with an AI twist. The agency’s CMO, Todd Alchin and chief growth officer, Tom Morrissy, will discuss Noble People’s AI assistant, Budget Balancer, which helps with media investment decisions. How does the future of budgeting look in the growing AI surge? How will this tool help streamline the budgeting process? Alchin and Morrisey will discuss how to find the ideal media mix between performance and brand, as well as chats with a virtual CFO. Key topics include: ?? Finding the ideal media mix between performance and brand, and knowing how to pitch it to the C-suite ?? How to navigate the BS around AI ?? How AI can make work life easier ?? The right time to use AI and GPTs ?? How to best assess your current budgets and plans #indieswork

Let's be honest. On a list of 10 things you have to do this week, Indie Agency News Top 40: Design probably lands at about #36. We get it. We're new to this and building a tradition. That said, there are a couple of things to think about: 1) We make it SUPER easy to enter. 3 required fields, 3 optional. That's it! And, if you've already done an awards entry for any design work elsewhere, go ahead and copy and paste. 2) We're giving everyone until Monday, March 23rd at 9:00 a.m. Pacific to get entries in. Any design work from 2023, 2024 or 2025 is eligible. And we can't wait to celebrate some amazing winners in April. All the details are in the link in the comments. #indiework #indieswork

You might think this hero image is a nice timeline cleanse. If that's where your thinking goes, that's fine with us—but there's more afoot. We're talking to Clever Creative and VCA Animal Hospitals about their partnership. We'll dig in with Shannon Gabor and Ally Brown on some of their work together, the importance of brand creative in this category, how to build a long-standing partnership and more.

Alex Khlopenko started in law. Laura Reali began with international business and pivoted to tech (especially martech). The duo then came together for based.marketing. Alex is in Poland, Laura is in Latvia, and the company is based in Estonia. And it's all about performance and growth for clients, especially when delivering in their home region. In its first year, the agency seeks to challenge the perceptions of Eastern European agencies and is ready to impress through platform agnosticism, speed and personalized service. It's a great story in its first year—and these underdogs continue to disrupt to build clients' potential. #indieswork