Creative Agencies To Watch In 2023

It can be tough for advertisers and agencies to stand out in today’s marketing landscape.

New campaigns are constantly being launched across a mind-boggling number of channels, audiences are bombarded with ads and sales messages, and pressure is always increasing for agencies to deliver cost-efficient results.

It’s a challenging market, to say the least.

So when a creative agency does produce an idea that grabs attention and impacts consumers, you know it’s special.

The value of creativity should never be underestimated in the modern advertising world. Bold ideas and memorable executions can be hugely beneficial for businesses, allowing them to bolster their brand identity, attract new customers, and separate themselves from the herd.

And to celebrate some of the best creative brains in the industry, we’ve pulled together a list of agencies that you should be watching in 2023.

Let’s take a look at a few of the brightest and most innovative companies in the creative space, and showcase some of the brilliant work they’re producing for clients.

Crowd

Crowd is an independent marketing agency with a passion for launching purpose-driven campaigns and championing sustainability.

The business has provided marketing expertise for clients around the globe, using its creativity to raise awareness around issues such as single-use plastics and ocean pollution. The agency also focuses on fuelling its creative ideas with data-driven insights and in-depth research, leading to campaigns that drive exceptional results.

One of Crowd’s most impressive campaigns revolved around promoting the Costa Coffee loyalty app across the UAE.

Rather than immediately concentrating on the obvious financial benefits of the loyalty app, Crowd instead highlighted the emotional aspects of sharing a coffee.

Through a 60-second promotional video, the agency showed how grabbing a Costa Coffee could help customers to catch up with friends, prepare themselves for a working day, or enjoy some peace and quiet.

The campaign was hugely successful, achieving a significant increase in app downloads and a staggering 4.5m impressions across Facebook and Instagram.

Nucco

Nucco produces industry-leading creative and digital content that forges emotional connections, resonates with consumers, and motivates audiences to take action.

The agency has worked alongside a wide range of different clients, helping brands from B2C, B2B, and non-profit backgrounds to craft effective storytelling. Nucco also offers specialist expertise in many areas, from brand strategy to creative production and client management - so it's truly a full-service agency.

Nucco has delivered many innovative campaigns, but a standout example is a collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Samsung.

The campaign was designed to make Shakespeare more accessible to younger audiences, and to achieve this goal, Nucco Brain combined smart technology with pure creativity. An app named RE:Shakespeare was developed for students, using augmented reality and interactive features to make Shakespeare’s work more engaging.

This concept was supported by various well-known British actors and even featured David Tennant hosting the app itself. The campaign is also the perfect showcase of Nucco Brain’s creative approach, combining technology and visual storytelling to generate emotional connections with audiences.

RE:Shakespeare was a resounding success, and has encouraged Samsung to continue developing similar ideas around the world to support education and cultural history.

Fold7

Fold7 bases its creative approach (as well as its name) on the idea of folding a blank sheet of paper. Every fold changes the appearance and structure of the paper, and after 7 folds, the limit has been reached.

In the same way, Fold7 looks to produce big ideas that test the boundaries of innovation and push creative ideas to the max.

The agency has certainly lived up to its namesake, working alongside iconic brands like Carlsberg and Capital One to deliver high-impact campaigns. These campaigns have stretched across a huge range of different formats and platforms, but every execution is driven by ambitious creativity and outside-the-box thinking.

Fold7 recently partnered with Audible to produce ‘The Greatest Storyteller’ campaign - a creative concept showcasing the power of audio stories and the strong influence they have over our emotions.

This compelling campaign idea was launched across several media channels, including TV, cinema, radio, digital, and outdoor. This type of captivating, large-scale creative execution is exactly what Fold7 prides itself on delivering.

Wildish & Co

Wildish & Co is a creative studio that strives to produce work that cannot be ignored - something that’s particularly important in today’s hectic world.

The business has partnered with clients of all sizes, from ambitious start-ups to established global corporations in a range of different industries. Wildish & Co is also passionate about supporting companies with a purpose and amplifying campaigns that tackle environmental issues.

In 2022, the agency was briefed by Penguin Random House to design a campaign that supported the launch of Jamie Oliver’s latest book, ‘ONE’.

Wildish & Co produced an eye-catching multi-channel campaign that focused on confident branding, bold visuals, and simple messaging - an approach that reflected the core idea of Jamie Oliver’s book.

Individual kitchen moments (e.g. One Meal in Minutes, One Clean Kitchen, One Faff Free Feast) were identified and paired with hero recipes, brought to life through stunning photographs and creative executions.

This campaign was incredibly effective. Not only was the idea rolled out across multiple territories (i.e. UK, Germany, Australia, Netherlands) but these ads also helped ONE to become the biggest-selling book in any genre across the UK.

There are plenty of creative agencies doing incredible work around the globe. The ability to produce big ideas that cut through the noise of modern life is extremely impressive - as well as being massively important for clients.

For strategy professionals, working at a creative agency is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to versatile campaigns, partner with brave clients, and bring exciting ideas to life.

If you’re a strategist looking for fresh challenges and interesting clients, then joining a creative agency is a brilliant move that can be tremendously rewarding.