Highdive Is Adweek's 2020 Breakthrough Agency of the Year

Two of 2020's most popular and memorable Super Bowl ads came from Jeep and Rocket Mortgage. They weren't dreamed up in the halls of a massive agency network, but rather at Highdive, a 4-year-old boutique shop in Chicago with about 30 full-time employees and lots of ambition. Highdive had a strong 2019—it was named agency of record for both Jeep and Boost Mobile—and it came out of the gate hot this year with its Super Bowl work. Then, even under the constraints of Covid-19, it kept the momentum going, winning new business and churning out campaigns for its clients. “Highdive thrives on the tough challenges, the problems that haven’t been solved before. That's where they really catapult themselves,” says Olivier Francois, chief marketing officer of FCA, which owns Jeep. “From the Super Bowl to our individual brand campaigns, they just know how and where to find the magic.” Taking change in stride Adweek’s Breakthrough Agency of the Year, which was also crowned in October as our Fastest Growing agency, was founded by Chad Broude and Mark Gross, who previously held creative positions at DDB Chicago. They run the agency alongside Megan Lally and Louis Slotkin, who serve as managing partners and joined from Leo Burnett. While the agency has indeed been growing over the past few years, securing work for brands ranging from Barilla to Nike, 2020 has been its best year yet. The Super Bowl ad for Jeep, which featured Bill Murray reprising his role from Groundhog Day, went on to receive an Emmy nomination, and for the Rocket Mortgage commercial, Highdive managed to snag actor Jason Momoa. “It feels like a long time ago, but the Super Bowl was huge for us,” Broude says. “People are still sending memes related to each of those spots, so in a way, they’re both still relevant.” Despite the success early in the year, Gross admits working remotely has been a particular challenge for Highdive, which prides itself on its “whiteboard culture” and penchant for in-person collaboration with clients. “Our strength in pitching is being in the room with people,” Gross says. Still, the agency has managed to pitch, and win, virtually. Lally says "keeping the energy up" has been the single most important aspect of successful virtual pitching. "We’ve heard from both prospective clients and current clients that our team’s energy came through their screens and made an impact in the 'room,'" she says. Highdive won business from Perfetti Van Melle, a candy company, and it is handling creative for Airheads and Fruit-tella, the latter of which recently made its U.S. debut. “We were still able to have great chemistry with them,” Lally says of the virtual pitch with Perfetti Van Melle. “We’re really looking forward to the time when we can all get together and go back to our whiteboard planning sessions that we’re used to, but we were just so happy that it worked out.” The agency also recently won The General car insurance, and while there's no word yet on whether its famous General mascot will stick around, Slotkin says the brand wants to be “very disruptive, creatively.” The Stats Key Wins: Airheads, Fruit-tella, The General Losses: None 2020 Revenue: Projecting approximately 35% total revenue growth from 2019 Strategic Moves: Named Jen Passaniti head of production; hired Kelley Beaman as director of business affairs; promoted Kaley Lambeth to partner; hired Nathan Monteith as group creative director; hired Lois Castillo as director of talent and inclusion. Diversity: 33% of employees are people of color, and 48% are female; purchased tickets to the 3% Conference for all employees; building a “new ecosystem of inclusion training” to be implemented in 2021. According to Highdive, Castillo "plays an integral role in ensuring the work we create not only reflects the world we live in, but celebrates inclusion and diversity." All business Looking forward, the agency's founders hope to make another Super Bowl appearance next year. Gross says they also wouldn’t mind throwing a Cannes Lion in the mix. “Any time we have the opportunity to put a brand in the spotlight and capture the hearts of Americans is really what we want to continue doing,” Slotkin says. In the meantime, they will stay focused on helping clients solve business problems through creativity, which Francois cites as one of the agency's strengths. "They’re loyal to the problem and thus to us," Francois says. "On top of doing great work, they’re genuine people." The Stats Jeep: "Groundhog Day" Jeep’s 2020 Super Bowl ad was a smashing success, landing the top spot on USA Today’s Ad Meter. At the last minute, Highdive and Jeep managed to convince Bill Murray to reprise his role from the 1993 movie Groundhog Day. Boost Mobile: "Step Up With Boost Mobile" Phone plans don’t have to be painful. That’s the driving insight behind the brand’s latest campaign, which encourages viewers to switch to Boost Mobile. In one of the ads, a man who’s unexpectedly bitten by a dog is more concerned with the fact that his phone won’t load. Rocket Mortgage: "Comfortable" Rocket Mortgage’s 2020 Super Bowl ad saw Game of Thrones actor Jason Momoa like we’ve never seen him before—lanky, pale and balding. The humorous spot went over well with viewers, landing the No. 5 spot on USA Today’s Ad Meter. Jeep: "Terminator: Dark Fate" Ahead of the release of “Terminator: Dark Fate,” Jeep partnered with Linda Hamilton, who plays Sarah Connor in the Terminator franchise. The automaker placed ads in newspapers across the country offering to “sell” the character’s '83 Jeep. Those who called the number were offered the chance to win tickets to the movie's premiere. Andrea Henderson, head of marketing at Boost Mobile, shares that sentiment. She says it was "clear that delivering the business results we needed for the brand was placed at the forefront" of the agency's pitch, which is in large part why Boost Mobile chose Highdive as its agency of record. "In our first in-person pitch meeting, their entire presentation was written on their whiteboard walls," she recalls. "It was super refreshing and felt so transparent to walk into a room with the entire presentation already up for us to see. And then we made changes together as we went through it. The energy was totally different from traditional presentations. We loved it instantly." Check out all of Adweek’s 2020 Agency of the Year honorees here: FCB Is Adweek’s Global Agency of the YearThe Martin Agency Is Adweek’s 2020 U.S. Agency of the YearDroga5 London Is Adweek’s 2020 International Agency of the Year