Top 10 Fastest Growing Agencies by Percent Change in Revenue

(Be sure to check out Adweek’s top 100 Fastest Growing agencies and 10 solution providers for the complete list.)

1. Highdive

• HQ: Chicago
• Growth: 2,100%
• Select Clients: Boost Mobile, Jeep, Rocket Mortgage
• Classification: Full-Service

Some of the country’s biggest, most lauded agencies go years without creating a Super Bowl commercial. Which makes it all the more remarkable that Highdive, a 30-person boutique agency founded four years ago, managed to snag two Super Bowl spots this year.

Highdive was founded in 2016 by Chad Broude and Mark Gross, who left their creative posts at DDB Chicago to try something new. The two had worked on some of DDB’s biggest accounts, including Bud Light and Capital One.

“Chad and I are both creatives, and we wanted to start our own thing and do the kind of work we wanted to do,” Gross says.

They soon linked up with Megan Lally and Louis Slotkin, both of whom had recently left Leo Burnett to focus on improving account management in the industry. Lally previously worked at DDB with Broude and Gross, so the four of them agreed to join forces and began collaborating on projects.  

“It’s been a winning recipe ever since,” says Broude.

Highdive hit the ground running after its formation, creating campaigns for Barilla, Nike and Hotel EMC2, a Marriott property, but 2020 has been its biggest year yet.

Jeep and Boost Mobile have named Highdive agency of record in the past year, with Jeep entrusting the shop with a Super Bowl ad starring Bill Murray in which he reprises the role of Phil Connors from the movie Groundhog Day. The ad came together at the last minute and was shot just days before the Big Game—yet still managed to land the top spot on USA Today’s coveted Super Bowl Ad Meter. The commercial was also nominated for an Emmy.

Rocket Mortgage, too, tapped Highdive to create its Super Bowl ad. The spot featured actor Jason Momoa hilariously shedding his sculpted physique for a lankier (and balding) one.

“In many ways, it’s been the biggest year of our careers,” Slotkin says. The agency isn’t showing any signs of slowing down, either. According to Lally, Highdive was named creative agency of record for three brands recently, all while working from home.

Gross says Highdive’s next goal is to win a gold Lion at Cannes.

“We want to build an outstanding creative portfolio,” he says. “We want to reach high.”

So what’s Highdive’s secret? Slotkin says everything it does is rooted in its mission, which is to “create the healthiest client-agency relationships in the world.”

“It guides everything that we do,” he explains. “When relationships are healthy, those are the moments where creativity really can flourish.”

Gross agrees: “Our clients like the relationship and how we treat them. The work we’re doing is being received well. Our employees are happy. We’re very proud that what we set out to do is working.” —Minda Smiley

2. Traffic Builders

• HQ: Bayville, N.J.
• Growth: 1,997%
• Select Clients: Draper Media (Delaware), Gray Television, Pepsi Frontline Careers
• Classification: Digital

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