Spring is here, and brands are celebrating the beginning of the season by launching new partnerships, sponsoring the upcoming months’ biggest events and embarking on new adventures and collaborations. Check out what you have to look forward to in the ever-changing world of agencies.
AKQA
AKQA announced that Future Lions 2022, an annual global competition to unearth the next generation of creative talent, is open for entries. The announcement was made alongside Gymshark and TikTok, which have signed on as official client partner and official media partner, respectively.
Crypto.com
Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 announced Crypto.com, a fast-growing cryptocurrency platform, as an official sponsor. The partnership will build awareness around Crypto.com by driving brand exposure to massive audiences.
Eye Eaters
Visual artist Paul Octavious and marketing strategist Jenna Liberman joined forces to launch Eye Eaters, a creative studio based in Chicago. The team initially began as a supper club bridging food and art, and has now expanded to offer strategy, multimedia content and experiential marketing.
Friends & Family
Scott Kaplan, industry veteran and producer, has launched Friends & Family, a production company with the goal to craft smart, honest and hilarious content in collaboration with longstanding partners including clients, agencies and crew.
Gestalt Brand Lab
Gestalt Brand Lab announced its repackaging for United Salt Corporate, working to create visually stunning packaging that makes it impossible for customers to forget about salt. The repackaging gave consumer, commercial and industrial lines a new look.
GreenBox
GreenBox appointed Innocean U.S. as its first agency of record. Innocean will work to build global brand awareness, highlighting GreenBox’s product and services, as well as build a world class brand that will last. Deliverables include a branding campaign and a robust communications plan.
GroupM North America
GroupM North America committed $15 million to a 12-week associate training program, with the goal of re-skilling and up-skilling talent to prepare them for the future of media. The program, titled GroupM University, will attract, develop, retain and reward employees, putting the learning experience at the core of their work life.
Hanson Dodge
Hanson Dodge was named agency of record for Colectivo Coffee. The agency will manage digital marketing and media planning and buying opportunities. This is the agency’s second appointment as an AOR this month, with an additional win at Now vitamins and supplements.
Jack Morton
Global brand experience agency Jack Morton announced the launch of Vivi, a diversity-driven specialty practice to help brands discover how, when and where to connect with women, specifically women of color, and celebrate their intersectionality.
Markacy
New York City-based digital strategy and marketing firm Markacy was chosen as agency of record for the U.S. beauty division of Lumenis, an energy-based medical device company. Markacy will work to drive growth for Lumenis’ brand Geneo, a modern-day skincare treatment brand.
Ogilvy
Ogilvy announced that Michelin has selected Ogilvy Experience as its global customer relationship management (CRM) agency following a competitive pitch process. Michelin will leverage Ogilvy’s end-to-end experience offering, including the creative network’s loyalty expertise, marketing technology capabilities and global delivery footprint. The account will be led out of Ogilvy’s Paris office and will be bolstered by Ogilvy teams spanning the U.S., EMEA and China.
Øuterkind
Øuterkind was named the agency of record for independent personal care company HRB brands, as well as its portfolio brands Zest, VO5, Brut, SGX and Thicker Fuller Hair. The agency will manage brand strategy, creative, big idea development and demand-gen content.
Sibling Rivalry
Sibling Rivalry worked alongside Audible to create a 360 campaign for Ras Baraka, the 40th mayor of Newark, with the goal of engaging followers of Baraka and informing those who are not yet familiar. The campaign includes a live-action shoot, post-production, and design and copy across all social and digital assets.
Upwave
Brand advertising analytics platform Upwave is continuing its partnership with the Ad Council to measure impact on key public service campaigns, focusing on issues that effect Americans nationwide. Chris Kelly, Upwave CEO, is also joining the Ad Council’s leadership council, made up of marketing executives at leading brands.
We All Rise Together
Six media industry leaders have partnered with non-profit organization We All Rise Together to provide full scholarships to diverse students in the inaugural media track of the Master’s in branding and integrated communications graduate program at CCNY. Partner agencies include Dentsu, Havas Media, IPG Mediabrands, Omnicom Group, Public Media and WPP/GroupM.