IQ Agency, a digital-first shop offering everything from web and UX design, SEO and social management to media planning and buying and content creation, has reportedly closed its doors after more than two decades in business.
Several tipsters reached out last week to tell us that the company officially shut down on Friday and that agency leadership told employees the previous day that they would need to seek employment elsewhere.
The news appears to have arrived somewhat abruptly as IQ’s social media accounts were active less than two weeks ago. According to the agency’s own LinkedIn page, it was recently named number one on Atlanta-based search group Agency Spotter’s inaugural list of top digital shops.
Calls to IQ’s two offices went straight to voicemail today and last week. Founder and CEO Tony Quin has not responded to an email seeking comment this morning.
IQ, which began operations in 1995, was headquartered in Atlanta with a second office in Los Angeles. According to its website, clients have included GEICO, Under Armour, Pergo Flooring, Oklahoma Central Credit Union and Allstate.
UPDATE: In a curious twist, IQ’s Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles became active for the first time in more than ten days just as this story went live yesterday. According to another party who reached out to us yesterday, some clients technically remain contracted to work with the agency and/or its principals. But our reporting remains the same: no one is answering the phones at either of the agency’s offices, Quin has not responded to our email, and president Kevin Smith has not yet responded to either an email we sent this morning or a voicemail we left him last week.
The reason for the apparent change in the organization’s fortunes is unclear at this time. Glassdoor reviews of the business are unusually positive for an agency excepting entries like the one from an employee who asked, one year ago, whether IQ had the “business flow or current client mix” to remain viable.
Quin, who launched the shop as a “traditional agency focused mostly on television” before gradually moving into digital work, is also the founder of SoDA or Society of Digital Agencies and co-author of The Marketer’s Playbook: The CMO’s Guide to Modern Marketing, released in May. The U.K. native started his career as a producer of TV shows and commercials in L.A.
Anyone with additional information about IQ should contact us using the tip box or email patrick.coffee@adweek.com.
[Pic via IQ Agency]