Top agency inspiration

T O P
A G E N C Y
I N S P I R A T I O N
T H E W O W C O M P A N Y

Started six years ago, BenchPress, our agency benchmarking report, has grown to
become the largest survey of independent agency owners in the UK.
This year we asked what agency or individual inspires you the most. Alongside this, we’ve
compiled the ten most popular books amongst agency owners. Take a look at where
agency owners get their inspiration from.

T O P I N S P I R A T I O N A L
A G E N C I E S

ustwo, voted the most inspirational agency by agency owners
Founded by Mills and Sinx back in 2004, their mission is to build a studio where like-minded, passionate people can
work under one roof, share unique ideas and bring them to life.
There are now four ustwo studios around the world, in London, New York, Malmö and Sydney. In addition, ustwo
Games has created some stunning mobile games, including the BAFTA award-winning hit, Monument Valley, whilst
ustwo Adventure, their startup fund & incubator, is nurturing some of the world’s brightest talent.
Whether they’re doing innovative work for clients, bringing their own ideas to award-winning life, or launching
disruptive new businesses, ustwo has never done normal. They also have one of the best cultural manifestos we’ve seen.

The second most mentioned agency as a source of inspiration
Karmarama is a London-based progressive creative agency, focused on producing highly creative and impactful
communications for clients, including confused.com, the British Army, Just Eat, Iceland and Honda.
Kamarama was founded in 2000 and has grown from four staff working around a ping-pong table in a tiny office to
over 300 employees currently. They strongly believe in good karma. It guides the way they work and behave, meaning
that if they do the right thing for their people, clients and the wider world, good things will happen to them.
Over the last 18 years, they've won multiple awards, including the Sunday Times Best Companies
To Work For multiple times. In November 2016 they were acquired by Accenture Interactive.

"Impressive growth, great brand and image"
Founded in 2002 and led by Managing Director, Adam Smith, Rawnet believes that agencies take themselves too
seriously and act as if they know a deep secret about digital. Nobody can claim to have all the answers, but Rawnet are
inquisitive, hands-on, passionate people who provide the honesty and clarity this industry so desperately needs.
Their mission is humanising digital experience. With just under 50 staff at their headquarters in Ascot, they are a team
of visionary, commercially-thinking strategists.
Clients include ITV Studios, Benugo, First News and Feefo.

"I love their ethos and approach"
Code Computerlove was founded in 1999 by Tony Foggett, Louis Georgiou and Wini Tse. They're based in Manchester
and have an 85+ strong team of Computerlovers collaboratively offering cross-platform digital solutions. Their
impressive client list includes Asda, BBC, Brother and hmv.
They recognise that digital experiences need to move with the changing expectations of the customer. They also
recognise that the way this is approached will greatly influence your ability to change direction quickly in the future
when you need to. Their way of working helps clients create world-class experiences, get ahead and stay there.
They have won many awards over the years and in December 2016 they were acquired by MediaCom.

"Great cross-channel strategy"
Kyan was established in 2003 – the time of the first dot-com bubble. Since then, they have grown to a team of 40+,
who are all under one roof in their central Guildford office.
They believe in fostering a strong culture of collaboration – not just internally, but with their clients as well. These
clients include Sage, Wella, Zurich and Universal.
They get their kicks from making digital experiences that make a difference. They love to build the platforms, apps and
digital products that take concepts from an initial idea to a living, breathing reality.

"Love the branding work they do"
In August 2011, with a two-week old baby and £1,000 in the bank, Andrew Dobbie decided to found MadeBrave®.
They’re all about inspiring creativity in everyone – from their clients to their team and everyone in between. Put
another way, they're a big bunch of design, digital and social media geeks all squished together under one roof to help
their clients do brilliant things… and have an awesome time doing it.
In 2015 they welcomed MadeSocial and MadeDigital to the Made family. Recently, in August 2018, they acquired
Campfire, an Edinburgh-based creative video agency. The move creates a new holding company, called BornOriginal
Group and will see each agency continue to operate independently.

"Hugely impressive growth and continuing to drive expansion into new areas"
Pragmatic is a Brighton-based web agency that was founded in 2012 and now has over 50 talented designers,
developers and account staff specialising in WordPress. They transform the way that companies operate online, across
the nation and around the world.
They are Pragmatic by name, and pragmatic by nature, working alongside some of the biggest brands, including
Martini, Bacardi and Sage Advice. They craft beautiful WordPress websites with impeccable code.
Despite their growth, they remain absolutely committed to giving back at a grassroots level, sharing their WordPress
and digital expertise. This includes discounted rates for charities, consultation for small and local businesses, and a
partnership with BDMA, a Brighton-based education initiative.

"Amazing stories they can tell and visualise for their clients"
FHOKE is a design studio that was founded in 2008 by Brett and Ben. They're based near Romsey, deep in the heart
of the Hampshire countryside. From there they’ve delivered world-class brands and websites to over 12 countries across
the globe.
Described as “the kind of people you'd want building your website and have a beer with afterwards", it's no surprise
their name, pronounced ‘Folk’, comes from their love of working with like-minded people. They strongly believe that
design makes a difference. Every project they tackle has creativity at its core – in how it looks, what it says or how it
works.
Their approach has led them to work on projects with Classic Ford Broncos, GoCardless and The Wow Company. So, if
you like our website and branding, you now know the creative geniuses behind it.

"They have grown incredibly quickly while staying true to themselves"
Verb Brands was founded in 2011 by Chris Donnelly in London and quickly grew to over 50 employees. They're one of
the UK’s leading luxury specialist agencies and help their clients by defining their position, expanding their brand and
creating customer-centric websites and mobile applications through successful digital marketing strategies.
They believe successful brands are built upon strategy and creativity. In everything they do, they believe in thinking
differently. This has led them to work with such clients as The Wolseley, Mustique, BIRD and NYSKIN.
In October 2017, they completed a merger with digital marketing agency DBD Media. DBD Media
was one of the first SEO and PPC agencies in London and also owns of one of the UK’s largest independent
community of influencers, the Bloggers’ Lounge.

P E O P L E

Wil is the founder and director of strategy at Seer, a digital marketing agency with offices in Philadelphia and San
Diego. Founded in 2002, it started life as a one-person search firm. Today, it's a talented team of over 100 people.
Will has worked across every vertical, from pharmaceuticals and hospital systems to e-commerce and SaaS. He’s one
of the world’s leading experts on search and is often found speaking at conferences about the future of the industry,
using big data, and how to bust silos between divisions. He also shares the tough side of running a growing agency on
his YouTube channel.
Voted as the most inspirational person by agency owners is Wil Reynolds

Voted the second most inspirational person is Nichola Stott
Nichola is the MD and founder of Erudite, a technical marketing agency offering consulting services in SEO, CRO
and data insights from web analytics. Following a position as head of UK search partners at Yahoo!, she founded
Erudite (previously called theMediaFlow) in 2010 in Hampshire.
Nichola’s professional recognition includes being named in the BIMA Hot 100 Digital People, winning Best Use of
Search at both the UK Search Awards and Wirehive100 Awards and co-authoring books including Econsultancy’s
SEO Best Practice Guide and Hit me! How to Get Your Small Business to Punch its Weight Online.
Nichola is also a very sought-after SEO speaker. Her training services provide an infectious way to learn SEO.

"Always pushing boundaries and the industry forward for good"
Duncan Cook is group CEO of 3 SIDED CUBE and was in the BIMA Top 100 2017. He motivates his global digital
agency to ‘build tech for good’. A leader inspired by impact, he and his team strive to create award-winning and life-
saving apps for clients including RSPB, RNLI and Mind.
His vision to change the way people donate blood saw The American Red Cross revolutionise the donation process into
a digital system that has created over $70 million of revenue. Recognised for his drive to improve global disaster
preparedness, he was invited to The White House to present his agency’s work on the world’s largest
alerting app, which saves millions of lives in areas affected by tornados, earthquakes and other natural
disasters every day.

"Impressed by how he's scaled an agency, in a difficult field, and created an awesome culture"
Alex Myers is founder and CEO at Manifest Group and has overseen the growth of the agency from just one person, to
a multiple award-winning agency with offices in London, New York and Stockholm.
Alex has instilled strong values into Manifest, including 'if you can’t find what you’re looking for, build it'. This approach
has had Manifest develop a reputation for representing businesses that aren’t simply competing in their category but
are redefining it, including the likes of BrewDog, Macmillan, The Body Coach and Innis & Gunn.
Over the past six years, they've been awarded countless accolades including in a year alone - PR Agency of the Year,
Best Agency with Digital Expertise, Best Consumer Campaign, Best Use of Video and Best Integrated Agency titles.

"Passionate about the industry and a great role model for female agency owners"
Jenny Kitchen is MD of Yoyo Design, a digital agency based in Kent. Yoyo Design has gone from strength to strength
over the past six years, growing rapidly from four to 18 staff.
Jenny's fiercely passionate about delivering the best service to each and every Yoyo client. She's a huge inspiration to
the team at Yoyo and has an amazing ability to recognise each team member's strengths, pushing for them all to
produce the best work they possibly can. This has seen Yoyo work with some big brands like the RNLI, RSPCA,
YoungMinds, Universal Music, England Athletics and Freesat.
Jenny is an excellent speaker and has been named as one of the Top 30 Under 30 Women in Digital by The Drum,
Young Business Leader of the Year and recognized by BIMA as one of the Hot 100 in digital.

"Integral part of the SEO community and inspirational speaker"
Lisa Myers is the founder and CEO of SEO and content marketing agency, Verve Search, which was named Best SEO
Agency three years running. The agency has since been acquired by Omnicom Media Group, in September 2017.
Lisa plays an active part in the SEO community worldwide and contributes regularly to publications, as well as best
practice guides and roundtables. She is the founder of Women in Search, SEO-Chicks.com and co-founder of
StateofSearch.com. Lisa also speaks frequently at conferences and is often hired to train internal teams, agencies and
universities on SEO, content marketing and social.
Lisa has won a row of prestigious personal awards including BIMA100 CEO & Leaders 2017, Search Personality of the
Year at the UK Search Awards in 2011, and Management Today’s 35 Women Under 35 in 2009.

"I loved working with him, he's always full of inspiration"
Simon Barbato founded Mr B & Friends in 2006, a digital creative marketing and branding agency that has expanded
from a bedroom operation to a 26-person, global company.
Their agency mantra: 'Where next?' guides their thinking. It reminds them every day that standing still isn’t an option.
This has seen them grow and work with some of the UK’s most ambitious brands.
Simon has also developed customer experience consultancy, CXCo, and launched Noble Digital Marketing in
the UK to provide a range of performance marketing services. Simon won South West Director of the Year
at the 2016 Institute of Directors Awards.

"Great ethos, given so much to the creative industry, and has built a great team"
With more than 30 years’ experience working in the digital industry, Susan Hallam MBE is a leading influencer in the
Internet world. She has always believed in the power of data and knowledge, and that successful digital engagement
and transformation drives business success
She is a practising digital marketing consultant, a public speaker, and managing director of Hallam, one of the UK’s
leading digital agencies. Susan founded Hallam in 1999, which has grown to a team of 50 in Nottingham and London.
Susan was awarded an MBE for services to entrepreneurship and innovation in the Queen’s Honours 2018. Also in
2018, Susan was made a Fellow of the Institute of Direct Marketing.

"Inspiring how she empowers others in the industry"
Casey Bird is currently Refinery29's creative lead on branded content in the UK. In 2017 she was elected the first ever
president of SheSays London, doubling their events and continuing to grow their online and offline community. In 2015
she also co-launched their mentoring arm, Who's Your Momma, and to date, the scheme has paired over 200 women
with mentors.
Aside from supporting women in the industry, Casey also launched The Freelance Circle last year, with the aim to
improve and add a level of transparency to the gig economy for both freelancers and agencies.
Over the past few years, she's been recognised by Campaign Magazine's Future Female Leaders 2017, The Hospital
Club 100 2017 and, most recently, Creative Review's Creative Leaders 50.

"Inspiring how he leads an amazing company and has a great culture"
Steven Bartlett is the 25-year-old CEO and co-founder of Social Chain, which has grown to be one of the world’s
most notorious social-first marketing agencies. Social Chain Group also includes Media Chain.
In just a few years, Steven has become an award-winning entrepreneur, speaker and investor, and now leads a company
of 200+ like-minded individuals who are quickly disrupting the ever-changing social sphere. Social Chain now operates
through five locations: Manchester, London, Berlin, Munich and New York, but its presence is felt worldwide.
Along the way, Steve has amassed a following of over 1 million online, due to his inspirational videos covering topics
from entrepreneurship, business and marketing. This has lead to a number of profiles in the world's leading
publications and being voted by his peers as the most influential and impactful individual in marketing in 2017.

B O O K S

The book most recommended by agency owners is Eating The Big Fish
The title of this book comes from an advert from Avis, the car rental firm, published at a time of planned growth. It
positioned Avis as a small fish being chased by a bigger one - a bigger car hire firm. They had to stay ahead or be
swallowed.
The book’s author, Adam Morgan, examines 40 challenger brands in this book, identifying their common traits. By
using the lessons revealed in the book, smaller agencies can develop strategies to consolidate and, if they want to,
compete with the leaders.

The second most recommended book amongst agency owners is Creativity, Inc.
Creativity, Inc. is a book for managers who want to lead their employees to new heights, a manual for anyone who
strives for originality, and the first-ever, all-access trip into the nerve center of Pixar Animation Studios - into the
story meetings, the post mortems, and the ‘Braintrust’ sessions where art is born.
It is, at heart, a book about how to build and sustain a creative culture - but it is also, as Pixar co-founder and
president Ed Catmull writes, ‘an expression of the ideas that I believe make the best in us possible.’

Why most small businesses don't work and what to do about it
The E-Myth Revisited dispels the myths about starting your own agency. Small-business consultant and author
Michael E. Gerber, with sharp insight gained from years of experience, points out how common assumptions,
expectations, and even technical expertise can get in the way of running a successful business.
Gerber walks you through the steps in the life of a business - from entrepreneurial infancy, through adolescent growing
pains, to the mature entrepreneurial perspective: the guiding light of all businesses that succeed - and shows how to
apply the lessons of franchising to any business, whether or not it is a franchise. Most importantly, Gerber draws the
vital, often-overlooked distinction between working on your business and working in your business.

How to get everything you want from your entrepreneurial business
Eileen Sharp and Vic Hightower were frustrated. After years of profitable, predictable growth, Swan Services was in a
rut. Meetings were called and discussions held, but few decisions were made and even less got done. People were
pointing fingers and assigning blame, but nothing happened to solve Swan’s mounting problems. It felt as though they
were working harder than ever, but with less impact.
Their story is not unusual, and the challenges they were facing are common - and solvable. Get A Grip tells the story of
how Swan Services resolves its issues by implementing the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS). With the help
of EOS, Eileen, Vic, and their leadership team learn to develop and commit to a clear vision, establish focus, build
discipline, and create a healthier and more cohesive team.

Why some companies make the leap...and others don't
Built to Last, the defining management study of the nineties, showed how great companies triumph over time and how
long-term sustained performance can be engineered into the DNA of an enterprise from the very beginning.
But what about the company that is not born with great DNA? How can good companies, mediocre companies, even
bad companies achieve enduring greatness? The findings of the Good to Great study will surprise many readers and
shed light on virtually every area of management strategy and practice.
“Some of the key concepts discerned in the study,” comments Jim Collins, "fly in the face of our
modern business culture and will, quite frankly, upset some people."

The only book you need to lead you to success
Millions of people around the world have improved their lives based on the teachings of Dale Carnegie. In How to Win
Friends and Influence People, he offers practical advice and techniques for how to get out of a mental rut and make
life more rewarding. His advice has stood the test of time and will teach you how to:
- make friends quickly and easily
- persuade people to follow your way of thinking
- enable you to win new clients and customers
- become a better speaker
- boost enthusiasm among your colleagues

How great leaders inspire everyone to take action
Why are some people and organisations more inventive, pioneering and successful than others? And why are they able
to repeat their success again and again? In business, it doesn't matter what you do, it matters why you do it.
Start with Why analyses leaders like Martin Luther King Jr and Steve Jobs and discovers that they all think in the same
way - they all started with why. Simon Sinek explains the framework needed for businesses to move past knowing what
they do to how they do it, and then to ask the more important question - why?
Why do we do what we do? Why do we exist? Learning to ask these questions can unlock the secret to inspirational
business. Sinek explains what it truly takes to lead and inspire and how anyone can learn how to do it.

A guide to profit beyond the billable hour
We’ve all experienced the moment at the end of the project when our clients finally get it and understand the value we
provide. We just need them to understand the value of what we do before we do it.
Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond the Billable Hour is a book that provides rules and tactics to help creative
professionals charge more for new work, demonstrate and articulate the value they provide and run a more profitable
business.
Authored by Blair Enns, who founded Win Without Pitching, after more than a decade in new business and account
management roles in some of the world’s largest advertising agencies and some of its smallest design firms.

How to make your communication stick
Like throwing jelly at a wall, poor communication never sticks. Imagine how effective you'd be if you communicated
only what was relevant 100% of the time? You would be better at talking to others, presenting, networking and selling.
You would excel in pitches, meetings and discussions with your team. The benefits would be endless.
The Jelly Effect will show you how to get the best out of any situation, whether you're speaking to an individual or a
group, formally or informally, inside or outside your organisation. By the time you close the final page of this book, you
will be armed with practical, proven techniques that will help you be more effective in all your business dealings.

Change the way you work forever
From the founders of the trailblazing software company 37signals, here is a different kind of business book - one that
explores a new reality. Today, anyone can be in business. Tools that used to be out of reach are now easily accessible.
Technology that cost thousands is now just a few pounds or even free. Stuff that was impossible just a few years ago is
now simple.
With its straightforward language and easy-is-better approach, Rework is the perfect playbook for anyone who's ever
dreamed of doing it on their own. Hardcore entrepreneurs, small-business owners, people stuck in day jobs who want to
get out, and artists who don't want to starve anymore will all find valuable inspiration and guidance in these pages.

In total between the individuals, agencies and books we had over 1,200 recommendations
in our 2017 and 2018 surveys.
If you'd like to find out some of the other inspiring individuals, agencies or books that
didn’t quite make the final list, get in touch with our agency expert, Rory Spence. He
might even be able to tell you if your agency got a mention!
T H E R E ' S P L E N T Y M O R E W H E R E
T H A T C A M E F R O M
Book a chat with Rory

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