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DEPT® named as one of Adweek’s Fastest Growing Agencies in 2023

Marjan Straathof
Marjan Straathof
Global SVP of Marketing
Length
4 min read
Date
16 November 2023

DEPT® is proud to once again have been named one of the Fastest Growing marketing agencies by Adweek, securing #34 on the Top 100 list, #5 on the Large Agencies list, and #9 in the International category. This recognition is a reflection of the rapid growth DEPT® has experienced in the past three years, with revenues growing by 232%.

Adweek 2023 Fastest growing company text with red background

In the last year, DEPT® grew to 4,000+ employees across five continents and achieved $500+ million in revenue. DEPT® also expanded its client list by winning competitive pitches for brands like Gucci, Inter Milan, Constellation Brands, and BMW, and grew relationships with existing clients like eBay, Moodys, and Google.

At the forefront of tech and marketing, DEPT® delivered groundbreaking work for brands such as Google, Amazon Prime, HAPE, Philips, H&M, and Patagonia. The company also continued its buy-and-build strategy by welcoming six new agencies to the DEPT® family, which also represented a significant expansion into the APAC region.

DEPT® attributes its fast growth to three foundational elements:

  • 50/50 tech and marketing focus. If an agency is underweight on either side of this equation, it will not be able to deliver enough value for clients. We sit at the intersection of both. Our digital-native, platform-agnostic teams creatively solve clients’ problems and deliver culturally and financially impactful solutions.
  • Pioneering emerging tech. Being at the forefront of emerging tech is essential for any agency that wants to grow fast. And that’s not about being a hype train that was shouting Metaverse last year, AI this year, and maybe Spatial next year. It is about having teams entrenched in these technologies and having the actual work to show for it. We’ve futureproofed our business by embracing the disruptive potential of emerging tech like Web3 and AI.
  • Being mindful of our impact on the world. We’re proud to be the first global agency to achieve B Corp certification in 2021. We’re committed to having >15% of revenue come from impactful work by the end of 2023, as we believe this is one of the greatest ways to accelerate the impact we can have on society. Our healthy organic growth is based on longstanding partnerships with clients and keeping them happy, proven by our yearly revenue retention of over 100%. Additionally, more than 50% of our clients grew from single to multi-service. This happened at 15 of our top 20 accounts, which account for 30% of our revenues. We’ve also supplemented our existing business with a >50% win rate in new business pitches.

As a certified B Corp, Dept is committed to using its growth to achieve even higher sustainability and DEI benchmarks. In the last year alone, the agency has grown to more than 4,000 employees across five continents. The full-service agency’s clients include BMW, Canva and Gucci.

— Adweek Staff

A year of global recognition

It’s been a record-breaking year for DEPT®, having been recognized as one of the leading agencies in the industry by the majority of global industry award bodies. While we’re certainly not in it for the accolades, we are proud of winning over 60 awards so far this year, including:

  • Shortlisted for Adweek’s Global Agency of The Year, alongside 4 other networks.
  • Network of the Year and Agency of the Year (BASIC/DEPT®) at The Webby Awards.
  • Holding the most number of finalists nominations and, again, being up for Agency of the Year at The Lovie Awards.
  • Winning the Campaign US Digital Innovation Agency of the Year, and the Bronze award for Campaign’s Global Digital Agency of the Year. 
  • Winning Agency of the Year at the European Design Awards (Studio Dumbar/DEPT®)
  • Being named Ad Age’s Design and Branding Agency of the Year (BASIC/DEPT®) 
  • And, we’re currently in the running for Marketing Week’s Agency of the Year, too! 

These awards are an acknowledgment of the dedication of our teams and their commitment to creating work that delivers impact, and of our incredible clients who let us do what we do best.

Questions?

Global SVP of Marketing

Marjan Straathof