The needs of today’s brands have changed, and those changes are the foundation on which we’ve defined the mission and purpose of our new agency, Anagram. But it goes deeper than that.
The same forces with which marketing leaders are struggling today aren’t industry-specific. They’re fundamental to the human condition. As an agency, that meant we couldn’t just build our mission and purpose around client needs. We had to establish ourselves in a way that serves the very human needs of all stakeholders—clients, employees, partners, consumers and the larger society in which we all live.
From a leadership perspective, it’s been a daunting, emotional and wholly fulfilling journey. And one that I believe has culminated in something truly special.
Leadership in the Era of Humanity
Being a leader in the advertising industry looks a lot different than it did just a decade ago. There are still plenty of meetings, earnings discussions, and conversations around business KPIs and sales targets, no doubt. But all of that is surface level. The real magic runs deeper. These days, only a sliver of your job as a leader has to do with the bottom line. The real job—the most important part, in fact—is all about people. It’s about culture and values and ensuring you’re building an organization where people can not just make a living, but where they can thrive as individuals.
As leaders in the Era of Humanity, we were just starting to get our sea legs when we were walloped by the COVID-19 pandemic. Suddenly, focusing on people and building culture became so much harder, as the workforce scattered to the wind. So we did what we could to demonstrate our commitment to our people in other ways—enhanced benefits, parental bonding leave, mental health days and the like. In launching Anagram this year, we knew these kinds of people-centric benefits would be table stakes to attracting the types of innovators needed to bring our vision to life, and now we’re looking to build on that foundation to create a truly unique culture and inspire new ways of working.
At Anagram, our purpose is to augment growth for all—humans and brands alike. And our mission is to make the business of growing brands uncommonly human.
I believe that requires uncommonly human leadership. But what does that mean?
Human connection is the key to growth. But working in silos hinders our ability to connection. We are committed to changing this. Uncommonly human connections are enabled when we work together, and for us, that means uniting the art and science of advertising. We’re bringing together the data and the creativity not just within teams, but within individuals.
We’re also committed to doing what’s best for our people not just as employees, but as humans. From a leadership standpoint, that means leading with empathy and trusting our people to do what’s right. We demonstrate that trust by giving our teams immense flexibility in how they work, knowing that if they’re empowered to make the right decisions for themselves, they’re also making the right decisions for our organization.
What That Means for Our Clients
With Anagram, we’re trying to do something different. We have an incredible team of experienced industry veterans at the helm, and they’re here because that difference was important to them.
So, why should our clients care? For most brands, growth means only performance and results. But for us, there’s no growth if it’s not for all. We grow with our teams and our clients, inspiring them to go further. And when humans grow, brands excel.
Every decision we make is done with our team’s wellbeing in mind. And when we foster a happy, positive, motivated workforce, our clients reap the benefits. They feel the interconnectedness of our teams within every interaction and collaboration. They see the results in the uncommonly human and creative solutions that our people bring to the table. They experience the results within their campaigns, which not only drive performance, but also build brand awareness in a way that ensures sustainability and long-term success.
When people care about the organization they work for, they also care about their clients. At Anagram, fostering a culture of caring—caring for ourselves, each other, and the brands we’re helping to build—is central to our purpose and mission. And we’re looking forward to showing you just how different an agency relationship can feel when it’s built on a foundation that’s uncommonly human.
