It’s that time of year for the Midterm creative agency evaluations. Below are the winners, by state. The single criterion is current creative work; not legacy reputations. The best work right now. In some cases, certain states are omitted. Either no agency met the standard, or I simply didn’t know enough about the creative landscape in that particular state (Alaska, for instance).
The Palma Honor Roll:
- Alabama BIG, Birmingham http://bigcom.com
- Arizona Santy, Scottsdale http://santy.com
- Arkansas Eric Rob & Isaac, Little Rock https://ericrobisaac.com
- California (So.) Anomaly, LA http://anomaly.com
- California (No.) BSSP, Sausalito https://bssp.com/#!/welcome
- Colorado Made, Boulder https://www.heymade.com
- Connecticut Cronin, Glastonbury https://www.cronin-co.com
- D.C. Admirable Devil http://admirabledevil.com
- Delaware Aloysius Butler & Clark, Wilm. https://abccreative.com
- Florida (So.) David, Miami http://www.davidtheagency.com
- Florida (No.) Bright Red\TBWA https://www.brightredtbwa.com
- Georgia Fitzco, Atlanta https://fitzco.com
- Illinois C-K, Chicago https://c-k.com
- Indiana Young & Laramore, Indy https://yandl.com
- Iowa Flynn/Wright, Des Moines http://www.flynnwright.com/work/
- Kentucky Scoppechio, Louisville http://scoppechio.com
- Louisiana Trumpet, New Orleans https://trumpetadvertising.com
- Maine Via, Portland http://theviaagency.com
- Maryland RP3, Bethesda https://rp3agency.com
- Massachusetts The Fantastical, Boston https://thefantastical.com
- Michigan Doner, Southfield http://www.doner.com
- Minnesota Fallon, Minneapolis https://www.fallon.com
- Mississippi MWB, Jackson https://mwb.com
- Missouri Barkley, KC https://www.barkleyus.com
- Nebraska Bailey Lauerman, Omaha https://www.baileylauerman.com
- Nevada R&R, Las Vegas https://www.rrpartners.com
- New Mexico McKeeWallwork, Albuq. https://www.mckeewallwork.com
- New York 360i, NYC https://360i.com
- North Carolina Baldwin&, Raleigh http://www.baldwinand.com
- Ohio Brokaw, Cleveland https://www.brokaw.com
- Oregon Wieden & Kennedy, Portland https://www.wk.com
- Pennsylvania (E) Pavone, Harrisburg http://www.pavone.net
- Pennsylvania
Brunner, Pittsburgh https://brunnerworks.com - Rhode Island NAIL http://www.nail.cc
- South Carolina EP, & Co. Greenville https://www.epandcompany.com
- Tennessee Tombras, Knoxville https://tombras.com
- Texas McGarrah Jessee, Austin https://www.mc-j.com
- Virginia Martin Agency, Richmond https://www.martinagency.com
- Washington copacino+fujikado, Seattle https://www.copacino.com
- Wisconsin C-K, Milwaukee https://c-k.com
Interesting list, Mr. Palma. But I can’t help but wonder why you chose Baldwin& over, say, McKinney or BooneOakley. You say your sole criteria is “current creative work.” Baldwin& has certainly done some tasty stuff for the likes of Burt’s Bees and Krispy Kreme in the past. But what have they done that is noteworthy in the last year or so? They did get some press for a Kioti commercial that, truth be told, is meh at best. But I’d be hard pressed to think of anything else they’ve done recently. I’m not slagging on Baldwin&. Far from it. I’m just not familiar with what they’ve been doing lately. (It might help if they updated their website. It looks like they haven’t posted anything new for quite awhile.) If you can point us in the direction of their latest work, I for one would love to see it. Thanks.
Thanks for reading Trevor. Subjective of course. Oakley doing good work yes…Bojangles Lent spot was great. Cude too. Gorgeous work. Most agencies don’t show most current work on site. I know some stuff that David is doing, soon to be seen. But KK is strong for now.
Thanks, Mike. Look forward to seeing the new work coming out of Baldwin&.
Um, did Rhode Island secede from the union or something?
I was like looking at NAIL. Anyone else?
Folks, don’t be fooled, or overly excited by this list — all of these agencies also represent Mr. Palma’s largest source of income, per state. Hopefully this is obvious to all. If not, you’re welcome.
Hi Craig, thanks for reading. And thanks for your note. I’m not sure where your information is coming from but it’s inaccurate. Of the 40 agencies/states listed, I have done one transaction with ONE agency in 2018. I’ve been in this business a long time and of the 40 agencies, 29 of them I have NEVER done business with. I’m sorry you feel this way. I don’t know you but I wish you and your agency good luck. Best, MP
Where is New Jersey? Surely there must be an agency there!