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AKA’s Elizabeth Furze on Agency Culture

September 23, 2024

AKA CEO Elizabeth Furze is featured in Ad Age discussing the importance of agency culture.

An agency is only as good as its people. It’s an adage echoed on company websites, in creds decks and pitch meetings. While job candidates frequently ask about culture and veteran talent says it’s why they remain, few prospective clients ever ask about culture during a pitch.

If a healthy culture keeps top talent engaged and producing the best work, shouldn’t clients be more concerned with culture when deciding who to partner with?

Clients evaluate agencies based on their ideas, capabilities, past work, pricing and presentation. These are crucial factors, but the culture of an agency—its fundamental DNA—often goes unexplored. Culture shapes how teams collaborate, innovate and deliver for clients, especially if things get challenging. A thriving culture fuels creativity, fosters resilience and ensures that an agency will retain top talent.

Conversely, an agency with a toxic or unsupportive culture might be able to produce a persuasive presentation, but sustaining excellence over time requires a foundation built on mutual trust, creativity, collaboration and a shared sense of purpose.

A healthy agency culture is one where creativity is nurtured, collaboration is encouraged and diversity is celebrated. It’s an environment where team members feel valued and supported, where work-life balance is respected and where there is a shared commitment to excellence. It’s also a culture that is resilient, capable of weathering the storms of industry change and adaptable enough to embrace new challenges.

Read the full feature in Ad Age!