Small Agencies are Winning Business with these 2026 Moves, with Judy Pollack, Brian Bonilla and Ewan Larkin

The leaders of the 2026 Ad Age Small Agency Awards—Judy Pollack, Brian Bonilla and Ewan Larkin—break down what actually separated this year's winners from the pack. They dig into why small shops are ditching billable hours for outcomes-based and equity models and how agencies like Conscious Minds and Zambezi rebuilt their entire structures to compete at scale. They also talk about why social-first, technology-driven creative work, from CAPTCHA microsites to intern jackets, is what's winning clients over right now. Tune in for the full breakdown of consolidation, reinvention and what clients are actually paying for in a leaner ad economy.

Host Parker Herren presses the judges on where the industry goes next: expect more shops merging into "super indies," pitches built around certainty rather than promises and creative-first agencies pushing into media and production to avoid getting boxed into one lane. Listen to hear what it takes to survive—and win—as a small agency in 2026. Subscribe to Ad Age Insider so you don't miss what's next.

Dig deeper on the topics mentioned in this week's episode:

~See the winners of Ad Age's 2026 Small Agency Awards

~Read Ad Age's Small Agency Playbook

~Apply to join Ad Age's Small Agency Network

~Listen to the Marketer's Brief podcast

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