Score: 6
Last year: 5
How the agency rates itself: 6
Droga5 London has made good progress this year. The arrival of Dylan Williams from Publicis Worldwide in the spring of 2016 completed the management line-up, adding strategic steel to complement the creative genius that is David Kolbusz.
Kolbusz’s creativity was given a free rein by food brand Rustlers and he didn’t hold back. November brought the agency’s standout work of the year – the dark, slightly disturbing but thoroughly engaging "80 years of torment". The self-aware TV spot charts the unfortunate life of a sorry soul, who, in old age, finally finds comfort in a Rustlers microwaveable burger.
Other creative highlights included a beautifully shot print, digital and outdoor campaign for clothing brand Belstaff.
Last year several projects ran their course. In total, Droga5 London stopped working with six brands including Farfetch, Belvita and Vita Coco. So 2017 must be all about hauling in some serious, high-profile, retained clients and building up long-term relationships.
The signs of this happening are good. In a strong end-of-year run of new business, the agency scooped Seat and did the groundwork to pick up Danone at the start of 2017. Winning the global creative account for Danone’s yoghurts was particularly sweet for Droga5 given that it beat creative titans Adam & Eve/DDB and Mother, plus French incumbent BETC Paris, to the task. These wins look promising because they appear to be strategic partnerships rather than transitory projects.
With the understated but well-respected Bill Scott at the helm, the tumultuous days of 2014 are fading fast. The agency is now on a firm footing but it does need to start living up to its famous name.
How the agency describes its year in a tweet
New C suite, 7 new clients, 80% pitch conversion, revenue up 72%, top-class hires and all starting to gel around our creative output.
Score key: 9 Outstanding 8 Excellent 7 Good 6 Satisfactory 5 Adequate 4 Below average 3 Poor 2 A year to forget 1 Survival in question