ClickZ Indie Agency News | Why Brave Indie Agencies Still Win

ClickZ Indie Agency News

This week, here’s what’s happening in the world of agency growth:
- Ad Age’s Best Ads of 2025 (So Far)
- Butler/Till's Innovation Fund Rethinks Media ROI
- Wimbledon’s hottest influencer isn’t human—AI models hit center court

🌟 Editor’s Pick - Incrementality Over Instincts

Stop Chasing Conversions - Start Measuring Real Growth
The path to measurement maturity isn’t about tracking every conversion - it’s about understanding what’s truly incremental.

That’s the focus of Fospha’s new Meta whitepaper, created in partnership with six leading eCommerce brands. The findings reveal what happens when marketers move beyond Last Click - and start building systems that reflect how growth actually happens.

Highlights include:

• Why Last Click dramatically undervalues upper-funnel marketing

• Predictive modeling uncovering up to 80% more revenue potential in Meta

• How brands found the confidence to reallocate budget and scale new channels

• How combining incrementality testing with always-on measurement completes the measurement puzzle - delivering a holistic, reliable view of marketing impact

As Andy King, Head of Performance Marketing at NBrown, put it:

“It was really insightful to see how much Meta’s impact was being underestimated by Last Click. Fospha’s data gave us a clearer picture of its true value, in the context of our other channels, highlighting opportunities we hadn’t fully recognized before.”

👉 Download Fospha’s Meta Whitepaper to see how leading brands are redefining measurement for 2025.

📌WEEKLY MUST-KNOWS

AGENCY LEADERSHIP
Why Brave Indie Agencies Still Win
Alistair Pratten (Today the Brave) urges indie agencies to lean into their edge: creative risk-taking, deep relationships, and speed over scale. In a market flooded with sameness, he argues indies can punch above their weight by making decisions faster and being emotionally attuned to both clients and culture. Pratten sees the best indies thriving by owning a POV and chasing relevance over perfection — especially in today’s reactive, content-heavy marketing environment.

CREATIVE CAMPAIGNS
Ad Age’s Best Ads of 2025 (So Far): Purpose, Play, and Precision
Ad Age’s mid-year round-up highlights the top-performing ads of 2025, with themes of purposeful storytelling, irreverent humour, and cultural fluency leading the pack. Standouts include Orange’s fake movie trailers calling out AI bias, The North Face’s unapologetically queer film, and Apple’s haunting “Crush” spot (which sparked backlash and conversation).

Brands winning attention by taking creative risks grounded in emotional truth, identity, or tension. For indie marketers, it's a reminder: tight ideas, bold tone, and timing still beat big budgets — especially when culture’s moving fast.

MEDIA & EXPERIMENTATION
Butler/Till's Innovation Fund Rethinks Media ROI
Rochester-based indie agency Butler/Till is turning rebates into R&D. Its “innovation fund” redirects DSP/SSP incentives toward experimental tactics—from AI-driven modeling to local franchise ad tools—letting clients trial emerging media without upfront risk. With 35% revenue growth projected and a new CPO in place, the B-Corp is proving indies can outmaneuver holdcos when tech meets transparency.

⚡QUICK READS

Wimbledon’s AI Influencer Goes Viral: Meta-generated model Mia Zelu headlined Ad Age’s top five AI activations, hinting at cheaper, faster creator pipelines—and looming disclosure challenges. (More)

Call For Nominations: 2025 Adweek Tech Stack Awards: Adweek opens entries across 20+ product categories—flagging where agencies should scout next-gen martech partners. (More)

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