It might be a bit of an understatement to say that a lot has changed in the advertising and marketing world over the past 25 years. In 1999, Mark Zuckerberg was still a nerdy highschooler, Yahoo was the top search engine, Internet Explorer the top web browser, paid search and PPC advertising had just been introduced, and the iPhone was still eight years away from its initial release.
It was in these early days of digital advertising (or “the dark ages” as some of our Gen Z colleagues refer to that time), that Leap Group Network was born in the heart of the Midwest. Founded in 1999 by Alan Gilleo and Daniel Knapp, Leap Group was purpose-built to serve clients better, eventually evolving into today’s bespoke model that gives clients simplified access to specialized agencies.
Despite our lack of big city swagger (or perhaps because of it), we survived a dotcom bust, a recession, a pandemic, and a raid by U.S. Marshalls in a mistaken con-artist interaction (ask us about it over a glass of bourbon). Today, we’ve expanded to fill offices in four cities (Chicago, Illinois; Cincinnati, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Louisville, Kentucky), with even more employees working from their homes across the country.
Furthermore, Leap Group was named to the Inc. 5000 list in 2023 for demonstrating 238% growth over the past three years. And last year alone, we added 30 new employees and signed 13 new clients, including its selection as the Agency of Record for the American Kennel Club, the world’s largest purebred dog registry and leading advocate for dogs. In short, Leap Group is thriving.
Navigating the changing advertising world
The agency landscape had changed a lot over the past quarter century as well. While advertising agencies were once dominated by the personalities of their creative founders (think of the David Ogilvies and Leo Burnetts that ruled over the Mad Men era), the shift to digital advertising and the increasing competitiveness of a global marketplace led to massive changes over the past few decades.
First, we saw the creation and rise of mega-holding companies like WPP, Omnicom, Publicis Groupe and Havas — behemoths that each have upwards of 100 small agencies under their name — that opened multiple offices around the world to serve clients, such as Coca-Cola and Nike that sold to a global market. Then, creatives and executives began to flee the giant shops and create their own small specialty agencies, and in the process, snagging some of the smaller accounts and projects that used to go to mid-size agencies.
That’s led us to where we are today, with many mid-size, independent agencies now merging just to stay competitive. In fact, a recent Deal Barometer report from EY-Parthenon anticipated that corporate mergers and acquisitions overall would rise 12% this year. And so far, their prediction seems to be on track: at least four significant mergers and acquisitions were announced in January 2024 alone, including the acquisition of Team Epiphany by Stagwell and Giant Machines by Deloitte Digital.
Small shops specializing in areas such as ad technology, AI and performance marketing, design and creative appear to be especially appealing to larger agencies, allowing them to fill holes in the expertise that will allow them to compete with holding companies that offer comprehensive services. “These agency mergers are focused on helping to offer more efficient, effective and comprehensive solutions to marketers who are not only working with tighter budgets but also tighter timelines,” AAR Partners President Lisa Colantuono recently told Ad Age. “A one-stop shop often leads to more efficiencies and more affordable fees” for clients.
Creating a different kind of agency model
“There’s definitely a lot of consolidation happening,” Alan Gilleo, Founding Partner and CMO of Leap Group Network, said. “It’s a recognition that companies need the depth of capability and the scale of a large agency. But they want it to be much more simple and streamlined, more results-focused. That’s why we built Leap Group in a way that allows clients to have a full-service relationship if that’s what they’re looking for, or just a single specialized agency if that’s all they need.”
Leap Group’s bespoke model gives clients access to four independent specialty agencies (each offering deep subject matter expertise in areas such as media, production, design and results-driven creative), all with a single contract and a single point of contact. Clients can also opt to use only one (and pay for only one) of the agency’s services.
Gilleo cited Leap Group’s selection as the Agency of Record for American Kennel Club as proof of the strength of its bespoke model: “AKC liked the fact that we had the specializations, we had the depth of capability. But what really appealed to them was that they could use it in a group format, with a singular simplified access.”
However, Gilleo said, many of their clients are happy to use only one of the network’s specialty agencies. “We have a lot of clients that come to us because they have a single project or search need, or there’s a service their current agency doesn’t offer that they simply need to get supported. So, they want a subject matter expert, they want a depth of capability, but they also don’t want to go to a small shop. They feel like they don’t have the support they need. That’s the sweet spot where Leap Group plays: you can have it all or only what you need.”
“That’s why we built Leap Group in a way that allows clients to have a full-service relationship if that’s what they’re looking for, or just a single specialized agency if that’s all they need.”
– Alan Gilleo | CMO
Taking a human-first approach to marketing
From the beginning, Gilleo has united the network’s agencies around a shared philosophy (“Market Less. Matter More.”) that takes a human-first approach to marketing, helping clients develop authentic and meaningful experiences for their customers based on key human insights. The network has embraced AI and data-driven methodologies, creating their own in-house, PhD-led research team; uniting analytics, SEO and UX in a single Digital Experience department; and developing their own proprietary predictive modeling product, humanView, to uncover much more accurate and nuanced audience insights.
“We’re always looking at how we can add value for our clients,” Gilleo said. “We see ourselves as business consultants. We’re constantly asking ourselves how their brand can matter more and grow their audience in a significant and lasting way. I think that comes from our Midwestern roots. We’re talented, hardworking and honest. We’re not just trying to get the most money out of our clients. We truly want to make their brand matter more.”
Sometimes, Gilleo said, that means they’re not a good fit for a prospective client. “We did a lot of research for a national cookie company. It’s an iconic brand, the kind you remember enjoying when you went to your grandmother’s house as a kid. But all the research showed that consumers hated the taste. They were disappointed when they tried the cookie again. We told the brand they had a recipe problem, but they refused to change it. They weren’t interested in listening to the research and improving their product. They just wanted to make money.”
The challenges for independent agencies today
Though the network’s passion for helping brands truly make an impact may not appeal to everyone, enough businesses are seeing the appeal of its model to make consolidation a continued threat for independent mid-size agencies, with many reporting an increase in solicitations from interested buyers. Independent shops such as Mojo Supermarket and the Knoxville-based, family-owned Tombras agency are among those who recently told AdAge they’d received an historic level of interest from PE firms and other would-be buyers.
If you’re wanting to maintain your own identity, staying competitive as these big, big companies are buying up everybody is becoming a lot more challenging,” Gilleo said. “It’s harder to go after business and maintain your competitiveness from a scale perspective because they’re buying up all kinds of capabilities, and they’re also buying client relationships left and right.”
However, Gilleo says, the network has no interest in being acquired. “We’re not caving to the money,” he said. We’re going to chart our own course, and by charting our own course, that allows us to do what we need to do on behalf of our clients. At the end of the day, we control our own destiny. We wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Combine that fiercely Midwestern independence with the network’s proven track record of delivering results for clients across a variety of industries and media, and it seems a sure bet that Leap Group will be showing the world how to matter more for the next 25 years as well.
