Want to Thrive as an Agency? Know Thyself.

Merrell, “More Less” campaign

By Renee Talavera
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Knowing who you are as an agency is a crucial way to get buzz and a great litmus test for the types of clients you’ll work with, the projects you take on, and what you stand for or against.

Emily Siegel has always trusted her intuition. When she switched from a safe holding company job to launching an agency — during her first pregnancy, no less — she refused to allow logistical uncertainty to cloud her creative instincts.

Emily Siegel, President and Partner of Lafayette American.

Here are a few of the lessons she’s learned:

Stay true to yourself and know your value

Shortly after starting the agency, Siegel demonstrated her values by establishing paid leave for all caregivers, understanding that conventional policies do not account for diverse circumstances. 

Lafayette American stands out because they are an agency built for ambitious brands who want to leap into the future. Their projects show that focus, from sustainability platforms to innovative product launches to a complete rebrand of an iconic institution with the goal of inclusivity.

While the agency just celebrated its fifth anniversary, they are already one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Places to Work and Adweek’s Breakthrough Agency of the Year. 

Like attracts like

The best work often comes from clients who share your values. With this in mind, Lafayette American partnered with an outdoor lifestyle company to take the beauty and self-care industries head-on. 

The women-led team at Lafayette American knew what to do with the brief. The “More Less” campaign addresses the gimmicks of the self-care market that insist all a woman needs is the right products to turn her life around. Instead, they argued that, in reality, all women ever needed was less. The work most recently won a gold ANA Reggie award and a silver ANA Reggie GEM award, in addition to being a finalist for the North America SABRE Awards.

If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything.

Lafayette American believes that every company must use the tools of persuasion to make the world a better place, and this shines through their agency culture and work.

For example, they worked with PERIOD.org, grassroots organizations, and state legislators on the “Periods are Sexist” campaign, leading to the tampon tax repeal in Michigan. They also advocate for gun control by supporting Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense. The agency encourages others to join the cause to enact public safety laws in our communities, matching up to $5,000 in donations here: https://lnkd.in/gdU-pRMF.  

Emily and Lafayette American would be the first to acknowledge that they didn’t know exactly who they wanted to be when they started out. But they knew their strengths, their passions and their values — and everything flowed from there.