Holding company mega-mergers might (might!) be good for shareholders and spreadsheets. They tend to be a disaster for the actual work, done by the actual teams, who are familiar with the actual clients that pay for an agency’s services.
You know, the actual business we’re in?
The agency world isn’t known for confronting difficult truths, or having hard conversations. Which is why the last couple of weeks have been fascinating and tragic for industry-watchers like me. My news feed is full of hot takes on efficiencies and what this means for the business of advertising. The message boards, group texts, and NYC bars, meanwhile, are full of well-wishing and goodbye notes from people who were recently let go, or who lost coworkers.
I haven’t seen much from clients who are impacted by this. I’m guessing that’s due to a few factors: Waiting to see how their teams shake out; the end-of-year rush taking priority; the safety in saying nothing. But teams have been gutted, and trusted partners labeled a “redundancy.” Your team two weeks ago might not be your team this week, or your team two weeks from now.
We know the truth, and so do you: Smart clients hire people, not agency logos. And once you find an agency team you love, continuity is a massive competitive advantage.
You don’t collaborate day in and day out with an agency’s finance team or its global footprint. You work with people. It’s not a faceless agency, it’s humans who answer your frantic messages at 8 p.m., who know your brand’s quirks, can write in its voice, and help you navigate the red tape to make brilliant work together.
When a holding company puts spreadsheets and synergies ahead of people, they aren’t just failing their employees—they’re failing you.
Our serious offer (wrapped in a dumb joke)
We’re not big on the mystique of advertising. We’re doers. And right now, we see a lot of people we respect—and a lot of brands we admire—looking for a path to doing bigger and better things in 2026.
So, we’re launching the Codeword Switch and Save Coupon.
It’s simple: If you’re a client worried about losing your team to holding-company-merger chaos, or if you’ve already lost them, give us a call and bring your business to Codeword.
- We’ll hire the people you love: If you want them, we want them.
- We’ll match their salaries: We’ll hire up to three of your favorite team members at their most recent pay level. (Seriously.)
- We’ll cut the bloat: No holding company layers, no “VP of Global Synergies,” and no timesheets. Just the team you trust, getting back to work in an environment that values them. And values you, too.
Couldn’t be easier. Switch (agencies), and Save (your team).
Why Codeword?
Because the old agency model is broken, and we built Codeword to do things differently.
We do the stuff they’re bad at: We build brands by creating large-scale content programs, immersive events, engaged fan communities, stunty activations, and smart comms campaigns. The kinds of fast-moving, audience-centered programs that shouldn’t look like ads, so they shouldn’t be handled by ad agencies.
We treat you better: We’re big enough to handle global accounts for the world’s biggest brands, and independent enough to actually care about them. No bloat, no bureaucracy, no surprise change orders.
Switch, save, and let’s get to work in 2026.