Best Advertising Agencies in Detroit (2026)

Introduction

Metro Detroit has 10 advertising agencies worth a close look in 2026: five network or holding-company operations and five independents and specialists, based between Downtown and the northern suburbs. They were chosen for a working local office, the strength of their client rosters, and recent work or recognition.

The market has shrunk and regrouped around fewer offices. Leo Burnett closed its Troy office at the end of 2024 after General Motors moved creative work for Cadillac, Buick and GMC elsewhere, and McCann retired the Commonwealth//McCann name after GM pulled US Chevrolet creative, moving its Detroit staff to Birmingham. Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG at the end of 2025 then brought McCann and Campbell Ewald under a new parent. In January 2026 Stagwell joined Doner and Minneapolis’s Colle McVoy in an alliance called DonerColle Partners, and Southfield remains Doner’s headquarters.

Every agency here has an active office in Greater Detroit in 2026. The numbering is only for navigation. The list is unranked, since the right choice depends on your category, budget and how much of the work you want handled locally.

The best advertising agencies in Detroit

1. Doner

Stagwell · Southfield · doner.com

Doner has had its headquarters in the 400 Galleria Officentre building in Southfield since 2020, and is the main network-backed agency still based in Metro Detroit. In January 2026 Stagwell announced DonerColle Partners, a strategic alliance with Colle McVoy in which both agencies keep their own identities and client relationships. Colle McVoy’s Jessica Henrichs became CEO of the partnership and Doner’s David DeMuth became executive chairman.

The joint roster includes Stellantis, The UPS Store, Dairy Queen, La-Z-Boy and The Coca-Cola Company. Crain’s Detroit Business reported that all 400 of Doner’s Southfield employees would be retained. Integration runs through 2026, so ask which teams and shared services will sit behind your account.

2. McCann Detroit

Omnicom · Birmingham · mccann.com

McCann’s Detroit operation works from 360 West Maple Road in Birmingham and came under Omnicom with the IPG acquisition. Its recent history has been turbulent. After GM pulled US Chevrolet creative, McCann retired the Commonwealth//McCann brand, moved its downtown staff to Birmingham and made two rounds of layoffs, while saying it remained committed to the city.

At the time of that restructuring, Crain’s reported McCann was keeping GM corporate branding, CarBravo and Chevrolet creative outside the US, with Bissell, Beautyrest and Lockheed Martin also on the local roster. The office has a long history with Michigan’s tourism marketing, having handled Pure Michigan from its launch in 2006. Client lists have moved since then, so ask for the current roster at the first meeting.

3. Campbell Ewald

Omnicom · Birmingham · c-e.com

Campbell Ewald lists its Detroit office at the same Birmingham address as McCann, alongside a second office in New York, and its 2026 job postings appear under McCann. Its site offers consulting and research (CE/CX), an influencer network (The Exchange), an editorial team (Story Works) and media and analytics (CE MAX) as well as advertising.

Featured work includes OnStar’s “Better Never Stops”, EverBank’s campaign with NFL quarterback Trevor Lawrence, and the Ad Council’s #dadication fatherhood campaign. Its link with McCann is worth raising early, since it determines who owns your account and which shared resources you can call on.

4. GTB

WPP (VML) · Dearborn · gtb.com

GTB is WPP’s dedicated Ford agency, formed in 2007 as Team Detroit when several WPP shops combined. Ford’s relationship with the group dates to 1943. The agency now describes itself as a precision and performance marketing business and appears in 2026 listings as a VML company, with its headquarters in Dearborn.

Ford moved its lead creative account to BBDO and Wieden+Kennedy after a review that began in 2018, and GTB kept media, PR and CRM. A 2026 listing for a strategy role described work across Ford’s global, national, franchisee and dealership levels. This is mainly an option for those inside the Ford system or studying how a dedicated client agency is built, and it is less of an open door for outside brands.

5. Jack Morton

Global experiential network · Downtown · jackmorton.com

Jack Morton runs its Detroit office from 500 Woodward Avenue and covers the live end of advertising: event marketing, brand activations, tradeshows, sponsorship consulting and integrated campaigns. It merged with Impact XM in 2026 and unveiled a new identity that October.

Its Detroit page shows work for Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and Chevy Motorsports, and recent projects include Chevrolet at CMA Fest 2026. It suits car launches, auto show presences and campaigns with a physical element. Since the merger is recent, check which team and leadership will run Detroit work.

6. Lafayette American

Independent · Detroit · lafayetteamerican.com

Lafayette American started in 2018, when five people with careers in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Chicago set it up around a kitchen table in Detroit, without holding-company or private equity backing. It works from 5000 Grand River Avenue. CEO and chief creative officer Toby Barlow previously held the top creative job at GTB. Ad Age named the agency to its Best Small Agencies list in 2026.

Its client list includes Carhartt, Mazda, Ford, Stellantis, Ben & Jerry’s and Detroit City FC. Recent work includes Mazda’s TikTok programme, the “Where Black Art Lives” campaign for the Studio Museum in Harlem’s reopening, and “Poetry of Detroit’s Youth”, which put young poets’ writing on the city’s billboards. Its Scorpion Rose Studio handles brand design.

7. Brogan & Partners

Woman-owned · Ferndale · brogan.com

Marcie Brogan founded this full-service agency in 1984, and CEO Ellyn Davidson leads it today from Woodward Heights in Ferndale. It holds Women’s Business Enterprise and Women Owned Small Business certifications, gives its main areas of expertise as government and healthcare, and covers research, creative, account service and media strategy in-house.

Social marketing is the strong suit, with clients including the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services, the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning, Henry Ford Health System, Delta Dental of Michigan and the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit. It is a natural fit for public-sector campaigns where behaviour change is the measure.

8. Brooklyn Outdoor

Woman-owned · Detroit · brooklynoutdoor.com

Brooklyn Outdoor is a Detroit-based out-of-home specialist founded in 2013 and led by President and CEO Candice Simons. Michigan Celebrates Small Business named it a 2026 Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year. It is WBENC-certified and a member of Geopath and the OAAA.

It plans and buys billboards, digital billboards, wallscapes, hand-painted murals, transit and street furniture, and says it operates in 36 street furniture markets, with formats running in Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and other cities. Most clients would use it alongside a creative agency. It publishes no client list, so ask for examples in your category.

9. Daniel Brian Advertising

Independent · Rochester · danielbrian.com

Daniel Brian Advertising lists offices in Detroit and Nashville and is based in Rochester, Michigan, in northern Oakland County. Its services combine full-service marketing with omnichannel media strategy, hyperlocal digital, performance marketing, video production and website and CRM development. The agency describes itself as Emmy Award-winning.

Named clients include Chick-fil-A, Papa Johns, Penske Automotive and Kasasa, and its site also shows logos for Consumers Energy, Henry Ford Health, Hungry Howie’s and the Detroit Lions. Multi-location and franchise brands are a logical match given the hyperlocal focus.

10. Berline

Independent · Royal Oak · berline.com

Berline is a Royal Oak agency with a 43-year history, led by chairman Jim Berline and president Michelle Horowitz. Its services run across strategy, creative, traditional and digital media, search, social, PR and research. Membership of the MAGNET agency network gives it partners elsewhere in the US and abroad.

It has a particular emphasis on franchise and co-op programmes and local store marketing, across retail, healthcare, financial services, technology and automotive. Berline names no clients on its site and shares case studies only on request, so plan to ask for them before shortlisting.

What to look for in a Detroit advertising agency

Start by working out whose system the agency belongs to. Much of Detroit’s advertising capacity grew up around one carmaker at a time, and some teams remain close to a single client. If you are outside automotive, ask what share of the office’s revenue comes from one account and what would happen to your team if that account moved. Recent Detroit history gives that question practical weight.

Ask where the work will be done. McCann restructured its Detroit operation around global pitches, while DonerColle Partners and Jack Morton are both mid-integration. A Birmingham or Southfield address tells you where the account lead sits, though the creative, media and production teams may be elsewhere. Ask for names and locations.

Match the agency to the channel mix. Detroit has real depth in dealer and tier-level automotive marketing, public-health and government campaigns, franchise and local store work, and experiential for auto launches. A retail brand with hundreds of locations needs different skills from a state agency running a behaviour-change programme, and the specialists on this list are often a better fit than a network office for either.

Finally, look at how approvals run. Automotive and regulated clients often have long sign-off chains across brand, legal and regional teams, and a single campaign can produce many versions by trim, market and format. Agencies that can show one clear place for the latest cut, the comments on it and the record of what was approved tend to lose less time in those rounds.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the best advertising agency in Detroit?

It depends on the brief. Doner is the main locally headquartered option for national consumer brands, Lafayette American has the strongest recent recognition among local independents after making Ad Age’s 2026 Best Small Agencies list, and Brogan & Partners is a long-standing choice for healthcare and government work.

What happened to Commonwealth//McCann?

McCann retired the Commonwealth//McCann brand after General Motors moved US Chevrolet creative elsewhere, and moved its downtown Detroit staff to the Birmingham office. The operation now runs as McCann Detroit, at 360 West Maple Road.

Is Leo Burnett still in Detroit?

Its Troy office was due to close on 31 December 2024 after the agency lost GM creative work for Cadillac, Buick and GMC. Parent company Publicis Groupe kept some GM business at the time, and a spokesperson said Detroit remained an important city for the group.

Does an agency need automotive experience to work in Detroit?

No. Several agencies here do most of their work elsewhere: Brogan & Partners in health and government, and Berline in franchise and retail. Automotive experience matters mainly if you are a carmaker, dealer group or supplier, where co-op rules and model-year timing shape the work.

What is the difference between an advertising agency and a creative agency in Detroit?

The line is loose, and some firms could sit in either group. This page favours network offices and shops that specialise in advertising channels such as out-of-home, experiential and media. For independents built around ideas and brand work, see the best creative agencies in Detroit.

Related lists

Advertising agencies in other cities: New York · London · Los Angeles · Chicago · Toronto

More in Detroit: Creative agencies · Marketing agencies · Branding agencies · Social media agencies · Video production · Content studios

Run your agency on Fabric: Fabric for agencies · Review and approval · Best client portal tools