Best Creative Agencies in New York (2026)

Introduction

New York has the deepest bench of creative agencies in the US, from network flagships owned by Omnicom and Accenture to independents that have spent the past two years taking the industry's top awards. The 15 agencies below were chosen for recent work, 2025 and 2026 recognition, and the strength of their client rosters.

The city's agency map changed a good deal over the last year. Omnicom completed its acquisition of IPG at the end of 2025 and retired several network brands, folding FCB New York into BBDO. R/GA left IPG for private ownership, and Gut moved under Globant's consolidated marketing network. Independents filled much of the space: Ad Age's 2026 A-List put Mischief at number two and named Mother its Independent Agency Network of the Year.

Every agency here has an active New York office in 2026. The list runs in no fixed order of merit, since the right choice depends on your brief, budget and how you like to work.

The best creative agencies in New York

1. Mischief @ No Fixed Address

Independent · New York · mischiefusa.com

Mischief is the most decorated US independent of the last few years. Greg Hahn founded it in 2020 as the American arm of Canada's No Fixed Address, and it has appeared on Ad Age's A-List every year since 2021, ranking second in 2026. Adweek named it US Agency of the Year in December 2025, its second win.

The work leans on ideas people talk about. Recent examples include NPR's "For Your Right To Be Curious", which took a Design Gold at Cannes in 2026, Reddit's "People Are The Best", and Huggies "Changing Tables". MGM Resorts has used Mischief as its creative agency of record since 2024.

2. Droga5

Accenture Song · Financial District · droga5.com

Droga5 has been part of Accenture Song since 2019 and keeps its own brand inside the consultancy. Neil Heymann became global chief creative officer of both Droga5 and Accenture Song in January 2026, and Rafael Rizuto joined from Ogilvy to lead creative for New York and the Americas.

It suits clients who want large brand-building work with consulting capacity behind it. Bosch's first Super Bowl spot in 2025, Microsoft's "Doppelmode" and Coors Light's World Cup work all came from the New York office.

3. Johannes Leonardo

Independent, with a WPP minority stake · Financial District · johannesleonardo.com

Johannes Leonardo builds long-running brand platforms around participation, summed up in its line "The Consumer Is The Medium". Its adidas Originals campaign "Original Forever" won two Grand Prix at Cannes Lions 2026, and CEO Helen Andrews was named to the 2026 Adweek 50.

Other clients include Volkswagen, Oscar Mayer, Zillow and Suntory's On The Rocks. Two executive creative directors left in April 2026 to start their own agency, The Circle, so ask who will run your account.

4. Mother New York

Independent · Gowanus, Brooklyn · mothernewyork.com

Mother New York is the Brooklyn office of the independent network founded in London in 1996. Ad Age named Mother its Independent Agency Network of the Year for 2026, and Intuit appointed the New York office to lead QuickBooks creative and strategy in June 2026.

The agency has a reputation for unconventional, culture-led work. Its roster includes Uber, Amica Insurance, StreetEasy, iShares and Bombay Sapphire.

5. Wieden+Kennedy New York

Independent · Hudson Square · wk.com

Wieden+Kennedy is the best-known independent network in the world, and the New York office is one of its ten. The network was Adweek's Global Agency of the Year for 2025 and placed sixth on Ad Age's 2026 A-List.

New York handles large consumer accounts with a heavy sports and entertainment presence. Recent work includes Michelob Ultra's Super Bowl LX spot with Kurt Russell, McDonald's World Cup activity, Ford campaigns featuring Aaron Judge, and Delta's Olympics work.

6. Anomaly

Stagwell · SoHo · anomaly.com

Anomaly has positioned itself since 2004 as a business partner as much as an ad agency, with a history of building products and IP alongside campaigns. It is owned by Stagwell and ranked third on Ad Age's 2025 A-List after adding 15 clients in its 20th year.

Starbucks moved its US creative account to Anomaly in 2025, which led to the brand's Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics work. The agency also handles Bud Light, Budweiser's 150th anniversary, Kinder Bueno and Zales.

7. R/GA

Independent, majority owned by Truelink Capital · Hudson Yards · rga.com

R/GA is the agency to look at when the brief involves product, digital experience or a full brand system. IPG sold it to Truelink Capital and the management team in 2025, and Ad Age named it Agency to Watch for 2026. It acquired the design studio Addition in July 2025.

Google is a long-standing client. Recent work includes a redesign of Levi's digital experience and an Arc'teryx Japan campaign, and the agency's history includes Nike+ and Samsung.

8. Uncommon Creative Studio

Havas majority stake · New York · uncommon.studio

Uncommon opened its New York studio in October 2023 and has grown quickly since. Campaign US named it Advertising Agency of the Year in 2025 and Fastest Growing Agency in 2026, and Ad Age gave it Design & Brand Agency of the Year for 2026. Havas holds 51% of the business, with the founders holding the rest.

Its US work includes Guinness's 50-state documentary series, the relaunch of EA's "skate." and campaigns for SiriusXM. The studio is a good fit for brands that want identity and advertising handled by the same team.

9. Known

Independent · New York · known.is

Known combines data science, creative and media, and prices much of its work on outcomes. It was Adweek's Midsize Agency of the Year for 2025 and ranked seventh on Ad Age's 2026 A-List.

Notable campaigns include Hulu + Live TV "Sports Meets Sitcoms", ADT "Safe-ish", and St. Jude's "Art of Hope", an AI-assisted campaign directed by young cancer patients. Recent account wins include Disney, JPMorgan Chase and WeightWatchers.

10. JOAN Creative

Independent · Financial District · joancreative.com

JOAN is a female-founded independent, started in 2016, that brings creative, media and PR under one roof. It was shortlisted for Campaign US Advertising Agency of the Year 2026, and Gerry Graf joined as partner and global chief creative officer in May 2026.

Clients include eBay, the WNBA, Brawny and Nordstrom Rack. Mohegan Sun named JOAN its creative agency of record in 2025. The agency also runs offices in London and Berlin.

11. Mojo Supermarket

Independent · New York · mojosuper.market

Mojo Supermarket is a smaller independent known for culture-hacking ideas for large technology and consumer brands. Founder Mo Said still leads the agency, and it hired Brad Filice from Droga5 as head of strategy in June 2026.

Its work includes Burger King's "The Bite", Pinterest Predicts, and Match's "Adults Date Better". The client list also takes in Chase, Rivian, Verizon and DoorDash.

12. Translation

Independent · Brooklyn · translationllc.com

Steve Stoute founded Translation, and it remains independent with offices in Los Angeles, São Paulo, Dubai and Lagos alongside Brooklyn. Its specialism is brand work rooted in music, sport and hip-hop culture.

The NBA's "Unforgettable Awaits" earned its fifth consecutive Emmy nomination in 2026. Translation also launched Cadillac's Formula 1 entry with a Super Bowl LX spot and a Times Square reveal, and has worked with the New York Knicks since 2020.

13. Gut New York

Globant · New York · gut.agency

Gut opened in New York in September 2024 as part of a network that started in Latin America. Globant acquired it in 2023 and in October 2025 consolidated all of its marketing services under the Gut name.

Turtle Beach named Gut New York its agency of record in March 2026. The office also handles Verizon, Wild Turkey and Kimberly-Clark's Goodnites.

14. The Community

Publicis Groupe · New York · thecommunityagency.com

The Community works from offices in Miami, New York, Buenos Aires and Mexico City, and describes its focus as the "new mainstream" of multicultural America. Ad Age named it Multicultural Agency of the Year in 2024.

Recent work includes Verizon's cast-reunion spots, Walmart's World Cup series with Luis Suárez, and Dos Equis with Fuerza Regida. Porsche is also a client.

15. BBDO New York

Omnicom · New York · bbdo.com

BBDO is one of three creative networks Omnicom kept after acquiring IPG, and the New York office absorbed FCB New York. That makes it one of the largest creative operations in the city, built for mass-market brands that need scale.

BBDO placed six spots in Super Bowl LX, including work for Pepsi, Budweiser and Instacart, and the New York office has run AT&T Business campaigns. Senior leadership changed again in September 2026, so confirm the current team before you start a review.

What to look for in a New York creative agency

Start with ownership, because it shapes everything else. Network agencies such as BBDO bring media buying, production and global reach. Consultancy-owned shops such as Droga5 can connect creative work to wider transformation projects. Independents tend to give clients more senior attention and move faster on approvals, though they may need production partners for very large campaigns.

Check who will work on your account, by name. New York agencies saw a lot of senior movement in 2025 and 2026, through holding-company mergers and through creative leaders leaving to start their own shops. The people in the pitch room should be the people doing the work, and it is reasonable to ask for that in writing.

Ask how fees are set. Most agencies still work on retainers or project fees, while some, such as Known, tie part of the fee to outcomes. Either can work well. What matters is that the measure of success is agreed before the first brief.

Finally, look at how the agency handles the day-to-day: where files live, how feedback is gathered, and how approvals are tracked. A strong creative idea can lose weeks to version confusion across email threads and shared drives. Agencies with a clear review process, and a single place where clients can find the latest work, are easier to work with over a long relationship.

How Fabric helps creative agency teams

Fabric gives an agency one workspace for its files, client feedback and team knowledge, with AI search across all of it. Many of the agencies above run several large accounts at once, and the agency setup is built around that pattern: one space per client, with briefs, assets, decks and call notes kept together.

Large production files sit in Fabric's cloud drive, which streams files on demand so they take no local disk space. Editors and designers can open heavy files without waiting for a full download. Search works by meaning across documents, images and transcribed recordings, and colour search finds visual assets by shade. When a team needs references like a past campaign, similar search surfaces related work without a typed query.

For client delivery, any file or folder can be published as a web page and shared with password protection. Link analytics shows when each named recipient opened a link and how long they spent with it, which helps with pitch decks and review rounds. Clients can leave threaded comments through a shared link without creating an account. There is more on this approach in why agencies stop sending Google Drive links to clients.

On Team plans, self-writing docs can maintain a page for each client from meetings, Slack and the workspace itself, covering decisions, deliverables and open items. New account staff get the history without asking around.

Password protection and link analytics are included on Pro and Team plans, and self-writing docs on Team plans. See plans for teams.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best creative agency in New York?

There is no single answer, as the right agency depends on the brief. On 2026 recognition, Mischief @ No Fixed Address ranked highest among New York agencies on Ad Age's A-List, Johannes Leonardo won two Grand Prix at Cannes Lions, and Uncommon was named Campaign US Fastest Growing Agency.

Are independent agencies a good choice for large brands?

Yes, for many briefs. Mother, Wieden+Kennedy and Mischief are all independent and handle national accounts such as Uber, McDonald's and Reddit. Very large campaigns may still need specialist production or media partners alongside them.

What happened to FCB New York?

Omnicom folded FCB New York into BBDO after completing its acquisition of IPG at the end of 2025. Existing FCB New York clients now work with BBDO New York.

How much does a New York creative agency cost?

Pricing varies widely and most agencies do not publish rates. Retainers and project fees are the norm, and some agencies tie part of their fee to agreed outcomes. Ask each shortlisted agency for a scoped estimate against the same brief so the numbers are comparable.

Which New York agencies are best for digital products and experience design?

R/GA is the strongest fit on this list for product and digital experience work. For identity and brand systems, see our list of the best branding agencies in New York.

Related lists

Creative agencies in other cities: Los Angeles · London · Chicago · San Francisco · Toronto

More in New York: Design agencies · Branding agencies · Advertising agencies · Social media agencies · Video production · VFX

Run your agency on Fabric: Fabric for creative teams · Fabric for agencies · Best client portal tools