Best Advertising Agencies in Vancouver (2026)

Introduction

Vancouver has a compact advertising scene, and the six agencies below are the ones with a verified office in the city and recent work to show for it. They range from Canada’s most awarded independent to WPP’s local VML office and a dedicated media agency.

The city’s agency map has shifted over the past two years. Omnicom completed its acquisition of IPG at the end of 2025 and began retiring the DDB brand in the first half of 2026, folding it into TBWA in most markets. DDB’s Canadian site now redirects to TBWA\Canada, whose contact page lists offices in Toronto, Edmonton and Montreal but none in Vancouver, which ends a long run for the office once known as Palmer Jarvis DDB. Its alumni are still visible: Rethink, founded in 1999 by three former Palmer Jarvis DDB staff, ranked first on Strategy’s 2026 Creative Report Card. Elsewhere, the independent Wasserman relaunched as 9Letters in September 2025, and VML’s Vancouver office added British Columbia Lottery Corporation to a client list that already included BC Transit.

Every agency here has an active office in Vancouver in 2026. The list is unranked, since the right fit depends on your brief, your budget and how much of the media side you want the agency to handle.

The best advertising agencies in Vancouver

1. Rethink

Independent · Mount Pleasant · rethinkideas.com

Rethink was founded in Vancouver in November 1999 by Chris Staples, Ian Grais and Tom Shepansky, and now also runs offices in Toronto, Montréal and New York. It describes itself as independent and owner-operated, and it is a certified B Corp. Strategy ranked it the top agency on its Creative Report Card in both 2025 and 2026, and it took Agency of the Year Gold in 2024 for the sixth year in a row.

National clients include IKEA, Molson Coors (Coors Light), Kraft Heinz, WestJet, Telus and A&W, and YWCA Metro Vancouver was among its award-winning clients in 2026. Much of the best-known national work runs out of Toronto, so ask which office will lead your account. In May 2026 Marika Wiggan was appointed executive strategy director at Rethink Vancouver.

2. Cossette Vancouver

Canadian network agency · Yaletown · cossette.com

Cossette is one of Canada’s largest agency networks, with offices in Montréal, Québec City, Toronto, Halifax and Calgary as well as its Western Canada base on Homer Street. Cossette placed on the podium at Strategy’s Agency of the Year in October 2025 and ranked ninth on the 2026 Creative Report Card, up from twelfth. In December 2025 it hired Jordon Lawson to lead creative in Western Canada.

Recent Vancouver-credited work includes “Get Unstuck” for Coast Capital, “Earn the Maple Leaf” and a women’s-focused campaign for Curling Canada, a Calgary Stampede campaign for McDonald’s and work for Travel Yukon. It suits brands that want national scale with a creative team based in the West.

3. VML Vancouver

WPP · Vancouver · vml.com

VML Vancouver is the local office of WPP’s VML, which lists Vancouver alongside Toronto and Montréal on its Canadian site. In February 2025 it won British Columbia Lottery Corporation and retained BC Transit’s creative design and campaign services, extending a relationship of seven years. VML Canada ranked tenth on Strategy’s 2026 Creative Report Card, after fourth in 2025.

Jackie Pearl is managing director, and Jake Hope was promoted to group creative director in 2025. Strategy’s 2026 coverage of VML includes a rebrand for the Vancity credit union and a rebrand for the BC Egg Marketing Board. It is a sensible shortlist pick for public-sector and regulated clients that want network resources close to home.

4. 9Letters

Independent, Worldwide Partners member · Mount Pleasant · 9letters.ca

9Letters is the agency formerly known as Wasserman, which relaunched under the new name in September 2025. It is founded and run in Vancouver, belongs to the Worldwide Partners network of independent agencies, and has signed up to Clean Creatives, so it does not take fossil fuel clients. It appeared on Strategy’s 2026 Creative Report Card with creative director Neil Shapiro among its credited talent.

Current work includes Tourism Tofino (“Getting Here Is Part of the Getaway”), WorkSafeBC, Return-It and several campaigns for the BC Nurses’ Union, including a 2026 push on nurse-to-patient ratios. In June 2026 Strategy covered a set of 9Letters campaigns for B.C. non-profits. It is a good match for provincial organisations and causes that want a local team.

5. Spring Advertising

Independent · Mount Pleasant · springadvertising.com

Spring is an independent agency on East 5th Avenue that covers branding, campaigns, out-of-home, radio, video, animation, photography and social. Its client list leans on B.C. hospitality, tourism and retail names, including YVR, Joey Restaurants, Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, Red Truck Brewing and River Rock Casino Resort.

Recent projects include campaigns for 7-Eleven, RE/MAX and the BC SPCA, and a B.C. child care campaign. Spring still makes a lot of radio and outdoor work, which is useful if your plan leans on traditional local media.

6. Jungle Media

Media agency (Mekanism group) · Yaletown · junglemedia.ca

Jungle Media is a full-service media agency that plans and buys across digital, television, radio and print. It runs a Vancouver office on Homer Street alongside offices in Toronto, Montréal and Québec City, and it shares addresses with Cossette in three of those cities. Strategy reported in April 2025 that Mekanism was merging with Camp Jefferson and Jungle Media. Jungle won Strategy’s Media Agency of the Year Gold in 2012 and Bronze in 2015.

Recent work covered by Strategy includes holiday messaging for The Keg (November 2025) and a fall campaign for Cozey (September 2025), and its own case studies include Hendrick’s Gin. It is the media-led choice on this list, for brands that want planning and buying run separately from creative.

What to look for in a Vancouver advertising agency

Start with where the work will be made. Several national agencies have Vancouver offices, but national accounts are often led from Toronto or Montréal. Ask which office owns your account, who the creative director is, and how often the senior team will be in the room.

Check how the agency handles media. Some shops on this list plan and buy in-house, some partner with a media agency, and Jungle Media does media only. Each model works. What matters is that one party is accountable for the plan and that creative and media teams share the same brief and the same results.

Look at the client mix. Vancouver agencies do a lot of work for provincial Crown corporations, credit unions, tourism boards and regulated categories such as lottery and gaming. That experience brings useful knowledge of approval chains and public-sector procurement, though it can also mean a conflict if a competitor is already on the roster.

Finally, ask how review and approvals run. A 30-second spot can go through rough cut, fine cut and several online versions, alongside radio scripts and outdoor layouts, and each round needs comments from brand, legal and sometimes a regulator. Agencies that keep every cut in one place, gather feedback against the exact frame or line, and track which notes are resolved tend to hit air dates with fewer surprises.

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For review, share a cut or a folder with the client as a commenter through a shared link, which works without sign-up. Annotations let reviewers leave timestamped comments on video and audio (useful for radio spots as well as TV), draw on a video frame with a comment, draw on outdoor and print layouts, and highlight scripts and PDFs. The team then marks each comment completed, so a round of notes works like a checklist; there is a short guide on marking client feedback as done. For final delivery, any file or folder can be published as a web page, which is view-only, with password protection and link analytics showing when each named recipient opened it.

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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 advertising agency in Vancouver?

It depends on the brief. On 2026 recognition, Rethink ranked first on Strategy’s Creative Report Card, with Cossette ninth and VML Canada tenth. For media planning and buying on its own, Jungle Media is the specialist on this list.

What happened to DDB’s Vancouver office?

Omnicom began retiring the DDB brand in the first half of 2026 after completing its acquisition of IPG, merging DDB into TBWA in most markets. DDB Canada’s website now redirects to TBWA\Canada, whose contact page lists Toronto, Edmonton and Montreal and no Vancouver office.

What happened to Wasserman in Vancouver?

The independent agency Wasserman relaunched as 9Letters in September 2025. It remains in Vancouver, now on East 3rd Avenue in Mount Pleasant, and works with clients such as Tourism Tofino, WorkSafeBC and the BC Nurses’ Union.

Do Vancouver advertising agencies handle media buying?

Some do. Jungle Media works from the same Homer Street block as Cossette, and network offices such as VML can draw on WPP’s media agencies. Smaller independents often partner with a media agency, so ask who will plan and buy before the pitch.

How is an advertising agency different from a creative agency?

The terms overlap. Advertising agencies tend to focus on paid campaigns across broadcast, outdoor, radio and digital, often with media planning nearby, while creative agencies cover a wider range of brand and content work. For Vancouver’s independents and integrated idea shops, see the list of creative agencies in Vancouver.

Related lists

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

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

Run your agency on Fabric: Fabric for agencies · Fabric for commercials production · Fabric for creative teams