Some of the industry’s best agencies have given rise to a plethora of spinoffs. Goodby Silverstein, for instance. On the other hand, agencies like Wieden + Kennedy and The Richards Group—the two largest independents in the game—for whatever reason, have not fostered a litter of smaller agencies.
According to Ad Age, the equation in Dallas is beginning to change. At least three new shops have opened since the beginning of the year: Baker & Bonner Creative Emporium, PlotTwist Creativity, and Trace Element.
The new agency’s clients include one of rock and roll’s most prolific photographers, Danny Clinch and his Transparent Clinch Gallery, London-based Jan Erika Design, Oyster Fine Bamboo Fly Rods, Dallas-based Peacock Alley, and R&D Brewing in North Carolina.
PlotTwist Creativity was formed by Dave Kroencke, a 32-year Richards veteran, and Chris Smith, a 22-year Richards veteran. The new agency is working with H.E.B. and Central Market, which decamped Richards following Stan Richards’s comments about Motel 6’s white supremacist audience.
Trace Element was spun off from RBMM, an in-house design affiliate of Richards Group, into an 8-person indie run by decade-long Richards vets Jeff Barfoot and Lindsey Phaup.
Ad Age also reports that TRG has lost 100 people since last October. Not all of them have landed softly or reinvented their agency careers.
