Independent creative and technology agency Schafer Condon Carter (SCC) has won Ad Age’s Small Agency of the Year Gold Award in the Midwest category. The Awards honor independent agencies that are producing innovative and exciting work among some of advertising’s oldest, largest and most sought-after partners. The honor reflects SCC’s organic integration of key practice areas, groundbreaking ideas, and technology across traditional and digital platforms, along with its people-first culture.
SCC’s Executive Chairman, Tim Condon, said, “This win is for everyone at SCC across departments and disciplines – and for our clients who partner with us every day to create powerful ideas that drive results. Great clients will always be at the heart of great work from an agency.”
The award comes at a time of significant transformation for SCC. Following 28 consecutive years of revenue growth, the 130-person shop recently reorganized its management team and rebranded with a new mission, “We work for humans.” The agency’s new mission recognizes and celebrates the critical need for deep human insights to connect humans and brands in an increasingly technology-driven world.
While SCC built its reputation as an award-winning AOR creative agency, it has enhanced its capabilities through extensive investments in marketing technology. The agency now architects and deploys comprehensive digital engagement solutions through proprietary software and commercially available content management systems, CRM platforms and e-commerce solutions. Today, SCC is an established Business-Level partner with Adobe and was a force behind productizing its integration with Magento – which Adobe recently acquired.
“This is the model of the omnichannel agency of the future,” said SCC CEO David Selby. “Brands need to connect with humans through remarkable experiences driven by insights, and those experiences will be delivered increasingly through digital devices. We are in a great position to help our clients drive their businesses through all delivery channels.”
SCC has been recognized for its work with the Chicago Cubs, Seven Daughters Wines, IDEAL Industries, Chicago-based restaurant icon Portillo’s, Southern Comfort Whiskey, and others. The agency is based in a historic, 146-year-old building in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood.
Winners were announced at Ad Age’s Small Agency Conference & Awards on July 17-18 in Marina del Rey, California.