Ad Age Small Agency Awards 2021
Shake Shack
Published on August 04, 2021
Cicus Maximus was named Ad Age 2021 Small Agency Of The Year, GOLD (11-75 employees). Check out our feature below if you missed it!
“These are the shops that shined through the pandemic
The pandemic has been hard on the ad industry, but for small independent ad agencies, it was downright perilous. Not only did the small agency community survive, it excelled, as is evident from the winners of this year’s Ad Age Small Agency Awards.
The agencies honored in this contest, now in its 13th year, were buoyed by their culture and work ethic. Many were able to avoid layoffs and salary cuts. They aggressively went after new business. They created work-from-home production studios. They instituted programs to safeguard and engage quarantined employees. They championed racial equity and social justice, and they successfully worked to diversify their ranks.
Some of the shops recognized this year actually saw revenue declines last year, but they are rebounding. They kept pitching. And they restored—and even grew—their ranks and revenue by year’s end. And that’s no small feat."
CIRCUS MAXIMUS TAKES BRANDS 'MEGA-NICHE,' PROJECTS 51% REVENUE INCREASE
Small Agency of the Year, 11-75 employees, Gold: Circus Maximus
By Parker Herren. Published on August 04, 2021.
In a time when mass appeal has splintered and marketing to niche audiences is crucial, Circus Maximus is taking brands "mega-niche." The agency, founded in 2013, defines this status as achieving “transcendent appeal by adhering to the values, philosophy, passions and mission of its core community.” Foodies, beardies and camp-from-home kiddies are a few of those core communities that Circus Maximus successfully helped major clients such as Procter & Gamble and Shake Shack cultivate over the past year.
Last year, many restaurants had to get creative to stay afloat as quarantines shut the doors of public dining spots. Many turned to delivery, but in signature mega-niche style, Circus Maximus took delivery to the next level for Shake Shack fans. The “Shake Shack at Your Shack” campaign put the restaurant’s recipes, including its famous cheese sauce, in the hands of customers through an ingredient delivery box and step-by-step instructions on social media. The campaign reached 12 million customers looking to get their Shack fix at home.
The Shake Shack campaign also featured the “Shack Camp” box for children unable to attend summer camp. Circus Maximus recruited former Girl Scout talent to create six weeks of Shack-inspired activities, such as materials to create a lemonade stand or how to whip up frozen custard, as a means to keep kids active and busy while parents worked from home.
For P&G, Circus Maximus flipped the shaving brand’s business upside down after beard culture grew more popular. The agency launched King C. Gillette, a luxe beard-care line, in physical pop-ups globally and took the lead on strategy, product development, design, social content and wholesale partnerships. The King C. Gillette brand reached No. 1 in its market in less than two months, outperformed direct-to-consumer shipment and sales projections and won Best Launch in Ad Age’s 2021 Creativity Awards.
Circus Maximus projects $7 million in revenue for 2021, 51% higher than the agency’s earnings last year.
