30
1985
Boston, MA (HQ) & Philadelphia, PA. The two cities where American independence was born. Our Third Spaces are located across from the Boston Tea Party Ship and the Liberty Bell.
Integrated Creative, Public Relations & Media Agency
85
Underdog
1) Compensation ≠ headcount.
The industry equates size with capability. A&G doesn’t. Great work comes from senior thinkers, not armies of intermediaries. So we structure staffing and compensation to put “the generals” on the field - senior strategists and creatives owning the work - instead of padding with layers. Clients get leadership, not bureaucracy.
2) We measure share of life, not just share of market.
Most teams start with competitors, channels, and audience share. We begin with the outcome: how does a brand earn meaningful time and relevance in someone’s life? That “share of life” lens forces bigger thinking and chooses inputs (PR, media, product, experience) only after the outcome is clear.
3) Collaboration, community & kindness as strategy.
We collaborate to assemble exactly the talent needed, quickly and efficiently. Independence gives us the humility to build networks and lead with decency: doing what’s right, not what’s easy. Kindness and community are competitive advantages.
We’re reimagining advertising so it works harder, faster, and more humanly. That’s why being “not like the others” isn’t a stance - it’s how we win.
Being independent gives A&G the freedom to design culture-first ways of working that corporate shops simply can’t, and that’s where the advantage lives.
An audience-obsessed, “share of life” process.
A question most agencies skip: How does a brand earn real time and meaning in someone’s life? That outcome-first mindset (not channel-first) lets us create work that changes behavior - not just attention. Independence means the ability to commit senior thinkers to deep, human research rather than outsourcing the thinking to others.
Third Spaces & collaborative craft.
Our physical and cultural “Third Spaces” are curated rooms for cross-disciplinary collaboration. Independent agencies are free to experiment with who sits at the table, when, and how. The result: faster decisions, higher-risk creativity, and work that actually moves culture.
Community-building as strategy.
A&G treats collaboration and kindness as competitive advantages. We partner openly with other indies and specialists, creating a flexible network that scales to client needs. Those community-first values only work when you’re free to choose partners for fit and quality, not profit share.
Justice by design.
Independence allows a folding of equity into process: pay transparency, accessible hiring, and active removal of systemic barriers. That’s how independent agencies can build diverse teams who reflect real audiences.
A welcoming, whole-self culture.
At A&G you’re invited to bring your identity, ideas, and quirks. That authenticity fuels the best work - and it’s something we aim to protect and grow because we answer to clients and craft, not a holding-company spreadsheet. Every year on your work anniversary, we make a donation to the cause of your choice.
First: obsess, locally and personally. That “share of life” obsession has roots in Boston and Philly. We’ve become the go-to for major local brands because we don’t observe from the window - we move into the neighborhood, walk in people’s shoes, and design work that reflects the lives of consumers in specific areas.
Second: move with creative freedom and speed. Being indie lets us launch ideas, services, and revenue streams without all of the red tape. That’s how our creative agency can build offerings that become new business lines (e.g., CeCo Digital and Third Space Studios), bring clients together in market-level partnerships (Philly TQ+), and create campaigns with cultural impact (think Dunkin’-scale work that redefined a hometown brand). We win business, scale ideas and boost client revenues because we can prototype, partner, and execute quickly.
Third: culture as a competitive advantage. Independence lets us embed collaboration, equity, and community into every process—pay transparency, inclusive hiring, and flexible teaming with specialist partners. That internal agility delivers better work and makes it easier to win and retain clients who need nimble, senior-led teams.
Allen & Gerritsen was born out of a phone call and a lot of ambition. The founders, Paul Allen and Peter Gerritsen were college friends and former pre-meds who each took a left turn. Pete went to art school, while Paul did a tour of Boston agencies then stepped away to help his dad’s food distribution business. When that wound down in 1985, Paul called Pete and asked, “Want to start an agency?” They launched out of a bedroom, determined to build something audience-obsessed and independent in a market already tilting toward consolidation.
Ten years in, a defining moment: A&G won State Street - a global account in 1995 - demonstrating that an indie from Boston could compete on the world stage. From tech-startup roots through the dot-com era, the agency has scaled brands like HomeGoods nationally, picked up golf brands like Top Flite, helped launch PODS, and won Staples. The creative agency has gone from B2B to a B2B/B2C blend while adding new capabilities at every turn.
Through every milestone, the indie path added value and strategy. A&G stays independent in order to move with empathy, put audience needs first, and help clients truly understand theirs. That’s been the agency’s north star since the beginning.
The biggest challenge A&G has faced as an independent is perception. People assume “small” means “can’t handle big, complex accounts.” That misconception threatens opportunities more than actual capability. When scale is needed, we turn to partners from a trusted network of specialists, so clients get enterprise-level capability without the bloat. Fewer layers means faster decisions, deeper client relationships, and accountability that lands.
We overcome this by leaning into what being indie actually provides: clarity of thinking, community, and collaboration. Thinking doesn’t require an army, it requires the generals. Great work comes from involved leadership and strategic involvement, not endless layers of execution. We put the best people where they matter - senior thinkers leading every client challenge. The client is always put first and given the attention they deserve.
Empathy is a key operating principle: obsess about audience needs, put the client first, and let measurable results do the talking. Over time, wins on the work and the rapid, senior-led approach have shifted perception: independence is a strategic asset.
Independent agencies will keep building and banding together, and collaboration will become the industry standard, so advertising makes a broader, deeper, and more measurable impact on business enterprises.
For our part, we aim to show how creative means business. Our CEO Andrew Graff prides himself on being “a business guy who has been so fortunate as to run a creative agency.” Business strategy is the core for future growth. It’s not about outputs, it’s the idea behind the outcomes. The attention and focus that independent agencies are able to give to clients, and their specific needs, directly influences the broader results of business.
