Manifest Agency Calls Out Creative Agencies Profiting From Fossil Fuels

International brand communications group, Manifest is ‘calling time’ on creative agencies profiting from fossil fuels and other ‘ethically compromised’ industries as it unveils its freshly minted B-Corp status and a ‘planetary dividend’ for brands seeking to switch from agencies with compromising client rosters.

The independent group has also unveiled a new brand identity, website and organisational structure designed to better equip the agency to ‘challenge the status quo’ of global agency networks.

“There are still over 230 major agencies working with fossil fuel clients,” says Manifest founder and Group CEO, Alex Myers. That’s an industry legacy nobody should be proud of. And to be honest, it’s a bit embarrassing nobody talks about it more.

“Brands are often unknowingly bedfellows with some of the world’s biggest polluters through their agencies’ client rosters. But programmes like B-Corp provide an infrastructure for brands to be confident in the ethical and environmental practices of their creative partners. That’s why it’s not just a significant programme for Manifest, but for the industry as a whole.”

Excuses are dwindling Manifest scored 97.4 in the B-Corp assessment process, 17.4 points above qualification and one of the highest scoring agency networks. The process analyses not only the agency’s governance structure, environmental impact and behaviours as an employer, but also the nature of the work it produces, and who it produces it for.

“B-Corp is a detailed and rigorous process, and although only a small minority of creative agencies have completed it, that number is rising fast. Coupled with industry commitments like Clean Creatives, the opportunity for the growing number of purpose-driven brands to choose an agency that isn’t propping up the fossil fuel economy – or indeed taking money from big tobacco and other industries built directly on a negative human impact – is rising as fast. Equally swift, is the decline of excuses for agencies professing to be ‘purpose-driven’ themselves to work with ethically compromised companies.”

As an added incentive for brands to check their agencies’ ethical background and client roster, Manifest is offering a ‘planetary dividend’ for those choosing to switch from a fossil-fuel supporting agency— in the form of 10% of fees donated to regulated reforestation projects for the first year of working together. The incentive applies to both competitive and non-competitive pitch processes, and brands moving away from those supporting fossil fuel industries as outlined by the Clean Creatives movement.

A brand new era Coupled with its freshly minted B-Corp status, Manifest this week rolls out its new brand identity, website and corporate structure – all of which is designed by its in-house brand strategy team to better communicate the integrated agency’s mission to ‘build brands that change the world’.

Chief design officer, Martin Farrar-Smith, commented: “Our position in the industry has shifted now, and we are no longer just a thorn in the side of the agency establishment, we are a credible alternative to the status quo — so we needed a brand to match our ambitions. This brand reflects our position as global citizens with a growing network of studios, while putting our unified strategic approach front and centre.” he added.

Following three years of record growth, Manifest recently opened its sixth studio in Los Angeles, California, joining teams in London, Manchester, Stockholm, New York and Melbourne to provide a 24- hour unified creative cycle. As well as its new B-Corp status, Manifest was first agency to achieve full Blueprint status for its commitment to Diversity, Equality and Inclusion, frequently features in Best Place to Work lists** and has launched numerous positive-impact joint ventures outside of the creative industries, such as Ecologi.com, Raws and Cofndrs.

Myers added: “The shape of the creative industry has changed. The best agencies are no longer defined by the channels they work in, or the territories they cover. They are, however, still defined by who they work with. We are inspired by those agencies committed to a positive legacy for our industry — including those with B-Corp certification. We believe they are fighting the good fight, and we are proud to be in their ranks.”