Dentsu Creative 2025: Anchored Down And Ready For More

Dentsu Creative’s 2025 has been another dynamic year for the agency; one that has seen it bring together a new leadership team, produce a diverse range of creative work, and expand its roster of clients. 

Its progress was reflecting in new business wins, which saw the agency take on new clients from the NFL, Mamas & Papas, and Cauldron - with more set to be announced into the new year. Its relationship with Waitrose continues after being appointed its content agency of record, and its global media relationship with Heineken was extended for another two years.

We asked its CEO Jessica Tamsedge to discuss the agency’s year.

Jessica Tamsedge, CEO, on Dentsu Creative's 2025

What three words would you use to describe 2025?

Fast, fun and furious.

Talk us through some of your agency’s highlights this year?

We won a bunch of new clients (NFL, Mamas & Papas, Cauldron and two we are about to announce). We were appointed Waitrose's Content Agency of Record, expanding our 25 year publishing relationship.

We welcomed 10 new creatives, bolstering that community and training the entire department on our Creative GenAI tools, with a focus on Adobe.

We broke some bizarre records with the likes of Hilton (longest brand ASMR spot with Lando Norris delivering 'Fast Asleep' between races) and Mondelez (see our Sour Patch UK launch in collaboration with Olivia Rodriguez).

Location wise, our Manchester office nearly doubled in size and we now have a team of 30 between India, Poland, and South Africa delivering design, user experience, editorial production services.

What one thing are you proudest of this year?

Our people. The resilience and generosity of our teams is unbelievable and quite honestly key to the integrated growth we have seen this year. Our Sherwin Williams teams building a first in market WhatsApp for Business service tool and our Waitrose team winning SEO, all demand our people to push beyond the Creative Practice and invite other teams in (media, data, technology). 

And what’s been your biggest challenge?

The pace of industry change. As much we tell our people "change is the only constant" the reality is we are experiencing seismic, structural change which threatens job security. It is impossible to be creative when you don't feel safe.

What are you most looking forward to in 2026?

We've had some big conversations in 2025. About the optimal agency network structure, the role of intermediaries and the need to embrace AI with both investment and guardrails. I'm looking forward to applying these learnings and getting on with it next year. Brand building has never been more important so I'm looking forward to applying creativity and care to our clients, with constructive conversations around the budgets required to make that possible.

And what one change would you most like to see in our industry next year?

I would like to see a return to confidence, in our people, our product and our value as creative agencies. I would like to see agencies saying no to opportunities that don't serve their creative and commercial objectives. And I want to see agencies championing one another, celebrating the industry's success across the board.

Creative Salon on Dentsu Creative's 2025

Dentsu Creative’s year began with the consolidation of its leadership. It announced the hiring of Caitlyn Ryan as creative partner from Meta; Matt Searle and Olly Wood joining as executive creative directors from McCann London; and Chris McKibbin was promoted from group head of strategy to chief strategy officer. 

The agency also saw a range of research rolled out, allowing it to deep-dive into some of the industry’s pressing topics. Its ‘Influence To Impact’ report investigated the role of influencers in breaking through the noise to gain audience attention, and found that influencers are 73 per cent more likely to hold someone’s attention on average compared to brand-led content. 

It also hosted its ‘What’s Next’ event at Somerset House, which highlighted the ad industry’s growing concern about the devaluation of creativity in marketing. It discussed ways of rejuvenating the creative spirit from building communities to utilising B2B influencers. 

Dentsu’s work for American Express marked the brand’s first unified brand and product advertising in the UK, with the aim to drive its messaging into the UK market. ‘There’s Always More’ looked at how everyday moments can be rewarded with Amex.

Its ‘Roll On Jersey Royal Season’ for Albert Bartlett celebrated the 'champagne' of potatoes as it welcomed the annual Jersey Royal potato season. It marked the first creative collaboration since Dentsu Creative was named as lead creative agency.

For Kellogg, it produced ‘Kellogg’s Town’ - a digital experience that redefined how breakfast fans across Europe interact with one of the world’s most iconic cereal brands. The digital town included several avenues of engaging content, from interactive games to brain training to crafts.

And its work for battery-powered tool company Makita, saw Dentsu Creative launch the brand’s first large-scale campaign in Europe for its gardening tool business. ‘Feel the Energy’ saw Makita take the step to encourage professional gardeners to use its battery-powered technology as opposed to fuel-powered alternatives.

Creative Salon says... Dentsu Creative has once again showcased its dynamic ability to deep-dive into the issues the industry faces in the future, as well as produce eye-catching creative work. With its leadership team anchored by tireless CEO Jessica Tamsedge, we’re sure 2026 will see the agency continue to innovatively drive both impact and growth for its expanding roster of clients.