The Gate 2025: Opening Doors To A Bright Future

From fashionable flamingos, to frustratingly windy airport queues and the chaotic escapades of the AA's 'AAmans' - The Gate has certainly had audiences hooked and laughing in 2025. It also appealed to the awards juries.

Gongs for both Smarty Mobile and the AA, and a Highly Commended for its work with fashion and finance brand Very Group at the Marketing Society Awards, are well-earned recognitions of successful brand building. The agency also took home Gold, shared a Grand Prix and won a special prize at the APG awards, and won an Effie for Smarty. Its commitment to effectiveness is unwavering.

Now, with new CEO Helen James, who joined in September, alongside the inimitable CSO Kit Altin and CCO Lucas Peon - the agency is paving the way for yet another string of successes in 2026.

We asked recently installed James to talk about the agency's year.

CEO Helen James On The Gate's 2025

What three words would you use to describe 2025?

Momentum. Augmentation. Primed.

Leadership transition, AI breakthroughs, new business wins, record award hauls - we didn't sequence these carefully, we executed them simultaneously. That takes discipline and belief in your team.

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

Of course, personally, it was joining as CEO in September! Energised by a team already operating at the highest level.

On a broader note, we became the most shortlisted agency at the Marketing Society Awards with 10 nominations- The AA winning in one of the toughest categories (Brand Communications Large), alongside multiple other wins across our client base.

The APG Awards cemented our strategic credentials: Very won Gold, a shared Grand Prix, and a special prize. This marks the third consecutive time over six years that we've won Gold at the APGs - only Leo Burnett has matched that, and no agency has won more Golds in that period. That's consistent strategic heavyweight performance, not a lucky streak.

SMARTY won an Effie. We gained IPA Effectiveness Accreditation- formal recognition of our commercial capability. Our CSO Kit Altin's ‘Ritualized’ research captured imaginations at SXSW and Cannes, with her DJ session earning a standing invitation back to Austin every year.

New business validated our integrated model: ASHI (multi-brand, multi-agency opportunity to re-ignite this manufacturing powerhouse), Plan International UK (championing girls' rights globally), Karo Healthcare (joining their global creative roster). We expanded capabilities with existing clients—The AA, Very, Marketreach, Pensions Service. Our TRR client engagement survey delivered a 9.15 score - industry-leading and proof of the strong partnerships we build.

We launched Open Gate - our internship programme giving talented newcomers real client work and genuine agency experience from day one. We invested seriously in upskilling the entire agency in AI. Supported by MSQ Assist, we've deployed tools and platforms that drive genuine speed, efficiency, and scale - from enterprise Claude licenses across the team to the Wall.AIimplementation for The AA.

The work delivered: more flamazingness with Very's Haus of Flamingo across seasons, less malarkey with SMARTY's continued growth, unshakeable confidence for AA drivers.

What one thing are you proudest of this year?

The APG achievement - and what it represents.

Three consecutive Gold wins over six years is exceptionally rare and proves we're a consistent strategic force across diverse clients. But we're equally proud of the Wall. AI implementation for The AA. Everyone's talking about AI; we built something that actually works in production. That gap between discussion and delivery is where competitive advantage lives.

The team made 2025 look easy by making excellence look effortless. Leadership transitions typically trigger uncertainty. Ours triggered acceleration: 100 per cent client retention, award-winning work, brilliant new business. That's not luck - that's a culture that thrives on ambition.

And what's been your biggest challenge?

Managing ambition at velocity. We're upskilling the agency in AI tools and platforms, expanding our integrated BX+CX offer, winning competitive pitches, and delivering award-winning campaigns - simultaneously. With MSQ Assist support, we're driving speed, efficiency, and scale, but the challenge isn't capability, it's prioritisation. When you're winning across multiple fronts, the discipline is knowing what not to chase.

For me personally, it's been absorbing institutional knowledge fast enough to add value, not noise. But the team made it remarkably easy to hit the ground running.

What are you most looking forward to in 2026?

Accelerating momentum - taking what we've built and scaling it.

We've made strategic bets that are paying off: AI investment and upskilling supported by MSQ Assist that delivers real speed, efficiency, and scale; an integrated model clients value; thought leadership that opens doors; strategic credentials that are genuinely rare (those APG Golds). 2026 is about converting those foundations into market leadership.

More AI-powered solutions for clients. More choosing us because they know we deliver on AI transformation, not just discuss it. Bolder work that proves creativity and effectiveness are the same thing. 

And personally, I’m looking forward to transitioning from absorbing the agency's history to actively shaping its future alongside clients. This team is capable of extraordinary things. My job is to unlock it.

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

A fundamental rethinking of how we define and measure agency value. We're still stuck in a time-and-materials mindset when we should be compensated for the business impact we create. When work demonstrably drives revenue growth or transforms brand perception, there's an opportunity to structure fees that reflect that value. Value-based models would incentivize the right behaviours and make creativity an investment conversation, not a cost one.

Practically: evolving the pitching process for a faster-paced, leaner market. The industry needs smarter ways to build confidence and enable decision-making—shorter, more focused chemistry phases, paid strategy work that demonstrates capability, and evaluation frameworks based on proven past performance. This would benefit everyone: clients get better signal on agency fit, agencies can invest in their people instead of speculative work, and we all move faster.

And sustained momentum on D&I. Progress isn't mission accomplished. The test isn't what's said during Inclusion Week - it's who gets promoted, who gets heard, who stays when budgets tighten.

Creative Salon On The Gate's 2025

If there's one word to describe the agency in 2025 - it's versatility.

Proof of that was winning the account for the humanitarian charity Plan International, which means it now has an expansive set of clients across telecoms, fashion, insurance and more.

Other varied new business wins across creative and strategy this year include Ashi Group, Karo Healthcare (The Gate is part of its creative roster) and Guide Dogs (which the agency is supporting on strategy).

The combination that has got The Gate here is strategic prowess and a knowing sense of humour. The appointment of Frances Gibbs as strategy partner will further support Altin's vision. The pair have previously worked together at Leo Burnett (now Leo UK).

The team has created iconic platforms: for Very, the agency discovered insights about the customer base that led it to leverage hun culture to celebrate the brand with heart.

Meanwhile, drawing on a relatable airport experience made telecoms fun and reinventing the AA's brand identity with bold swagger.

There has been an effort to invest in the next generation of talent through its six-week summer internship scheme Open Gate which it began in 2024.

With top strategists at the helm, investment in the next generation of creatives and a varied array of wins, The Gate has set itself up to thrive into next year and beyond.

Creative Salon says... Between the multi-layered and forward-looking vision of Helen James, the strategic genius of Kit Altin and now Frances Gibbs, and an array of new business wins - it is plain to see that The Gate has set itself to be a winner well beyond 2026.