Rob Davis, President & Chief Marketing Officer at NOVUS.

As the Kansas City Chiefs mounted their comeback against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII, the camera panned to the celebrities in the crowd. Jay-Z, Elon Musk, and Bradley Cooper were all in attendance, taking in the back-and-forth battle. Also in attendance, though not in the spotlight, were several lucky ad executives, guests of large platforms and broadcasters who provide that perk as an attempt to create favorable relationships and remain top of mind for the large budgets those agencies control.

I should know. In my decades-long career at a large agency, I attended multiple Super Bowls, even going on the field at one of them. Not a bad job if you can get it.

The Big Agency experience provides a lot of perks and excitement. It’s one of the reasons I spent 26 years at a big holding company agency with over 80,000 employees. I loved my time at that agency (since I was there for more than ⅓ of the average lifespan of an American, I would have been a glutton for punishment if I thought otherwise!).

But I’ve never been happier than when I joined NOVUS and the small-to-mid-sized agency world (~150 employees) over four years ago. Sure, we may not get invited to Super Bowls, but the benefits and the power of the work more than make up for it.

And I know I’m not alone. My colleagues—many of whom are also “converts”—often talk about the differences between large and small agencies. Here are a few key reasons we agree we are happier now than ever before.

Read the full article at Fast Company