Best Advertising Agencies in Austin (2026)

Introduction

Austin's advertising scene is anchored by GSD&M, which has worked from the city since 1971, and a growing set of network and holding-company offices that sit alongside specialist independents. The 12 agencies below were chosen for current client rosters, recent campaigns and a confirmed Austin office in 2026.

The holding-company picture shifted over the past year. Omnicom completed its acquisition of IPG at the end of 2025 and retired the DDB, FCB and MullenLowe brands, while keeping GSD&M and Third Ear (formerly LatinWorks) inside its Omnicom Advertising Collective. Huge, once part of IPG, merged with Hero Digital in April 2025 under AEA Investors. Quad's agency Betty opened an 8,400 square foot office on Congress Avenue in January 2026. The client mix runs from Dell and the wider tech sector to Texas consumer brands, and SXSW adds a burst of production and experiential work every March.

Every agency here has an active Austin office in 2026. The list runs in no fixed order of merit, since the right choice depends on your brief, budget and how much media and production you need under one roof.

The best advertising agencies in Austin

1. GSD&M

Omnicom · Austin · gsdm.com

GSD&M was founded in 1971 by a group of University of Texas graduates, including Roy Spence, and has been part of Omnicom since 1998. It created "Don't Mess with Texas" in 1986 and now employs more than 400 people, with a smaller office in Chicago. After the IPG acquisition, Omnicom kept it as one of the boutique agencies in its Omnicom Advertising Collective. Lee Newman is CEO and Jay Russell chief creative officer.

Southwest Airlines has been a client for more than four decades, and the current roster includes Capital One, the US Air Force and Space Force, Ram and Crocs. The agency won White Castle's creative and media business in July 2025 and has since run the "Crave Thy Castle" platform. Vrbo hired it in June 2025, and its "Surprise-Free Vacation Rentals" campaign launched in April 2026.

2. Third Ear

Omnicom · Downtown · wearethirdear.com

Third Ear is the Austin agency formerly known as LatinWorks, which changed its name in 2019 to widen its appeal beyond Hispanic marketing. It describes itself as an "identities-led integrated agency", is certified as minority-owned by the National Minority Supplier Diversity Council and sits within the Omnicom Advertising Collective. It has around 65 staff, according to Winmo.

Clients include Nissan, Infiniti, Humana, Mars and Google, for which it worked on Grow with Google. It has been Ashley Furniture's multicultural agency of record since May 2024, made MLB's "Ponle Acento" campaign, and in 2026 updated the "Tu Victoria Está Aquí" platform for Victoria beer. Strategy, media, data and production are handled in house.

3. VML Austin

WPP · Downtown · vml.com

VML is WPP's brand and customer experience network, with more than 5,500 people across two dozen US offices. The Austin office is on East 9th Street. The network ranked second globally on the WARC Creative 100, collected ten US Effie honours in 2025, and was shortlisted for Innovation and Titanium at Cannes Lions 2026.

Network clients include Dell, Ford, Wendy's, Colgate-Palmolive, Intel and New Balance. VML's US site lists only an address for Austin, so ask which accounts and disciplines are staffed locally before a pitch.

4. Huge

Private, backed by AEA Investors · North Austin · hugeinc.com

Huge was founded in Brooklyn in 1999 and spent many years part-owned by IPG. AEA Investors bought it in December 2024, it merged with Hero Digital in April 2025, and Josh Campo became CEO in January 2026. Austin is one of seven offices, alongside New York, London, Chicago, Philadelphia, Medellín and Bogotá. It won six Creativepool Awards in 2026.

Huge positions itself as a design and technology company, so it suits briefs where advertising, product and AI work overlap. Clients include Google (a relationship of more than 14 years), McDonald's, Lego, Nike, PlayStation, PepsiCo and NBCUniversal, for which it built Olympics scheduling discovery with AI.

5. Betty

Quad · Downtown · bettyagency.com

Betty is a Minneapolis-based creative agency owned by Quad, the marketing and print group. It opened an 8,400 square foot office at 804 Congress Avenue in January 2026, with full-time advertising staff and a content studio that books more than 25 photographers, stylists and crew each week. Jimmy Richardson leads studio and creative there, and Cari Bucci-Hulings is president.

The Austin studio pairs in-house production with AI workflows for brand content at volume, which fits retail and consumer goods clients with high asset counts. Betty was recently named creative agency of record for Gorilla Glue.

6. Material

Material Holdings · East Austin · materialplus.io

Material, the firm formerly known as LRW Group, has an office on Comal Street in East Austin. LRW bought T3, the Austin digital agency Gay Gaddis founded in 1989, in 2019, when T3 had about 200 staff and clients such as UPS, Pizza Hut and 7-Eleven. Material now offers growth strategy, market activation (brand, marketing and content) and product design across offices in Austin, Los Angeles, New York, Oakland, Philadelphia, London, Singapore, Sydney and Gurugram.

Its roots in consumer research make it a fit for advertisers who want insight work and campaigns from one firm. Recent case studies cover Microsoft, Lululemon, WHOOP, the USTA and Save the Children.

7. McGarrah Jessee

Independent · Downtown · mcj.co

McGarrah Jessee was founded in 1996 and turns 30 as an independent in 2026. It works from West 6th Street and runs strategy, media and data in house alongside creative, design, film and experiential work, so clients can buy media and creative from one team. Look Squirrel, its social production studio, sits within the agency.

YETI remains its best-known case study. Whataburger and Frost Bank are long-standing clients, and the current roster also includes Lyft, Instacart, Fender, Shiner, Costa Sunglasses, GameStop, Kendra Scott and Ariat.

8. Proof Advertising

Independent · Austin · proof-advertising.com

Proof calls itself a "brand liberation agency" and builds custom media strategies alongside brand and creative work. It is a member of Worldwide Partners, a network of independent agencies that gives clients reach in other markets, and says its staff's average tenure is ten years.

Clients include the Consumer Electronics Show (with work for CES 2024, 2025 and 2026), Travel Texas, Travelocity, Subway, Stubb's Bar-B-Q Sauce, Texas Mutual, UFCU, Mouser Electronics and the American Heart Association.

9. HCB Health

Independent · Downtown · hcbhealth.com

HCB Health is a full-service advertising agency for healthcare brands, founded by CEO Kerry Hilton in 2001 and based on Brazos Street. President Nancy Beesley is a founding partner. It has been nominated three times for Agency of the Year by Med Ad News.

Its work spans pharmaceuticals, medical devices and hospital systems, in areas such as cardiology, ophthalmology, diabetes and spinal surgery. Brands it has worked on include Xtandi, Imbruvica, Prevnar 13, Remicade and Simponi, along with Alcon. Healthcare advertising carries regulatory review, so a specialist can shorten approval cycles.

10. Sherry Matthews Group

Independent · Austin · sherrymatthews.com

Sherry Matthews Group makes public service advertising for government agencies and nonprofits. Founder Sherry Matthews is CEO, the agency has more than 50 staff, and it has offices in New York and Washington, DC as well as its Austin headquarters on Marathon Boulevard.

Clients include the Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, CapMetro, the Washington State Department of Transportation and New York City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Recent work covers impaired driving, pedestrian safety, opioid treatment and invasive species. The agency's best-known work is its drunk-driving prevention campaign with Jacqui Saburido.

11. TKO Advertising

Independent, minority-owned · North Austin · tkoadvertising.com

TKO was founded in 1998 by Raul Garza, a Leo Burnett alumnus who still leads the agency. It is a minority-owned, full-service shop with offices on North Lamar in Austin and in Albuquerque, and specialises in multicultural and total market advertising, paid digital media and statewide campaigns.

Clients include Valvoline, for which it made multicultural content, University Federal Credit Union, DentaQuest, the New Mexico Tourism Department and Tourism Santa Fe. It also handled branding, ecommerce and social for the wellness launch Pebbl.

12. Mixtape Marketing

Independent · Austin · mixtapeagency.com

Mixtape is a full-service advertising and marketing agency founded in 2009 by Charlie Brown and Ben Steckbeck, who still run it as principal strategists. It is based on West Koenig Lane, has strong ties to the University of Texas, and was named to the Texas Exes' 2025 Longhorn 100.

Its work covers branding, packaging, media planning, search, video and social. Clients include Dell Technologies, Silicon Labs, the University of Texas at Austin and Chameleon Cold-Brew, which Nestlé USA acquired in 2017. It suits mid-sized brands that want senior attention on a modest budget.

What to look for in an Austin advertising agency

Decide first how much media you want bundled with the creative. Network offices such as GSD&M and VML can draw on holding-company media buying and data, while independents such as McGarrah Jessee and Proof plan and buy in house. Specialists like HCB Health or Sherry Matthews Group know the approval and procurement rules of their sectors, which counts for a lot in healthcare and public-sector work.

Ask how the 2025 and 2026 consolidation affects your account. Omnicom's IPG acquisition and Huge's merger with Hero Digital both changed reporting lines and, in some cases, shared services. A network office in Austin may rely on teams in other cities for strategy, production or media, so get the names of the people who will do the work.

If you need multicultural reach, check the agency's own staffing and research as well as its case studies. Third Ear and TKO both specialise here, with work such as Victoria beer's "Tu Victoria Está Aquí" and a multi-language DentaQuest campaign aimed at parents. Plan production around SXSW, which ties up crews and venues across the city each March.

Look at how the agency handles review and approvals. Advertising work moves through scripts, animatics, edits and cut-downs for each channel, often with legal or brand teams commenting at every stage. An agency that keeps the latest versions, comments and sign-offs in one shared place will lose fewer days to version confusion than one working across email and several drives.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the best advertising agency in Austin?

There is no single answer, as the right agency depends on the brief. GSD&M is the city's largest and longest-running network agency, with clients such as Southwest Airlines, Capital One and Vrbo. For healthcare, HCB Health specialises in the category, and for public-sector campaigns Sherry Matthews Group has worked with TxDOT and CapMetro.

Is GSD&M still part of Omnicom?

Yes. GSD&M has been part of Omnicom since 1998, and after the IPG acquisition at the end of 2025 Omnicom kept it as one of the boutique agencies in its Omnicom Advertising Collective.

What happened to LatinWorks?

LatinWorks changed its name to Third Ear in 2019 to broaden its appeal beyond Hispanic marketing. It is still owned by Omnicom and works from West 6th Street in Austin.

What happened to T3?

T3, founded in Austin by Gay Gaddis in 1989, was sold to LRW Group in 2019. It no longer trades under its own name, and its successor firm, Material, keeps an office in East Austin.

Where are Austin's independent creative agencies?

Independent idea shops such as Preacher, Bakery and Callen are covered on our list of creative agencies in Austin. This page concentrates on network offices and advertising specialists.

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