Code and Theory, the creative and technology network within Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW), has been named Adweek’s first-ever Innovation Agency of the Year. The recognition highlights the agency’s unique ability to fuse equal parts creative and engineering talent to deliver systemic business transformation at a time when marketing has evolved into the connective tissue between customer experience, operations, and AI-driven decision making.
A WSJ Intelligence study conducted with Code and Theory found 93% of executives believe their customer experiences are broken. Winning brands no longer seek traditional advertising; they require partners capable of building the integrated systems that power consistent, end-to-end experiences across marketing, product, and service.
Code and Theory’s balanced creative-engineering DNA has produced breakthrough capabilities that reshape how global brands operate:
The Machine for Stagwell serves as an enterprise AI orchestration platform that unifies people, data, and tools across entire marketing organizations.
The Experience Transformation Practice (EXT) maximizes existing technology investments around people—customers, employees, and stakeholders—to deliver measurable efficiency and growth.
Engine, an AI-native studio, accelerates prototyping and production at algorithmic speed for clients including Amazon, Microsoft, NFL, and NBC.
The approach continues to deliver outsized results: Qualcomm achieved a 540% increase in developer website engagement, Amazon Ads saw 118% growth in Sponsored TV non-endemic revenue, and Henry Schein’s reimagined e-commerce platform improved speed to purchase by 46% while lifting spend per visit by 23%.
"Creativity is not defined by how you do things. It is defined by how you think. We believe innovation happens when imagination meets technology. In other words, it emerges at the intersection of technology and creativity," said Dan Gardner, Co-Founder of Code and Theory.
"I'm grateful for our collaborative clients that trust Code and Theory to build experiences that didn't exist before. From AI-driven systems to human-centered design, our work proves that true innovation delivers measurable results," said Michael Treff, CEO of Code and Theory.
As the network enters 2026, its seventh Agency of the Year honor in a single year—spanning Adweek, Ad Age, Digiday, and others—solidifies its position as the destination where CMOs, CTOs, and CIOs converge to drive systemic change.
The Code and Theory Network is the only technology and creative network with a balance of 50% creative and 50% engineers. Our unique makeup makes us the place where CMOs, CTOs and CIOs come together to drive results for their businesses. We partner with our clients to redefine what is possible to create lasting impact and drive long-term growth. Part of Stagwell, Code and Theory offers a global footprint and the capabilities to work across the entirety of the customer-facing journey, implementing the technology that powers it. The network includes the flagship agency Code and Theory as well as Kettle, Instrument, Left Field Labs, Truelogic, Create. Group, Rhythm and Mediacurrent. Code and Theory clients include Amazon, JPMorganChase, Microsoft, NBC, NFL and Yeti.
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