2025 Year End Reflection

The past 18 months were the toughest we’ve had in the past 10 years. Some of it was the economy, some of it was the industry shifting under our feet, and a lot of it was us outgrowing our old way of operating. But even with all of that, we still put up double-digit growth this year. That only happened because things finally got real.

This was the year Interact moved from good to great. A shift that required raising our internal bar and leveling up across the entire team. “Good” has a ceiling. “Great” requires new skills, tighter systems, and a different level of discipline from everyone, especially me.

After a decade of studying the greats and trying to model what a “successful branding agency” should look like, we realized we’d drifted from the most valuable thing we have—our own point of view. This was the year we trusted it. We stopped seeking validation and started building the version of Interact that actually feels like us. The work got sharper, the right clients showed up, and the momentum finally clicked.

The biggest unlock of 2025 was accepting that there are no agency role models left to chase. The great firms were built in a different era with economics that don’t exist anymore, and trying to replicate their paths was only holding us back. Instead, we started looking at tech, entertainment, and hospitality, the industries rewriting themselves in real time. That shift put us back in conversation with the future instead of trying to recreate the past. 

Then came the meaningful wins.

We saw our redesign for Dr. Squatch exit to Unilever for over a billion dollars—an agency first—with another recent redesign now in acquisition discussions at a comparable valuation. More to come. We built and launched Sperm Worms in four weeks and used that process to pressure-test a new offering that lets us take a brand from zero to market at pace, proving that speed and quality can coexist. 

Our rebrand of Built won the Grand Prize for Design Effectiveness, powered by a 200% sales increase in the six months after the redesign. Moments like that remind me of what great work can achieve.

We also turned down 185 brands that weren’t a fit, ones that came to us without a point of view, without vision, without the openness to push for something better. Protecting the work protects the team, and that has become non-negotiable.

And it wasn’t smooth sailing the whole way. 

Some projects stretched too long, some meetings missed the mark. In past years, we might have moved on quickly. This year, we documented everything and treated losses as data, not disappointments. Those post-mortems created some of the clearest improvements we’ve made as an agency. Small things like how we present work, how we communicate expectations, how we prepare clients for big moments—they all add up. 

The wins fired us up, but the losses sharpened us.

We’re going into 2026 with clarity, confidence, and momentum—and doubling down on everything that got us here. To everyone who supported us, hired us, partnered with us, and pushed us, and to the Interact team that carried the weight of this year with grit and pride, thank you for helping shape the future of Interact Brands.

Ok, time for a nap. See you on the other side.