The rise and rise and fall of an agency..
Pros
A big name in the industry. Some big brands to work on. The potential to learn a lot. Some good benefits, although I hear they're being scaled back.
Cons
Sadly, the mighty has fallen. 2-3 years ago, AKQA was *the* place to be - a shining example of what a digital agency *should* be. A great client list, a young talented/passionate workforce, a fun culture and great outlook. The warning signs were visible shortly after the WPP acquisition and the announcement to grow the company exponentially over the course of the following 2-3 years. The problem is, AKQA once had a great culture that made employee's feel rewarded for the hard work that was put in. This seemed to attract a host of young, smart people which gave the agency a fun and very attractive vibe. This appears to no longer be the case due to the rapid growth and the need to meet profit margins. Another unfortunate byproduct of this is the "innovation" that was once at the heart of the company's core values has diminished greatly. Now people are reporting having to churn out grunt work which isn't stimulating, nor satisfying their career goals and aspirations. As you can imagine, this has led to some of the longest serving and best employee's leaving the company. Despite the claims by senior management that the acquisition has been a positive force for the company, many liked and respected senior management have left the company, being replaced by management with little compassion or insight into the values the company was founded upon. This has led to a highly political and ruthless environment which is causing people to leave in droves, across many of the offices. It's very sad to see what was once a great agency, fall so far. Unfortunately this is the agency lifecycle that we have now come to expect. Sadly AKQA has proven itself to be no different.
