Independent agency broadhead received gold and bronze awards at the 2026 Jay Chiat Awards for its work. Held annually in New York City, the awards from industry association The 4As recognize strategic excellence across 15 categories in marketing, media and advertising.
Broadhead won gold in AI Strategy for its AI-powered audience simulation engine, Prism. Prism creates three-dimensional, dynamic audience personas by meshing first-party research, syndicated data, and existing client knowledge in real time. Strategists can operate from a clear, full picture of their audiences at any given moment, which makes insights a more fluid and real time process.
Broadhead’s work for Sunkist Growers won bronze in Experiential Strategy. Lemons hadn’t rebounded from restaurants eliminating garnishes during the pandemic, and Sunkist had a surplus. So, broadhead unveiled a fictional society, The Lemon Order, in Denver. The “Sublemonal” campaign mixed decoder manuals, all-seeing-eye merch, live MLB stunts, street sampling, digital billboards, creator content, and lemon-inspired menu items at local restaurants. Sunkist got a 29% increase in volume from current customers and growth in engagement, reach and category lift.
The 4As honors continue a year of industry recognition for broadhead. AdAge named broadhead a Small Agency of the Year while ADWEEK named founder and CEO Dean Broadhead a Top 50 Innovator, and the agency has claimed trophies at the Shorty Awards and was the only agency named to the Inc. Best in Business list for AI Implementation.
All the attention comes as broadhead pioneers a more profitable approach to marketing and agency management: AI as an operating system. Through a web of proprietary platforms, the agency has sharpened and accelerated strategy, creative and media to effectively de-risk marketing. As a result, clients are backing bolder ideas with bigger impact.
“Marketers’ new reality requires new approaches to what agencies do and how we do it,” said Dean Broadhead. “By rebuilding with AI as our central operating system, we’re able to give clients smarter, surer strategies faster. That leads to market-moving work with undeniable results.”
Headquartered in Minneapolis, with offices in Milwaukee and Charlotte, broadhead is a 145-person independent advertising agency that helps clients uncover where to compete, how to differentiate, and how to accelerate growth in markets where buying decisions are complex and influence extends beyond the customer alone.
Broadhead brings together anthropology, data science, creativity and AI to give clients greater confidence in the decisions that drive growth, from market opportunity and positioning to customer acquisition, reputation and demand generation. Clients include Abbott, Boehringer Ingelheim, Daimler, good2grow, Norfolk Southern, Trane and UnitedHealthcare.
Recognized for innovation and business impact, broadhead was named to the Inc. Best in Business list for Best AI Implementation in 2025. This year, broadhead has been recognized as part of ADWEEK AI Power 50, as well as being named an Ad Age Small Agency of the Year.
