If the traditional ad agency model is outdated, broken even, as some industry commentators claim, then what might a new version look like? New ventures within the ad industry often reflect the need to adapt to both wider industry and client demands, and in recent years we’ve seen a spate of successful agencies backing the launches of startups to cater to a changing set of wants.

Last year saw the launch of Calling, an exciting new agency which has Uncommon (which was itself last year acquired by Havas) as a majority shareholder, while in 2017 Wieden+Kennedy backed Austin-based startup Callen, co-founded by its departing group creative director Craig Allen.

In January this year, independent agency network Mother backed two new startups: Run Deep and Small World. And while you might think of this as a recent trend, they join an investment in new talent that’s been going on at the network for decades. In addition to its offices in London, Shanghai, Berlin, Los Angeles and New York, Mother now has a variety of companies that are part of what it calls the Mother Family: Mother Design, Media by Mother, Broody, The Or, The Romans, Dream Reality Interactive (DRi), and the aforementioned Run Deep and Small World.