DNA&STONE Grabs Ad Age Silver, Proving Bold Creative and Radical Empathy Still Win

In a landscape crowded with cookie-cutter campaigns and corporate-safe messaging, DNA&STONE is making a name for itself by refusing to flinch. The Seattle-based agency just took home Silver in Ad Age’s Small Agency Awards (Regional Northwest)—a major industry nod to its creative chops, strategic smarts, and meteoric rise just months after launching.

Formed earlier this year from the merger of two independent standouts—DNA and Little Hands of Stone—the new entity has wasted no time proving that when differences come together with purpose, magic happens. And apparently, the judges at Ad Age agree.

“Their growth strategies, smart expansion of capabilities and new-business acumen prove that these agencies are adapting and thriving,” said Judann Pollack, Executive Editor at Ad Age, capturing the spirit behind the win.

Not Just a Merger—A Movement

The DNA&STONE model is simple but powerful: go where the real emotions are. In a world of polished branding, they chase human truth—empathy over ego. It’s a risky approach, but the payoff is evident in both results and recognition.

In under a year, DNA&STONE has attracted an impressive client roster including BECU, Municipal Credit Union, Purina, Freshworks, and Providence Health. And they’re not just landing logos—they’re making work that resonates.

Campaigns That Cut Deep

Take “Aging is Life” for Aegis Living, or “Frends All Over” for Rover. These aren’t just clever taglines—they’re campaigns that sparked real conversations. Perhaps most powerful is “SCARY NOT SCARY QUESTION,” a suicide prevention initiative for Seattle Children’s Hospital that dared to ask what others wouldn’t—and saw engagement, awareness, and web traffic surge as a result.

This kind of emotional intelligence is no accident. Radical empathy is more than a talking point for DNA&STONE; it’s a core operating system.

“We aim to understand people and our clients better than anyone,” said Chris Witherspoon, Co-Founder of DNA&STONE. “We’ve always let the work speak for itself, but getting this kind of recognition from our peers is incredibly meaningful.”

More Than the Work: Building Inclusive Industry Futures

While the headlines are focused on campaigns, DNA&STONE is also shaping the industry from within. The agency is a founding board member of BLAC, a paid internship program for emerging Black creatives, and the creator of Project Violet, the ad world’s only mentorship program for LGBTQ+ talent.

These aren’t side projects—they’re central to the agency’s identity and proof that creative excellence and social responsibility can go hand in hand.

Why It Matters

DNA&STONE’s win reflects a broader trend in the industry: independent agencies with a clear point of view and authentic voice are winning big. In an era of in-housing, AI content churn, and fractional marketing leadership, brands want partners who can cut through the noise with truth, heart, and unflinching clarity.

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Your Home TV and Epype Join Forces to Simplify Mobile Content Sharing and Boost Viewer Reach

Your Home TV, the fast-growing OTT network known for accessible, family-friendly content, has announced a strategic partnership with Epype, a mobile-first digital engagement platform designed to simplify and amplify brand and content connectivity. The goal? To make mobile sharing as seamless as a tap—literally.

The collaboration gives Your Home TV’s content creators, brands, and marketers a powerful tool to instantly share their streaming programs, ecommerce links, offers, and contact information without the friction of traditional apps or multi-platform clutter.

“We’re introducing a streamlined solution that allows businesses to connect with customers and distribute content seamlessly,” said Sean Stockell, CEO of Your Home Digital. “That’s the genius behind Epype.”

One Tap to Share It All

Epype acts like a digital Swiss army knife—packaging images, offers, videos, social handles, and ecommerce links into one shareable mobile interface. For content creators and media partners on Your Home TV, that means their shows and promotions can now be shared instantly to audiences across the globe with a single tap—no apps, no downloads, just direct digital engagement.

This is a timely solution for brands and content distributors grappling with the fragmentation of digital platforms and the overhead of maintaining multiple engagement tools. By offering a centralized, no-code way to promote programs and offers across mobile, Epype removes complexity while maximizing reach.

“Businesses are overwhelmed by platform overload,” Stockell added. “With Epype, we’ve centralized the process and accelerated mobile sharing for everyone on our network.”

Big Reach, Low Friction

Since its 2022 launch, Your Home TV has carved out a growing niche in the OTT space with 1,100 programs, 112 million views, and global accessibility via mobile and Roku-connected TVs. Featuring short-form content across 20+ genres—from cooking to sports—the network offers both viewers and creators a cost-effective way to produce and consume streaming entertainment.

Now, with Epype embedded into its sharing infrastructure, the platform is giving creators the distribution velocity they've needed all along.

“Epype will enable Your Home TV content creators, brands, and media partners to share programs and offers in under 30 seconds,” said Steve Eastland, CEO of Epype. “No app, no hassle—just real-time engagement.”

The Broader Implications

This move reflects a growing trend among streaming and content platforms: streamlined, app-free engagement. With audiences increasingly mobile and attention-fragmented, reducing the number of steps between discovery and action is more than convenience—it’s a competitive edge.

For marketers, sales teams, and media personalities like Xen Sams, the value is obvious.

“Epype’s intuitive, mobile-first tech stack allows us to connect across all digital touchpoints while maintaining authenticity, speed, and ROI,” said Sams, host of A Moment of Xen on iHeartMedia’s 710 WOR. “It’s a game-changer.”

Mobile Is the New Media Hub

Together, Epype and Your Home TV are capitalizing on a media reality where mobile isn’t just a channel—it’s the channel. The ability to instantly share branded content, campaigns, and direct offers—without asking users to jump through hoops—is the kind of streamlined engagement that modern marketers crave.

As Epype CEO Steve Eastland puts it:

“We started by asking, what if businesses could share news, programs, or offers instantly with vast mobile audiences? With Epype, the answer is now clear—and the results are astounding.”

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Houston’s Unleaded Rebrands as PlatinumBlack to Reflect Full-Spectrum B2B Growth Capabilities

After 25 years in the B2B marketing trenches, Houston-based consultancy Unleaded is turning the page—and the name. The firm has officially rebranded as PlatinumBlack, a move that marks more than just a new logo. It’s a full-scale transformation into a growth services powerhouse, marrying deep strategic vision with hands-on execution.

The new name may sound sleek, but it comes with real substance. Inspired by platinum black—a finely powdered platinum known for its catalytic properties—the brand nods to the company’s role as a force multiplier for businesses seeking transformation.

“This rebrand builds on a history we’re incredibly proud of,” said Justin Chatigny, CMO of PlatinumBlack. “But it also supports our strategy for what’s next—helping B2B companies find better, faster paths to growth.”

From Marketing Partner to Growth Catalyst

The agency’s evolution reflects a broader shift in the B2B services space. Companies aren’t just looking for a marketing vendor—they’re looking for strategic partners who can map the big picture and get their hands dirty. PlatinumBlack is leaning into that demand, expanding its services to cover integrated strategy, marketing, and creative execution.

Founded in 2000, the firm has built a reputation for translating complex, technical industries into human-first messaging and measurable results. Its client base includes energy, manufacturing, clean tech, engineering, chemicals, professional services, private equity, and more. But this rebrand signals an ambition to not just serve these industries—but help reshape how they grow.

“Our brand lives at the convergence of strategic vision and pragmatic execution,” said Chatigny. “That’s what lasting growth requires.”

Same Team, Sharper Focus

PlatinumBlack’s team remains the same—but the vision is clearer. Executive Creative Director Erin Eby says the rebrand is less about reinvention and more about visibility.

“This rebrand doesn’t reinvent us; it showcases us more clearly,” said Eby. “We want the companies and people we serve to find us—and the real fun to begin.”

While the name may have changed, the firm’s commitment to collaboration, insight-driven strategy, and results hasn’t. What’s new is the platform, positioning, and promise: to accelerate transformation for B2B clients, end to end.

PlatinumBlack’s move mirrors a growing trend among long-standing agencies: moving from “marketing” to “growth.” In a B2B world marked by elongated sales cycles, increasingly technical products, and growing C-suite expectations, the firms that can connect vision to execution are the ones that will lead the next chapter.

With a catalytic new identity and an expanded service suite, PlatinumBlack is betting on that future—and placing itself at the center of it.

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Leap Metrics Launches AI-Powered NCQA Digital Content Services to Revolutionize HEDIS® Compliance and Close Care Gaps

Leap Metrics is raising the bar for quality measurement in healthcare, becoming one of the first companies in the U.S. to deploy NCQA-certified Digital Content Services for all HEDIS® measures. This strategic move allows healthcare organizations to rapidly adapt to evolving quality metrics while proactively closing care gaps using AI-driven tools.

At the center of this innovation is Sevida™, Leap Metrics’ proprietary platform that leverages AI agents to unify data, detect care gaps, and activate real-time workflows across care teams. By integrating NCQA’s digitized content and combining it with Sevida’s analytics engine, Leap Metrics is enabling a smarter, more agile approach to quality performance and patient outcomes.

“It’s no longer enough to report on quality; we must actively improve it,” said Srini Gorty, CEO and Founder of Leap Metrics. “By fusing NCQA-certified standards with AI, we help healthcare organizations close care gaps before they become costly problems.”

From Compliance to Proactive Care

Historically, Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) reporting has been a retrospective, manual process focused on documentation. Leap Metrics is flipping that script. Their platform now enables healthcare providers to work proactively, using real-time data pulled from EHRs, immunization registries, health information exchanges, and social determinants of health.

With NCQA’s Digital Content Services, new or updated HEDIS measures can be implemented immediately, ensuring healthcare organizations stay ahead of regulatory changes while reducing operational lag.

“This offering enables practical, flexible use of digital quality measures across the spectrum of value-based care,” said Margaret E. O’Kane, President of NCQA. “Leap Metrics’ commitment demonstrates leadership in digitized quality measurement.”

AI Agents at the Helm

The Sevida™ platform doesn't just process data—it understands it. By deploying AI agents, the system identifies clinical opportunities in real time, generates personalized recommendations, and automatically routes them to the right care team members. The goal? To reduce hospitalizations, cut down ER visits, and improve patient risk trajectories—all while boosting compliance scores.

This model also supports hybrid quality measurement, a growing priority in value-based care. Hybrid models combine clinical and administrative data for more accurate, holistic performance metrics—something Leap Metrics’ interoperability engine is built to optimize.

A Step Toward True Value-Based Care

Leap Metrics' approach aligns with industry momentum toward outcomes-based healthcare, where quality isn’t just tracked—it’s delivered. Their AI-enhanced, interoperable platform gives providers an actionable advantage in a high-stakes, rapidly evolving regulatory landscape.

For health systems seeking to scale quality improvement, the Leap Metrics–NCQA partnership offers more than compliance—it offers a competitive edge.

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Skechers Scores OG Anunoby as Brand Ambassador Ahead of European Tour

Confirming sneakerhead suspicions since his eye-catching slam dunk during the 2025 NBA Playoffs, New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby is officially joining Team Skechers. The NBA champ, known for his elite defense and athletic explosiveness, will lace up in Skechers basketball shoes and become a featured face in the brand’s global marketing push.

Anunoby’s announcement arrives just in time for Skechers' European basketball tour, where he’ll team up with Brooklyn Nets guard and fellow Skechers athlete Terance Mann. The duo will hit courts and events across Belgrade, Berlin, Frankfurt, and Zadar, starting July 26.

Bringing Star Power to Skechers’ Expanding Basketball Roster

“I play fast and close to the ground. I jump and move a lot,” said Anunoby, now sporting the SKX NEXUS™ and SKX REIGN™ models. “Skechers has the shoe that provides me with comfort and protection, helping me perform at my best every day.”

David Weinberg, Skechers’ COO, emphasized the significance of the signing: “OG, known for his spectacular dunks and defensive prowess on the court, is a fantastic and inspiring addition to our global team.”

Anunoby adds more credibility to Skechers’ growing list of professional basketball endorsers, which includes Julius Randle, Joel Embiid, Norman Powell, Josh Green, and WNBA stars Jackie Young, Rickea Jackson, and Kiki Iriafen.

From London to NYC—and Now, Skechers

Born in London and raised in Missouri, Anunoby rose through the American high school and NCAA ranks before being drafted 23rd overall by the Toronto Raptors in 2017. He became the first British-born NBA champion when the Raptors took the title in 2019. In 2024, he joined the Knicks, delivering standout performances—including a career-high 40-point game against Denver.

Now, with a fresh endorsement deal and a pair of performance-driven shoes underfoot, Anunoby becomes an international ambassador for Skechers' basketball ambitions.

Shoes That Match the Game

Anunoby’s footwear of choice is no gimmick. The SKX NEXUS™, a low-top court shoe, is optimized for speed and agility, while the SKX REIGN™—yes, the same pair from that viral dunk—amplifies bounce and traction for high-intensity plays on both ends of the floor.

The signing signals Skechers' continued evolution from lifestyle brand to serious player in performance footwear. And with Anunoby's talent and visibility, that evolution is now center court.

Skechers basketball shoes are available at skechersbasketball.com and in select retail stores.

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Viant Technology has unveiled a major enhancement to its demand-side platform (DSP), integrating IRIS-enabled™ Content Reports and Pre-Bid Targeting to bring real-time contextual intelligence and actionable targeting to Connected TV (CTV) advertisers.

This exclusive update allows advertisers using the Viant DSP to see precisely how ads are performing across a range of content environments—classified by both emotional and contextual data—while campaigns are still live. Armed with performance insights such as video-completion and conversion rates across various content categories, advertisers can now optimize with clarity instead of guesswork.

What sets this upgrade apart is the ability to immediately apply those insights via Pre-Bid Targeting. If, for example, action thrillers or inspirational documentaries drive higher engagement, advertisers can dynamically retarget content in those exact categories at the video level—without leaving the Viant DSP.

"This integration with IRIS.TV is a foundational piece of our CTV offering," said Tim Vanderhook, Co-Founder and CEO of Viant. "By embedding IRIS-enabled data into both measurement and activation, we’re reducing friction and driving better results for advertisers."

The IRIS-enabled Content Report is powered by IRIS.TV’s proprietary IRIS_ID system, already integrated into more than 75 million videos from top streaming platforms. This allows Viant advertisers to tap into a broad taxonomy of content categories from data partners such as GumGum, KERV.ai, Pixability, Silverpush, and others.

Performance benefits are already clear. According to Upwave data, IRIS-enabled CTV campaigns delivered a 2x boost in brand awareness, a 3x increase in ad recall, and an impressive 5x lift in favorability versus traditional CTV benchmarks.

"Contextual targeting is evolving fast in streaming," added Field Garthwaite, CEO of IRIS.TV. "Our partnership with Viant makes that evolution instantly actionable—translating viewer attention into measurable outcomes."

For advertisers seeking more precision and agility in the crowded CTV space, Viant’s IRIS-enabled offering presents a compelling new toolkit—one that aligns context, audience, and performance in real time.

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ZoomInfo just gave its Copilot users a major upgrade—and it’s more than just a backend tweak. The GTM intelligence heavyweight is now bundling API access into all Copilot plans, allowing users to tap directly into its AI-ready market data across partner platforms. In an era where GTM strategies hinge on data precision, this move could dramatically improve how sales and marketing teams fuel their tech stacks.

One API to Rule Your GTM Stack

ZoomInfo's Copilot isn’t just a co-pilot anymore—it’s a full-fledged mission control for AI-driven go-to-market teams. The new API access allows users to sync ZoomInfo’s rich contact and company data into external platforms like Outreach and Salesloft, enhancing CRM records with updated emails, phone numbers, and missing contact information.

“Data powers the GTM flywheel, and AI is what propels it into overdrive,” said Ali Sadat, SVP of Product Management at ZoomInfo. “Speed alone means nothing without precision.”

Translation? Speedy automation without accurate data is a recipe for chaos. This new API integration ensures that GTM teams start with clean, enriched data—critical for everything from AI modeling to sales outreach.

Plug. Play. Prospect.

The offering is plug-and-play for Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), enabling seamless access to ZoomInfo's dataset through apps their customers already use. For instance, sales teams using Outreach or Salesloft can now discover missing contacts and validate email/phone info without ever leaving their workflow.

That’s not just convenience—it’s efficiency at scale.

Why This Matters

API access has often been locked behind premium tiers or enterprise plans in the B2B SaaS world. By including it across all Copilot plans, ZoomInfo is flipping the script—making API-driven intelligence the new baseline. It’s also a strategic push to expand its data ecosystem and increase developer adoption at a time when platform extensibility is becoming a key differentiator in martech.

With competitors like Apollo.io and Clearbit also doubling down on integrations, ZoomInfo’s API expansion sends a clear message: it’s not just about having data, it’s about moving it where it matters, fast.

As new datasets roll out, ISVs can automatically attach them to existing company and contact profiles using ZoomInfo IDs—making expansion feel more like an upgrade than an overhaul.

ZoomInfo’s early partners—Outreach and Salesloft—are just the start. As the company continues to grow its integration roster, expect to see more automation and AI tools powered by real-time, context-rich intelligence.

And for GTM teams still stuck wrestling with stale CRM entries and siloed data? This update may be the nudge they need to make the leap.

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NICE Bets Big on Conversational AI With $955M Cognigy Acquisition

In a bold move to redefine the future of customer service, NICE (NASDAQ: NICE) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cognigy, a leader in conversational and agentic AI, for approximately $955 million. The deal marks a significant leap in NICE’s mission to deliver AI-first customer experiences, combining its CXone Mpower platform with Cognigy’s advanced automation capabilities.

The acquisition isn’t just about expanding tech stacks—it’s about reshaping how businesses interact with customers in an AI-native world.

Why It Matters

In a hyper-competitive market where customer expectations are higher than ever and AI is becoming table stakes, NICE’s acquisition of Cognigy adds rocket fuel to its innovation engine. The integration promises to create one of the most comprehensive AI-powered CX platforms by merging NICE's enterprise-grade tools with Cognigy's dynamic conversational agents.

“These are AI agents that don’t just answer queries—they think, adapt, and act,” said Scott Russell, CEO of NICE. “This is a landmark moment for NICE that sets a new standard for AI-powered customer experience.”

Conversational AI Meets Enterprise-Grade CX

At the heart of this acquisition is Cognigy.AI, a platform that allows enterprises to deploy AI agents across any channel and in over 100 languages. These agents deliver fast, personalized support while freeing up human staff to handle more complex tasks. In essence, Cognigy’s bots are no longer just chat assistants—they’re autonomous service agents with a brain.

Cognigy already counts top-tier global brands like Mercedes-Benz, Nestlé, and Lufthansa Group among its customers. The company is forecasting an 80% annual recurring revenue (ARR) growth by 2026—an attractive prospect for NICE as it looks to expand market share and global reach.

Strategic and Financial Play

Valued at $955 million, the deal includes an approximate $50 million holdback and will be financed through NICE’s existing cash reserves. The board has unanimously approved the acquisition, which is expected to close in Q4 2025, pending regulatory approvals.

For NICE, the acquisition goes beyond technology—it’s a strategic accelerant. Combining Cognigy’s agentic AI with CXone Mpower gives enterprises a unified platform to deploy intelligent agents across front and back-office operations, meeting customers where they are with precision and scale.

The Broader Landscape

This move echoes a larger trend: legacy CX platforms are racing to embed intelligent automation at the core of their offerings. It’s a signal that conversational AI isn’t a sidecar anymore—it’s becoming the driver. Competitors like Genesys and Salesforce have made similar AI-focused bets, but NICE now positions itself at the forefront with a dual-engine model: deep data insights from CXone, and intelligent execution from Cognigy.

The integration will likely unfold in phases, but the vision is clear: AI-first CX at enterprise scale. For customers, it means smarter, faster, and more human-like service. For competitors, it’s a new bar to match.

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