At DEPT®, innovation is in their DNA. Asher Wren, SVP of Growth in the Americas, gives us an inside look at how the agency’s bold, unconventional thinking drives success for global brands like Google, eBay, and Constellation. From a reimagined pitch for luxury wine to the intersection of tech and creativity, Wren talks about DEPT®’s philosophy and how they continue to adapt and thrive in an ever-evolving marketing landscape.
Please provide a top line view of your agency’s structure, scale and capabilities.
DEPT® is a global agency that unlocks tomorrow’s possibilities for today’s most ambitious companies through end-to-end digital solutions. We are a mix of tech + marketing and help companies across Brand & Media, Customer Experience, Commerce Growth, and Technology & Data.
A decade ago, DEPT® was born from a collection of companies that dreamed of making a bigger impact together than they could alone. Since then, we have continued bringing together the best independent companies from across technology and marketing to form a single team that is built to solve whatever comes next.
Today, we are a team of nearly 4,000 AI-native specialists across 30+ locations on 5 continents. And we’ve remained a partner-led agency, meaning over 175 of our founders and leaders are shareholders and personally lead every project. Our solutions set the standard for the next era, working with top-tier brands like Google, Diageo, Philips, Moody’s, Twitch, and eBay.
What most inspires you most about your agency?
The people— DEPT® is full of curious people: tinkerers, builders, and makers. The kind of people who have a dislike for doing things the way they’ve always been done. The kind of people who were told off as kids for pulling apart the TV set just to put it back together (or maybe that was just me). While others tend to make a lot of noise about the future, our people are out there quietly building it. We love to try new things, fail fast, learn, and try again. It is that love of experimentation that allows us to make bigger impacts, faster, for our clients.
We’d like to hear about a new business win that you’re particularly proud of. Are you able to share a case study or work for a new client(s) and some background insight on the solution you developed to win the business?
Constellation Brands tapped us to pitch brand creative for their fine wine and craft spirits businesses. The pitch brief was to show how we would attract the next generation of luxury wine drinkers to their premium “Unshackled” brand, an entry point for younger LDA drinkers into the broader portfolio of premium and super premium brands.
We love to challenge a pitch brief. When you believe, and can demonstrate, that a client is asking the wrong question— and when only your agency knows what the right question is— suddenly you’re in a pitch of one.
When Constellation Brands asked us to attract the next generation of luxury wine drinkers, we asked them, “What if there isn’t a next generation of luxury wine drinkers?” Younger LDA drinkers aren’t drinking; they’re turning to healthier alternatives (and unhealthier alternatives…); they have bigger consideration sets than generations prior; and when they see that spaces aren’t for them— like the stiff and starchy, elitist world of luxury wine— they’ll make their own spaces before they adapt to someone else’s rules. We knew that there was a bigger job to do— we had to make the luxury wine category a space for them: exciting, dynamic, accessible… no longer a place for the mega-wealthy and their 5 PM meat and veg dinners.
Our strategy: CREATE A LAUNCH MOMENT THAT TURNS WINE FAUX PAS INTO FASHION ITEMS
Our insight: Unshackled isn’t like other luxury wine brands. It doesn’t subscribe to the same rules and etiquette. It doesn’t take itself seriously. With younger LDA drinkers shirking luxury wine altogether, we made the category accessible again by poking fun at the establishment, and turning classic red wine faux pas into badges of honor.
We planned to unveil a limited collection of fine jewelry and fashion, designed to acknowledge the longstanding etiquette surrounding fine wine, and politely dissent. We handpicked a series of promising young jewelers to design first-of-their-kind pieces to be put on display at the Coachella Unshackled wine bar. Each piece would be sold via silent auction. And the imagery fueled an arresting 360 campaign that would stop customers in their tracks and disrupt their scrolls.
Except, sadly, none of that happened because production budgets were cut. While we did launch several campaigns for Constellation Brands, this one found its way to the cutting room floor. Which is a shame because it’s rad.
How do you stay nimble and adapt your agency’s strategy as new technologies or platforms emerge? Where do you see most opportunity for brands?
In a world where technology often takes center stage, it's crucial to remember that tech for tech's sake is meaningless. Many agencies and brands chase the latest technological trends, hoping to find meaning afterward. At our agency, we understand that technology is a powerful enabler—it drives scale, reaches the right audiences, and delivers the right message at the right time. However, we are idea-first. We believe that the most durable brands thrive at points of tension, where creativity and innovation can truly flourish.
Take Unshackled, a luxury wine brand that defies the conventional rules of its category. It doesn't want to behave like any other luxury wine brand, and this point of tension is where incredibly exciting ideas can emerge. Technology can help bring these ideas to life, allowing them to scale and reach the right people. But tech is rarely the idea itself. As AI levels the playing field in terms of polish and scale, it's more important than ever for agencies and brands to have something compelling to say.
To stay nimble and adapt our strategy as new technologies or platforms emerge, we focus on the core of what makes a brand unique. The most significant opportunity for brands lies in leveraging technology to amplify their distinct voice and vision, not just to follow trends.
