What 10 Years of Revivals Taught Preacher

Over the past decade, we’ve set aside a few days every summer for our Preacher Family Revival. It’s sacred time outside of Austin for connecting, reflecting on the past year, and setting intentions for the year ahead. 

Each Revival has a theme, and then a lesson, that helps us find our meaning in the mayhem and our path forward. We’ve learned quite a bit in 10 years of Spreading the Good Word as an independent creative company. And our hope is that sharing it with y’all helps you or your agency not just survive, or even thrive, but revive. 

HAVE MERCY (2015)

Our first Revival came early in our second year. The entrepreneurial excitement and idealism began wearing off. We chose to launch the agency without a founding client, instead wanting space to figure out what we could become. And boy, did we get it -- until Tommy John, Tervis and Cava joined our fold. We learned patience, as well as how to ask ourselves, and the ad gods, for a little grace.

SOULED OUT (2016)

The gods listened. Our portfolio as Preacher (not previous experience) started coming together, and we gained traction. We landed Beam Suntory, Venmo, Crate & Barrel and Squarespace. It was a crucial moment in our growth – making believers and getting paid. It felt good. We learned that especially when things go well, you either stay in touch with your soul or risk becoming just another agency.

BOUND TO HAPPEN (2017)

An amazing year, with wins like Bumble and Vital Farms. But also, a difficult time. We lost a pitch that we put everything into. Our people did everything right but still faced disappointments. We had to believe that good things were bound to happen. We learned that keeping up morale matters more than keeping up revenue.

WAYWARD IS THE WAY (2018)

We reached all our goals, just not how we expected to. As our partner Rob reminds us, "This is advertising. We give up 50% of our control just walking through the doors every day." And we’re good with that as long as we keep finding good people across the table. We learned that sometimes it looks like everything’s going the wrong way, but then it goes right–while we can’t predict, we can be clear.

KEEP IT SACRED (2019)

Five years in, adding companies like Coca Cola, StreetEasy and Topgolf. Hiring explodes, inspiring us to better define, protect, and propagate our way. We doubled down on building our own brand and singing our own gospel. We learned that as you evolve, it’s important to keep articulating what you care about.

ENDLESS SOUL (2020)

Enter the pandemic. We took extra stock of where we were and wanted to be. We tried to counter the endless stress with endless soul. Revival was virtual, with local musicians playing from home studios. We focused our energy on making things with brands like Playboy and Lucky to find comfort in endless. High Noon came into our lives. We learned that if crappy things can sustain, so can sunny things.

NO REVIVAL (2021)

2021 tested us again. In-person events remained risky, so we gave people time off. We learned that sometimes the best action is inaction. Don’t force it. Rest. 

RISE THE TIDE (2022)

We decided there’s no going back. We needed a new floor. A higher foundation. We needed to prop each other up and reach our potential together with informed optimism not “seeing this movie before” scepticism. Which we did growing with ESPN and winning Shake Shack. We learned that the best way to rise the tide was to be the people who get our own hopes up. 

SET IT LOOSE (2023)

We took some bigger, braver swings. We won Foot Locker and The Venetian Las Vegas Resort, which made it even more crucial to balance showing up right and tight with unleashing our imaginations and ideas. Inspired by Dan Wieden’s “It ain’t math. It’s jazz.,” we committed to setting it loose. We learned that one of the hardest things to do is create the conditions for fearless leaps of faith.

OWN THE ROAD (2024)

We’re 10 and feeling double-digit wise and wandering. At the core, there’s confidence that comes with the milestone. That comes with a balance of new folks and OGs, AORs and projects, and GMC (our recent pride-filling win) and ACL (Austin City Limits). That’s sure of a culture based in belief. We learned to keep revering, and revelling in, the journey–to keep being energised by the what’s ahead.

As we say at each Revival, it was written. What matters is the stories behind the stories, the hilariousness, the heartbreaks, the humans. That’s what keeps you in touch with your convictions, and what will always be there to revive the spirits.