Huge acquires Both&Yes to accelerate AI-driven brand experiences amid agency consolidation

Huge expands AI creative capabilities with Both&Yes acquisition

Independent agency Huge has acquired creative studio Both&Yes. Co-founders Ken Frederick and Michael Lin will join Huge as executive creative directors, bringing deep experience across brand strategy, design, and AI-driven experiences for platforms like Google and YouTube.

The move follows Huge's sale by IPG to AEA Investors and its merger with Hero Digital earlier this year. It signals a clear push to build AI-native experiences for brands at scale.

Why this matters for creatives

Agencies are retooling for a future where generative AI drives how people explore, decide, and buy. Teams that blend design, engineering, and data will win client trust and budgets.

"This acquisition underscores Huge's commitment to leading the industry through creativity and technology," said Jim Coleman, executive chairman of Huge.

The broader agency shake-up

M&A is accelerating as bigger players consolidate and independents specialize. Context you should track:

• Omnicom is moving toward a proposed $13 billion acquisition of IPG, aiming to become the largest holding company.
• Horizon Media Holdings and Havas formed Horizon Global to serve U.S.-centric global clients with an AI-first media platform.
• Empower Media and Ocean Media merged to create Empower Ocean Media Group with $1.5 billion in billings, positioning as an alternative to one-size-fits-all models.

What this signals about the work

Both&Yes has partnered with brands like Robinhood and Harry's on creative innovation. Expect tighter integration of brand systems, data, and production-where prompts, prototypes, and shipping timelines live in the same sprint.

For creatives, this means more accountability to outcomes and faster iteration loops with engineering and data partners.

Your playbook: how to adapt now

• Redesign the workflow: brief → data pull → prompt/motion prototype → user test → iterate → ship. Keep cycles short.
• Build reusable prompt libraries and componentized assets (copy, motion, 3D, voice) to speed production.
• Partner with engineers early on model choice, guardrails, and evaluation metrics.
• Set brand safety rules for AI outputs (style, voice, taboo topics, compliance) with automated checks.
• Instrument everything: track lift (CTR, CPA, AOV), not just novelty.
• Create AI case studies in your portfolio with before/after metrics and process visuals.

Skills to sharpen

• Prompt design to spec: intent, constraints, examples, and evaluation criteria.
• Generative motion/video and image-to-video workflows; know where human direction adds the most value.
• Design systems for AI: tone, style tokens, prompt patterns, and moderation presets.
• Data fluency: reading logs, basic analytics, and collaborating on fine-tuning datasets.
• Legal and rights awareness: training data, likeness usage, and disclosure requirements.

Client pitches that land

• Personalization at scale: creative that adapts by audience, context, and intent-shipped via automated pipelines.
• Content supply chain: reduce cost and time-to-market with AI-assisted writing, design, and QA, with human oversight.
• Search and answer experiences: conversational UX that routes to actions (buy, book, learn) and measures conversion.
• Test-and-learn frameworks: weekly experiments with clear hypotheses and stop/go criteria.

Risks to manage

• Hallucinations and off-brand tone: solve with style guides, validators, and human review on critical paths.
• Data and privacy: document sources, permissions, and retention; avoid feeding sensitive data into third-party tools.
• IP exposure: use licensed assets and track provenance; clarify client approvals and disclosures.
• Hype vs. performance: commit to KPIs that matter to the business, not just novelty value.

Quick context and resources

For background on the holding company players, see Omnicom Group and Interpublic Group.

If you want structured ways to upskill your team, explore curated learning paths for creatives at Complete AI Training: Courses by Job and tool roundups for visual work at Generative Art Tools.

Bottom line

Huge's acquisition of Both&Yes is a clear bet on AI-native creativity. For creative teams, the advantage goes to those who ship with data, protect the brand with smart guardrails, and measure impact every week.