He is the single-most-awarded creative at the Cannes International Advertising Festival and the youngest person ever inducted into the New York Art Directors’ Club Hall of Fame. In addition, the agency he started a mere 10 years ago has been named Agency of the Year nine times—including at Cannes, The One Show and the Effies in 2015—and is the only agency to be named in Advertising Age’s A-List over six consecutive years. Based on these accolades, I was expecting him to be arrogant and probably quite pleased with himself. How wrong I was.

Image credit © – One Show

When David Droga opened Droga5 in 2006, he had a firm belief that has remained at the heart of the agency until today, to “do the right things for the right clients.” In 2007, with eight people in the agency, they moved into their first office on Broadway, and began working with UNICEF on the TAP Project. The objective behind this campaign was to raise money for kids around the world who had no access to clean water. They intended to create a brand for tap water, which encouraged people to add $1 to their restaurant bills in order to fund this project. Not only did it receive huge acclaim and results, but is still sustained today.

Droga believes in doing stuff that is “bigger than you”. He says: “Our responsibility is to develop creativity that makes a difference – a social contribution”, and this is the ethos that runs through the agency.

Creativity with purpose

Droga states that most agencies have smart people with legitimate reasons why you should not present an idea. He believes in the audacity of the idea that is supported by a solid strategy but not just for the sake of creativity. When creativity has a purpose it works best. It not only creates loyalty but also sales, and effectiveness is the primary objective.

As he says,“why should people give a sh!t”? Why should they care? We need to have audacious ideas that matter and translate them into creativity that makes a difference. It keeps us honest.”

When asked what it means or feels like to have a great idea, he responds “Like annoyance and anger.” So then, you ask why has it not happened before? Why has no one thought of it? This then creates an urgency to make and protect the idea.

“Our clients love us because we’re strategic, business-minded people who are creative,” says Droga, and this has paid off for clients like Google, Chase, Under Armour, and Mondelez amongst others, who all benefit from the Droga5 magic.

David Droga is honest. He is inspirational and he is super successful, proving that doing good can also mean doing well.