Advertising is like alchemy. A little of this, a dash of that, and a hint of something new can turn an idea into marketing gold.

While the this-and-that varies by brief and agency, today’s advertising leaders are alchemists in their own right, blending art with algorithms, creativity with data to help clients move the needle on their business.

The shops in this year’s Agency A-List demonstrate that ability to conjure results by melding forces of old and new. Timeless storytelling is combined with cutting-edge tech;

elemental human behaviour is tapped into using real-time data. Whatever the combo, the efforts have an impact on both business outcomes and creative benchmarks.

In fact, the A-List represents the best of the best: they either topped the Creative Report Card, were shortlisted for Agency of the Year or picked up major hardware at top advertising award shows around the globe.

Read on to find out how the industry’s top media, PR and creative agencies are melding art and science.