Two Canadian agencies have found themselves among the ranks of the top creative agencies in the world following the reveal of Campaign’s Global Agency of the Year winners Wednesday morning.

Rethink won a pair of Gold: one for Independent Agency, and one in the Creative Leader category for CCO Aaron Starkman.

Culture was a major factor in both Rethink and Starkman’s wins. Campaign cited the agency’s “people-first culture” and new initiatives Starkman and the rest of the leadership team introduced to address burnout, such as no client meetings on Mondays and extra days off. From a business perspective, the agency was also recognized for one of its best years (despite difficulties presented during the pandemic), the length of its client relationships and, of course, creative work for brands such as Kraft Heinz, IKEA and Over the Bridge.

Zulu Alpha Kilo was also recognized as one of the world’s top Independent Agencies with a Bronze in the category (Silver went to Amplify in the U.K.). The agency also won Silver in the overall Creative Agency category, where Denmark’s &Co./NoA won Gold.

Zulu was shortlisted for Global Diversity and Inclusion Initiative, the only other agency on the list besides the winner, VMLY&R’s “We All Belong” effort. Zulu’s Zak Mroeuh was also shortlisted in the Creative Leader category, as well as in the Agency Leader category for creative shops, alongside Starkman.

Rethink was also shortlisted in the Creative Agency category, while Toronto’s Pomp & Circumstance was shortlisted in the PR Agency category, where Gold ended up going to FleishmanHillard in the U.S.

Elsewhere at the awards, Ogilvy won Gold for Best Global Network, followed by Havas with Silver and Wavemaker with Bronze.