Brand Content, a Boston-based independent creative agency founded in 2001, has announced that Kelly Gross Douglas has assumed ownership and the role of CEO. Founder Doug Gladstone, following more than two decades of leadership, has completed his transition to the agency’s next generation.
Brand Content was built on the belief that great work belongs everywhere, not just at the top of the budget tier. Under Gladstone’s leadership, the agency developed a track record of helping organizations launch, grow and reposition their brands, while building a particular strength in nonprofit and mission-driven work. Across its 25-year history, Brand Content has worked across food, beverage, retail, consumer products, entertainment, education and health, as well as with nonprofits and social-impact organizations.
While the move marks a new chapter for the agency, the principle behind the work remains unchanged. Whichever client walks in, the standard and the ambition do not move. Brand Content will continue serving commercial brands while deliberately expanding its work with nonprofit and cause-driven organizations. Looking ahead, the agency’s strategy centers on two complementary commitments: building brands worth rooting for and bringing the same creative firepower to causes worth fighting for.
“Doug built something real here. He built an agency with a high bar for the work,” said Gross Douglas. “That isn’t changing. I’ve seen what a great campaign, with the right team behind it, can do. Great work goes beyond getting noticed. It makes people care, believe and act. That’s the kind of impact we want our work to have, giving people something worth rooting for and something worth standing up for.”
That commitment also takes shape through Brand Content’s longstanding low-bono model, which reserves agency capacity for nonprofit organizations at reduced rates without changing the team or the level of strategic and creative rigor behind the work. The model reflects a core belief that nonprofits aren’t competing for charity; they’re competing for attention, and they deserve the caliber of thinking and execution required to earn it.
Gross Douglas joined Brand Content in 2015 and was named Managing Director in 2020. Over the past six years, she has led the agency’s operations and strategic direction, while deepening client relationships, expanding its nonprofit practice and building the internal foundation for the agency’s continued growth.
“From the first day Kelly walked in the door, she made it clear that she takes the work personally,” said Gladstone. “She has strong instincts about our clients and our people, and a clear vision for where Brand Content can go. Seeing the agency move forward under her leadership is exactly what I hoped for when we began this transition.”
