Thirty years ago, on the brink of the internet explosion, designer and entrepreneur Raul Varela established a creative agency poised to meet the challenges of an increasingly digital world. Now, as tech transforms our lives more rapidly than ever, that agency is transforming too.
“The industry changed when computers came in,” says Varela, founder and managing partner of Agency 50, formerly known as High Bandwidth. It was a change he could see coming and was eager to embrace. Traditionally, design had been done by hand. Creative marketing had always been fast-paced, but methods were slower and turn times less rapid.
By 1993, however, digital tools were advancing and the internet was emerging as a force in the commercial and consumer worlds. Clients’ expectations were changing too. They needed more, they needed it faster, and, as always, they needed exceptional results.
They needed an agency with the power to deliver: an agency with high bandwidth.
“Not only could we deliver high-quality work even with the limits of the technology at the time, but we could do it fast,” Varela explains. “Our bandwidth, our ability to deliver—that was something special about us.”
High Bandwidth’s name embodied its forward-looking approach to creative marketing. The agency embraced the shift from print to digital and established itself as a go-to creative resource in the tech space. Over the next three decades, it would not only serve such high-profile clients as Intel and GTE (now Verizon) but also partner with tech startups to launch new businesses in industries ranging from healthcare to last mile delivery. Through ups and downs, the company learned critical business lessons and continually expanded its creative capabilities. From websites to apps, print collateral to digital campaigns, multimedia to branding and more, High Bandwidth has done it all.
But today’s world is faster and more connected than ever. With generative AI raising questions about the future of content creation, in 2023 the High Bandwidth team took a deliberate step back from the trees to look at the forest. We began to purposefully evaluate who we are, the world we live in, and how we can most effectively serve our clients.
After intensive research and exploration, what emerged is Agency 50: a powerful blend of business strategy and creative expertise.
Agency 50: Fifty Percent Business Gurus, Fifty Percent Brand Ninjas
“With technology moving so quickly, creative tasks being automated, and more work being outsourced globally, we felt it wasn’t enough to follow the traditional agency model anymore. We had to deliver more value,” says Saul Torres, executive creative director of Agency 50.
Drawing on skills refined through 30 years of experience, Agency 50 is now expanding its services to emphasize comprehensive brand strategy. Offerings include integrated marketing strategies, digital marketing strategies, brand health check-ups, and more.
The approach is a natural evolution of our longstanding commitment to nurturing strong relationships with clients. By diving deep into your customers’ experiences, your competitors, and your goals, we craft an approach that understands the true heart of your business needs. Creative content becomes more than an isolated series of deliverables; it becomes part of a comprehensive, personalized plan.
More than just a project resource, Agency 50 is committed to helping your business create forward-looking strategies for long-term growth, and to helping you achieve it, side by side. Just as technology continues to transform business, we continue to adapt, innovate, and learn.