NEWS!!
Indie shop founded by CP+B, GSD&M, and FITZCO alums has grown billings by 418% and landed seven clients in its first year
Audrey Kemp, March 31, 2025
One year ago, indie agency Guesthouse launched with a straightforward mission: cut the big-agency bloat and focus on making great creative work. Now, its rapid expansion suggests the approach is working.
Founded in 2024 by Mitch Bennett, who previously held creative roles at BBDO, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, and alongside Wes Whitener at McKinney, GSD&M, and Fitzco, Guesthouse has grown billings by 418% in its first year, though the agency declined to share specific figures. The Atlanta-based agency has landed seven clients, including Magic Spoon, Soccer.com, GreyStone Power, Raleigh Denim Workshop, and Atlanta Vibe.
To support the momentum, Guesthouse recently made its first full-time hire, bringing on Fitzco alum Jeffery Quick as partner, brand growth. Quick’s remit focuses on new business development and supporting growth across the agency’s client roster.
His arrival coincides with Guesthouse’s latest account win: men’s grooming brand Every Man Jack. Financial terms of the engagement were not disclosed.
“I have found working with Guesthouse to be incredibly unique,” Ellie Off, vice president of marketing for Every Man Jack, told ADWEEK. “From the outset, they have been a great thought partner and really an extension of our internal creative team.”
Bennett and Whitener launched Guesthouse after winning their first pitch for Citizens Trust Bank, turning years of partnership into a full-fledged business. Whitener had been honing his directing skills, while Bennett gained insight into agency operations as a chief creative officer at indie agency Luckie—both experiences shaping the agency’s nimble model.
With Quick on board, Guesthouse is looking to accelerate growth even further. At Fitzco, he helped secure $15 million in new business over five years. Having crossed paths with Bennett and Whitener for over a decade, the partnership came naturally.
“Jeff was the best account person we’d ever worked with,” Bennett said. “We knew he’d be the perfect partner to help us build a ‘non-agency agency’—one that gets clients to great creative work without the bureaucracy.”
Quick shares that sentiment. “Mitch, Wes, and I worked together for close to 13 years, and what always stood out was their commitment to simplicity and smart, effective work. We aren’t here to sell clients services they don’t need—whether they need us for a short-term project or a long-term partnership, our goal is to help them get the best creative possible.”
Embracing in-house teams
Guesthouse operates as both a creative and production shop, integrating with and working alongside in-house teams instead of competing with them.
The agency operates with a lean core team and builds bespoke teams around each project by tapping into a wide freelance network. This structure allows Guesthouse to execute work quickly—sometimes taking projects from concept to launch in as little as three days.
Whitener, who refined his directing skills at Stateline Films and as a freelancer, leads the agency’s in-house production team.
“We spent years at big agencies working on big brands and got tired of the slow speed, the massive meetings, and the bloated budgets,” he said. “We built Guesthouse to be different—to deliver world-class creative by concepting and producing it ourselves. We see in-house teams as partners, not competition.”
The approach seems to be resonating with clients. According to Off, Guesthouse has created some “great evergreen brand concepts” for her team at Every Man Jack and helped them increase the amount of “quality social and digital content” they publish every month.
Guesthouse has scaled without outside investment. “We started with a client, which gave us an immediate foundation,” Bennett said. “We haven’t taken any loans or investments—we just hit the ground running. Year one was about proving we could do this. Year two is about seeing just how far we can go.”
Training the next generation of creatives
Beyond client work, the agency is also focused on creative training. Bennett, an adjunct professor at UNC Chapel Hill, and Whitener, a former instructor at The Creative Circus, mentor junior creatives at agencies and brands, helping them develop and present ideas more effectively.
Bennett and Whitener’s work—largely from their time at prior agencies—has earned industry recognition, with campaigns like Coca-Cola’s “1,000 Song Celebration” and the Travelocity Roaming Gnome’s first live-action TV campaign. Collectively, they’ve won 15 Cannes Lions, including four Gold, as well as One Show Gold and Best in Category honors.
As Guesthouse enters its second year, it is on pace to more than double its first-year revenue growth. As it scales, the agency’s founders remain focused on keeping things simple: do great work, move fast, and build client relationships that last.
“Kindness and creativity go hand-in-hand, and we’ve been really clear that we want to get to know [our clients] and work with [them]. And, we’ve got the nicest clients coming to us,” Whitener added. “There’s so much war language in advertising all the time. Everything is based on war rooms and targeting, and it’s so nice to strip that away and actually befriend the people you’re working with.”
The Black-owned bank honors its legacy and reaffirms its commitment to economic empowerment during Black History Month.
Audrey Kemp, February 28, 2025
Today, Citizens Trust Bank (CTB) launches its first brand campaign in a century.
Developed by Guesthouse, ‘Your Story is Our Story’ highlights CTB’s legacy of financial empowerment for Black communities while reinforcing its mission to provide home loans, business funding and financial services that help build generational wealth. The work arrives during Black History Month, a fitting moment to celebrate the impact of Black-owned businesses in fostering economic independence.
The campaign draws inspiration from CTB’s founding in 1921 when Heman Perry was denied the ability to buy socks from a white-owned Atlanta store. That moment of racial discrimination led Perry to create a Black-owned bank that would provide equal access to wealth – a mission that remains central to CTB today.
The campaign also includes a brand activation called ‘Socks With a Story,’ limited-edition Heman Perry tribute socks described as “the socks that took 100 years to make.” These socks will be offered to new account holders, social media fans, influencers attending the museum launch event and CTB employees.
“In a country where access to wealth is not guaranteed for all, we want people to know that Citizens Trust Bank understands the challenges many minorities face because we’ve been through those challenges, too,” said Citizens Trust Bank. “We’re here to provide home loans to build generational wealth and business loans to create jobs in the community.”
Guesthouse won the CTB account in a competitive pitch against three other Atlanta agencies. The campaign builds on the agency’s previous work with the bank, including a modernized logo redesign featuring the ‘Rising Skyline,’ which symbolizes CTB’s vision for financial growth and community strength.
The regional campaign will run across TV, OTT, digital, social and in-store placements in Atlanta and Birmingham.
Aug 28, 2024
Guesthouse's campaign for Raleigh Denim Workshop highlighted 100% American-made jeans, overcoming last-minute challenges to produce a compelling message in time for the 4th of July.
Background:
This is one of those insights you never think of until someone mentions it—there’s nothing more American than blue jeans. The big brands are icons of American culture. However, the big American denim brands make 100 percent of their jeans overseas. Apparel brand Raleigh Denim Workshop in Raleigh, North Carolina, found a way to make 100 percent American-made denim for just $100, and we wondered: Who wouldn’t think that was a good thing?
Design thinking:
With the campaign launching before the 4th of July, we wanted to show in a very simple way that there’s one thing we can all agree on—American denim, made in America for a reasonable price.
Challenges:
At the last minute, one of the more conservative people we had recruited for the project couldn’t make it to the factory. So, we ran around the block looking for a perfect replacement. It was a super fun moment when the woman says, “Duh,” which was her honest first response.
Favorite details:
This is our first production as Guesthouse, so we’re very proud to have launched our first work from strategy to concept to production with creative director Wes Whitener shooting it alongside director of photography Alex Craig. We also love the editing; you never know what you’ll get with a setup like this, and 11 Dollar Bill and editor Matt Wade just brought so much to it.
New lessons:
Raleigh Denim Workshop’s R100 pants run a little small, though we could also stand to shed a few pounds.
Time constraints:
Shooting in an active factory meant we only had about half a day of actual shooting. So, we chose a really small and nimble team and just moved as quickly as possible. We had just enough time to get everything shot and then edited in time for the 4th.
Specific project demands:
Raleigh Denim Workshop’s factory, store and products are amazing visually. Once we found the right angle and the amazing denim flag the founder had created, we knew we’d create something fun and different to watch.
Jun 14, 2024
Mitch Bennett and Wes Whitener, who formerly worked together as executive creative directors at Fitzco, have opened a new shop called Guesthouse. The agency launches with three clients: Magic Spoon, Citizens Trust Bank and fashion brand Raleigh Denim Workshop.
Guesthouse bills itself as a “simpler way to great creative,” going from strategy to brief to concept to production with “no handoffs.” The agency staffs up with the right amount of freelance “guests” to handle big projects and then scales down to optimize client budgets.
“We don’t have certain services we need to sell, so we can adapt to clients’ exact needs, bringing on the perfect guests to help them knock it out quickly and efficiently,” Bennett said in a statement. “If you’ve spent months on your strategy already, that’s great—we’ll pick it up from there. If you need help with it, that’s great, too—we’ll help you get it right.”
Guesthouse will debut its first work for Magic Spoon this summer, with a TV and digital campaign and brand refresh for Citizens Trust Bank slated for later this year, the agency said in a statement.
Ewan Larkin, June 7 2024
Mitch Bennett and Wes Whitener, who formerly worked together as executive creative directors at Fitzco, have opened a new shop called Guesthouse. The agency launches with three clients: Magic Spoon, Citizens Trust Bank and fashion brand Raleigh Denim Workshop.
Guesthouse bills itself as a “simpler way to great creative,” going from strategy to brief to concept to production with “no handoffs.” The agency staffs up with the right amount of freelance “guests” to handle big projects and then scales down to optimize client budgets.
“We don’t have certain services we need to sell, so we can adapt to clients’ exact needs, bringing on the perfect guests to help them knock it out quickly and efficiently,” Bennett said in a statement. “If you’ve spent months on your strategy already, that’s great—we’ll pick it up from there. If you need help with it, that’s great, too—we’ll help you get it right.”
Guesthouse will debut its first work for Magic Spoon this summer, with a TV and digital campaign and brand refresh for Citizens Trust Bank slated for later this year, the agency said in a statement.
