March 10, 2026 — San Diego
Ad Age named NP Digital the Performance Marketing Agency of the Year as part of its 2026 A-List & Creativity Awards, honoring the San Diego-based agency’s excellence in performance marketing, innovative technology use, and significant client growth amid evolving digital landscapes. The recognition highlights NP Digital’s ability to deliver full-funnel results for global brands using AI and proprietary tools.
Key Achievements in 2025
NP Digital secured 751 new clients in 2025, generating $46 million in contract value, with projected overall revenue of $107.5 million, a 7% increase from the previous year. A standout campaign for Intuit boosted organic blog clicks by 31%, link-in-bio clicks by 2,098%, Reddit share of voice by 61%, and quarterly referral traffic from large language models by 1,333%.
The agency’s client roster includes Unilever, Colgate, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Lotus, Wyndham, Westin, and Club Med, spanning automotive, consumer products, and business services.
Technological Innovations
Founded in 2017 by Neil Patel and Mike Kamo, the independent agency leverages a freemium model for tools like Ubersuggest (with generative engine optimization) and AnswerThePublic (featuring an AI dashboard for consumer insights). These platforms generate over 50,000 inbound leads annually, with 45% of clients using them and 60% acquired through freemium access.
Recent additions include AI enhancements and proprietary creative technologies led by new SVP Matt Hassell.
Leadership Perspectives
“We pride ourselves on being efficient, and I don’t mean efficient [at] making more money for the agency, [but] efficient in that we’re fast,” said CEO Michael Gullaksen. “We’ve always been about technology and automation in our day-to-day work environment.”
“The tip of the iceberg is given away for free,” Gullaksen added. “The underlying iceberg is our unique data set … it’s a lead magnet.”
Alexandra Toulch, managing director of Rebl House, noted: “We’re really challenging ourselves to get to super smart ideas and not just have pretty pictures, so that we can get the performance that we’re looking for.”
Ronnie Malewski, Managing Director of NP Digital Canada, stated in the press release:
“This recognition from Ad Age is a proud moment not just for our global organization, but for our Canadian team as well.”
Global Reach and Further Recognition
With over 1,000 employees across 30 countries, NP Digital operates as a full-service digital marketing agency, as covered by Marketing News Canada. The company features the award prominently on its homepage and recognition page, alongside wins like International Agency of the Year at the 2025 Performance Marketing World Awards.
NP Digital Named Performance Marketing Agency of the Year by AdAge underscores the agency’s impact, syndicated across Yahoo Finance, GlobeNewswire, and others. NP Digital shared the news on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
