St. John, a Jacksonville-based independent advertising agency, has been named to Ad Age’s 2026 Best Places to Work list for independent agencies under 150 employees. The recognition reflects the core values that drive St. John’s culture and the importance placed on employee engagement and fulfillment.
Ad Age bestows this annual recognition based on employee feedback and other metrics that reward agencies that prioritize culture, trust and long-term growth.
At St. John, the workplace is intentionally designed to inspire collaboration, creativity and work/life balance. Each of these depends on the engagement and empowerment of people and their ability to work effectively within and across teams.
“The culture is rooted in three core values—character, courage and kindness. These principles guide our decisions and relationships across the agency day in and day out,” said Jeff McCurry, President & COO, St. John. “We offer four weeks of PTO for every employee and maintain a hybrid work model with two days each week to work remotely. We work in a pod system that allows our staff to truly invest in and understand our clients’ business while providing more fulfillment and predictability in their work and workload.”
“There is a lot of discussion about what defines an agency in an era influenced by AI, technology, remote talent and hybrid work schedules,” McCurry said. “Our goal is to create an environment and an approach to work that inspires people to do their best work, protect them from burnout, and give them the confidence to be ambitious, curious, and creative in the ideas they develop for clients.”
McCurry continued, “Culture is not about perks – it’s communication and mindset. No place is perfect, but a team that is willing to see the best of the agency, and each other, is a team that will succeed in an industry defined by change.”
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