Kettle is No. 3 in Ad Age Best Places to Work 2026
Kettle creates space for employee agency through identity-led benefits
Kettle is No. 3 in Ad Age Best Places to Work 2026 among companies with 151+ employees
Kettle frames inclusivity as a primary driver of how it attracts and retains talent. At the remote-first digital agency, benefits are empathetic and empowering by design, supporting the range of identities and backgrounds represented across the workforce. That approach spans fertility coverage and gender-affirmation health care, alongside monthly stipends focused on cultural fluency and financial investment options like discounted stock.
What started as a small passion project in a Brooklyn kitchen has become a place where people genuinely thrive, carried by curiosity, kindness and a quiet kind of creative courage. Watching Kettle continue to grow while staying true to its values has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.
Camille Imbert, Chief Creative Officer, tenure: 15 years
(Some responses have been edited for length and clarity.)
How has your company adapted its policies in response to the current challenges of navigating economic uncertainty? Please explain the philosophy behind the changes.
Every policy begins with a simple question: What do our people genuinely need right now? Even in uncertain times, we stay grounded in connection and experimentation, shaping policies that reflect how real people live and work. In 2025, we built our first all-women C-suite, doubled to nearly 250 employees and promoted one in five—showing that growth here is a practice.
To support employees during times of uncertainty, we’ve strengthened our commitment to transparency and flexibility. Benefits like inclusive health care, mental health stipends, unlimited time off, cool off days and Super Fridays support well-being and work-life balance. Our distributed model with hubs in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Oregon, and Austin, Texas empowers people to design their lives while tapping into global talent.
By putting people first and fostering trust with clients, we ensure stability and creativity go hand in hand. Our philosophy is simple: when people feel supported, engaged and empowered, the work (and the culture) thrive. We invest in our people so they can keep experimenting, keep growing and keep having fun along the way.
What are the core values that shape your company’s culture, and how are they integrated into the day-to-day experience of your employees? Can said values be summed up by a song lyric?
Our culture is built on connection, experimentation and joy. When people feel safe to take risks and supported in their growth, they bring their best energy to the work and build lasting careers here. Our biweekly Teatime keeps our teammates in the loop, celebrates wins (personal and professional) and showcases our latest work. We sip tea together, turning a Zoom call into a warm, shared space.
Connection extends beyond screens: hub gatherings like our annual NYC rooftop party bring people together in person, while virtual happy hours, launch gifts and our May Steps Challenge during Mental Health Awareness Month create fun touchpoints for teammates everywhere. Leaders maintain open, personal communication so everyone feels seen and included.
A song lyric that captures us is from Queen: “Don’t stop me now, I’m havin’ such a good time.”
In what ways do you ensure diverse perspectives actively drive strategy and influence decision-making?
Our inclusion plan embeds diversity and belonging into every decision we make, from how we staff projects to how we choose our clients. Teams are intentionally curated to reflect underrepresented voices, ensuring ideas are constantly challenged, expanded and strengthened. Accessibility best practices shape our content to ensure we’re building with and for everyone. Leadership training helps managers honor different communication styles and create psychological safety, enabling people to speak up, experiment and grow.
We evaluate client partnerships thoughtfully and provide discounted or pro bono work for values-driven organizations, including our current collaboration with Women in Innovation (WIN). We also proudly support The Trevor Project, reinforcing our commitment to inclusion beyond our walls. Across every initiative, Kettle embeds DEI into culture, leadership and creative execution, transforming inclusion from a policy into a daily practice that powers better, more human work.
What types of training or mentoring opportunities do you offer to support the professional growth of your employees?
Professional growth at Kettle is intentional, accessible and rooted in real practice. We want people to stretch their skills, follow their curiosity and learn through hands-on experience.
We emphasize strong, people-first management. Our training programs cater to individuals at all different stages. Directors and above receive dedicated leadership development, and all managers participate in a manager training series focused on communication, clarity, coaching and supporting team well-being. These programs ensure leaders can support their teams’ well-being while fostering growth, engagement and high performance.
Year-round learning includes a Vision Board Speaker Series, launched in 2025, featuring industry thinkers, builders and creators to challenge our thinking; creative sprints, workshops and product clinics that fuel experimentation and cross-disciplinary collaboration; and access to events like Figma’s Config and other relevant industry gatherings, so our team stays inspired and ahead of what’s coming next.
We also grow new talent from the ground up. Our internship program is intentionally dual-track, so every intern experiences both sides of the Kettle brain—story and product—and walks away with real work, real mentorship and real confidence.
How do your company’s values extend beyond the workplace (e.g., charitable donations, community partnerships, volunteering)?
We invest in people as full humans, not just performers on a project plan. Flexibility and trust are core: managers actively monitor team energy, encourage unplugging and ensure time off is taken to recharge. Time away isn’t a perk. It’s essential for doing good work.
We give surprise bonus days throughout the year when we feel the team needs it most, not because it’s written on a calendar. If the energy is dipping, or the work has been especially heavy, we’ll shut laptops and send people back into their lives for a breather or something fun that has nothing to do with screens.
Our benefits support the whole person: inclusive health care, mental health and creative exploration stipends, and a modern parental leave policy that treats all parents equally. Connection and curiosity matter too, so we regularly spark shared learning and play through clubs, challenges and coast-to-coast social moments that make our remote-first team feel close.
People stay at Kettle because they love the work and the teams they do it with. The goal isn’t to keep people logged in. It’s to help them grow, stay well, stay creative and build a career they’re proud of with people they actually like.
