Pros
A lot of the people are really great! Fun personalities, engaging even without full time in office experiences. Some really great foundations for reporting and performance marketing.
There is money to be made here both as a business and as an employee. If you’re interviewing, negotiate hard, they will low ball your offer, but will hear your counters.
There is a lot to be learned here from cool clients and some interesting experience of the staff.
Cons
Long term client relationships. Often seen as a pro for some agencies, here it is an unfortunate con. Grandfathered-in lowballed pricing to win clients early on resulted in low commissions, some clients with zero growth over a decade+ of work together, and an eagerness to win business regardless of the rate.
Leadership often negotiates themselves down before pitches or renewal conversations stretching profits very thin. Work is extremely hands on with all clients I touched while there, including client management, reporting, and creative, soaking up what little profit there is very fast.
Work life balance is not a thing here. Calls at all hours of the day/night/weekend from clients and management. Urgent requests are the norm. Very understaffed due to significant turnover for a while resulted in very heavy workloads and long hours.