Toaster
London, San Francisco, Singapore, New Delhi
Website: Toaster
Founder: Tom Dunn
Year founded: 2010
UK headcount: 100+
Locations: London, San Francisco, Singapore, New Delhi
When you get the right chemistry of leadership, people and advisory, you start to get the momentum you’re looking for.
Profile
Celebrating its 15th birthday this year, Toaster is the brainchild of three former Google Creative Lab execs, including current CEO Tom Dunn, who set out to offer what traditional agencies working with Google couldn’t at the time.
These agencies were lacking the ability to work quickly, collaboratively and bring together solutions for marketing that combined the skills Dunn and co felt they were strong at, which was in creative and design.
With a more progressive, agile approach being cried out for on a scale that couldn’t be offered as part of Creative Labs - one that would strike the balance between having all the benefits of both a traditional agency and in-house team - Toaster popped on to the scene in 2010.
The demand was already there so they had a running start, with three quickly doubling to six and then 12. Today, the creative agency comprises over 100 people internationally, with offices in London, San Francisco, Singapore and New Delhi. That growth is being accelerated with the raft of senior hires it has made over the past year, including in India and Southeast Asia where Toaster has been enjoying particularly strong growth.
Underpinned by an ability to tap into cultural moments and harness technology to “push creative possibilities,” Toaster's USP lies in helping brands with a multitude of products to connect with audiences. Google, Netflix, Samsung and Tinder are among some of its key clients, with its gender-based work for Google winning Silver at the MMA Global Indonesia awards in 2024.
Having entered 2025 more confident in its brand positioning and ready for its next cycle of growth, Toaster is making all the right moves to build the next phase of the agency. A new investor and advisors, including appointing a former agency leader as Chair, are helping Dunn to set the agency up for long-term growth.
As he has learned over the years, “only when you get the right chemistry of leadership, people and advisory do you start to get the momentum you’re looking for.”