DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK. IT'S A RECKONING.

The industry is at an inflection point. Algorithms are forming opinions about you whether you like it or not. The old agency model — layers, handoffs, channel silos — is not working for modern brands. And AI is reshaping how everything gets discovered. Everyone knows it, but not everyone is doing something about it.

We are.

As of today, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, 360i is back. Rewired for exactly this moment.

Let’s get the obvious question out of the way.

You probably remember 360i. A disruptor brand in the world of search and social. The agency that helped legitimize social and modern digital marketing inside big brand organizations. That understood real-time culture before anyone else.

In an era when consolidation was everything (and frankly, still is for many), 360i was integrated into Dentsu Creative. The name went quiet for a while — but the thinking never stopped. The talent, the instincts? Still there. Still running.

So why bring it back now?

The one constant in our industry is change. And we feel the ground shifting again beneath our feet. Clients and partners aren’t looking for generalism masked as “integration.” They want specialty. They need something faster, more agile, built for the ways modern marketing actually works right now.

We’re brave enough to see that 360i deserves to stand on its own again, operate differently, and serve a particular kind of brand in this particular moment in time.

So we rewired. And here we are.

So, what is 360i today?

360i is an AI-native, social-first solution built for brands that want to grow in the most modern way possible. We bring specialist speed and expertise with the scale and capability of the dentsu network — designed to earn trust with people and with the machines that shape what they discover and believe. Living at the intersection of creative and media to help brands move faster, stay relevant, and drive business outcomes, while drawing on the full weight of dentsu’s capabilities. Sharp specialization and global scale, without having to choose between them.

360i is built for first movers, not fast followers. For organizations navigating growth, transformation, or category disruption. For brands who want to thrive in social, creator, influence, and commerce. And for teams that want hands-on partners, not just advisors.

Hi. Let Me Back Up.

I’ve seen the social and influencer landscape evolve since minute one. From the days of managing Facebook fan pages and Twitter parties with mommy bloggers through “everything is paid” to “everything is earned” and everything in between.

I’ve led social and influencer teams (and the clients they serve) to create modern marketing activations that deliver real brand growth. From Washington, DC to Chicago and back to New York working at agencies large and small across CPG, beauty, finance, aviation, alcohol, and more. Bringing together culture and community just as much as content and commerce.

And then I got a call about something that felt like the exact right thing at the exact right moment. “We’re bringing back 360i,” they said. “We’re looking for a leader to build it and run.”

“Shut up!” was my first response. Then an immediate, “I’m in.”

I’ve spent nearly two decades watching this industry evolve in real time — and every time, the brands that won were the ones who moved first. Treated disruption as the opportunity instead of waiting to see how it landed. Put their money where their mouth is when they knew change is what was needed. We are in one of those moments right now.

So hi, I’m Christine Cotter, Managing Director of 360i and Head of Social Innovation at dentsu. Writing this newsletter. Drinking from a firehose. I’m so excited I could vomit.

And I’m pinching myself that when I refer to this iconic brand, it gets to be a “we.”

So, What’s Different?

360i was rewired to fill a gap. Not a new agency. Not a rebrand. A sharper, more intentional solution — AI-native, social-first, agile by design — built on a legacy with a track record of cracking the code before anyone else does.

Agile by Design — lean teams, fewer layers, agile workflows. From insight to activation, faster.

Social OS — social is the operating system connecting culture, creators, communities, and commerce. Not a channel. Not a tactic. A way of being.

AI-native execution — embedded across planning, content, optimization, and measurement. Not an add-on. Foundational.

Led by ideas, not executions — We create ideas that solve business problems and drive growth, we don’t lead with channels or tactics.

Dentsu network power and creativity. Specialty speed and cost. Organized around outcomes, not channels. Fixed-fee only, no exceptions.

It isn’t a renovation. It’s not a fresh coat of paint on the same structure. It means adapting to find success in new environments — changing the systems, the signals, the way energy moves through an organization. Continuously. Because what you need today isn’t what you’ll need tomorrow. And since you have that power, you don’t need to wait for perfection.

Just try.

The way Phil Gaughran, our CEO at Dentsu Creative Americas puts it: “There are moments when you need the full force of an integrated network, and moments when you need a highly specialized unit that can move fast, go deep, and operate with a level of craft that only comes from specialty focus. 360i is that unit. We didn’t build it because social is important, we built it because social has become one of the most important drivers of brand growth and cultural relevance. We’re making a deliberate decision to treat it that way.”

And, when we think about what this means for the broader network, Beth Ann Kaminkow our CEO of dentsu Americas and Chief Global Client Officer, says: “Amidst an industry that is scaling back on brands, our clients need something different — true specialization without sacrificing scale. That’s a hard combination to find. Bringing back 360i is dentsu’s answer: a focused, AI-native solution backed by the full power of our network. We’re doubling down when others aren’t, because we believe that’s exactly what this moment requires to bring fresh approaches to our clients.”

What We Actually Do (And How We Do It)

Paid, owned, earned, and commerce as one integrated model. Creators embedded from day one. Community as a growth engine, not a content calendar. And signals, the kind that shape how algorithms and AI systems understand your brand over time, designed with intention.

At the center is dentsu.Connect, dentsu’s proprietary next-generation intelligent operating system designed to unify the entire marketing lifecycle, from creative, production and media to experience, within a single, AI-powered system. It brings together proprietary capabilities, best-in-class third-party tools, and the Adobe Suite into one connected stack. More on the full stack in a future edition.

In practice: a client engagement with 360i looks like a lean, specialized team moving from brief to in-market faster than a traditional model allows — testing live, optimizing continuously, and building brand signals that compound over time.

Still Here? This Part Is For You.

If you’re a fast follower by nature, we’re probably not your people. No shade. Different strokes.

But if any of this sounds like you:

• You’re a challenger or DTC brand that wants a true Social AOR, not a vendor making content calendars

• You’re a larger brand that needs deep specialization in social, creators, culture, and commerce — without losing network scale

• You’re navigating real transformation — growth, disruption, a category that’s shifting under your feet

• You want hands-on partners who will challenge you to be first, not follow

• You understand that the cost of waiting is higher than the cost of moving

Then subscribe, follow along, and come hang with us. First movers only.

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About 360i

360i is an AI-native, social-first solution rewired to help brands move at the speed of culture, commerce, and community. Relaunched within dentsu, 360i combines agile operating models, integrated creative and media expertise, creator ecosystems, and AI-powered workflows to help brands navigate rapid change and drive measurable business momentum. Designed for modern marketing realities, 360i helps brands turn cultural shifts into business and brand momentum. Find out more: 360i.com