Dark Matter Blog

  This article was originally published in the American Alliance of Museums Alliance Blog.   Your museum’s brand isn’t what you say about your institution. It’s the total experience people have when they visit—across every touchpoint, every day. Not just the exhibits and the gift shop, but the tone of your emails, how the front-desk […]

By Jennifer Harrington, Founder and CEO, HATCH. Originally published in Ad Age on March 23, 2026.   I spent the first decade of my career at a fast-growing startup agency, rising from intern to managing partner. The founder proactively shared every facet of the business: strategy, finance, new business, and client management. He was especially […]

  Dorothy Urlich, President, HATCH Talent, will join a panel of advertising agency leaders to discuss trends in talent and culture in the industry at the OWN IT 2026 Women’s Agency Ownership Summit in Chicago this April. OWN IT is a group of female and non-binary advertising professionals committed to making changes that uplift and empower […]

  Building one of the world’s first social media agencies was just the appetizer.   Carrie Kerpen started Likeable in 2006, when social media agencies weren’t a thing yet. But it was her experience selling the agency years later that led Carrie to her true calling: Helping other female founders scale and sell their own businesses with […]

  Inc.’s annual Female Founders list celebrates the nation’s most innovative women entrepreneurs.   HATCH is proud to announce that CEO and Founder Jennifer Harrington has been named to Inc.’s 2026 Female Founders 500, an annual list honoring the most dynamic women business leaders in the United States. The honor recognizes founders whose bold ideas, […]

  The ANA has named Dorothy Urlich, President of HATCH Talent, to the 2026 Jury for its In-House Excellence Awards, the premier program recognizing creativity, innovation, operational agility, and business accountability to drive brand and business growth from within. Considered the highest honor for in-house marketing teams, the ANA In-House Excellence Awards celebrate the strategies, […]

  Ever wanted to be judged by Jennifer Harrington? This is your chance.   Jen is a judge on the blue-ribbon jury of brand marketers and agency leaders for the Association of National Advertisers 2026 REGGIE Brand Catalyst Awards. But there are only a few days left to enter — the final submission deadline is February […]

  How museums are redefining brand leadership through transparency, inclusion and co-creation.   In an age when nearly any topic can become a cultural battleground—and when audiences are looking for representation and transparency — every exhibition, campaign and social caption your museum puts into the world carries meaning and consequence. In this environment, managing a […]

  Campaign asked adland to give book recommendations on literature that shaped their approach to creativity.   Campaign US asked advertising leaders what books most inspired them in their careers. The choices of both HATCH CEO Jen Harrington and HATCH Talent President Dorothy Urlich were featured in the piece. Happy reading! Jen Harrington, CEO, Hatch, […]

  The HATCH founder shares why women-owned agencies are critical to a changing industry.   Less than 1% of advertising and branding agencies in the U.S. are owned by women. HATCH CEO and founder Jennifer Harrington wants to change that. Because women-owned agencies aren’t just good for women — they’re good for the industry. Women […]

  When HATCH CEO Jen Harrington invites CMOs into her kitchen, the conversation is anything but small talk. Her new YouTube series, Eat In or Dine Out, tackles one of the hottest topics in marketing today — finding the right balance between in-house and outsourced talent. In candid, flavorful episodes, she explores how brands are […]

  “Young creatives now, they just do it all themselves,” says Yash Egami, COO of The One Club for Creativity, on the newest episode of Eat In or Dine Out. “They want to film it themselves, they want to write it, concept it, distribute it, act in it.” That’s a huge shift from the pass-the-baton […]

  Eat In or Dine Out was a 2025 most shared show on Spotify!   This year, we became Spotify creators with Eat In or Dine Out — a show where marketing experts join Jennifer Harrington in her kitchen to chat about building internal teams or outsourcing projects to agencies. We’ve had guests from CMOs […]

  On Eat In or Dine Out, the Executive Editor of Ad Age tells HATCH CEO & Founder Jennifer Harrington why small agencies are having a moment.   Small agencies are on the rise. Don’t take our word for it — take Judy Pollack’s. On the newest episode of Eat In or Dine Out, the […]

HATCH’s national broadcast campaign for fintech pioneer Quicken was honored in multiple categories at the Ad Club of Boston’s Hatch Awards on October 23. “Pony” brought home bronze in Video :30 and Under Single Entry, while the full “Do More With Your Money” TV campaign was honored with bronze in the Video :30 and Under […]

  By Jennifer Harrington, CEO, HATCH Article originally published on Advertising Week   AI is getting scarily good at creating content. Yes, it can write your blog posts, fill your content calendar and even try to develop a personality. With so much content already being planned, drafted, polished and published by AI, it’s no surprise that brand […]

HATCH has returned to Boston with a new office alongside established media agency Norbella. The strategic move will enhance collaboration between the agencies while also serving to strengthen their commitment to the city’s thriving creative community. The co-habitation brings together two women-owned, fiercely independent agencies with a history of successful collaborations and several mutual clients in categories […]

Wednesday = Meet an Indie Agency Day. This week? A Boston branding shop that’s figured out something most agencies haven’t. Jennifer Harrington founded HATCH 16 years ago with a simple recognition: Incredible talent was falling out of agencies and going independent. So instead of fighting it, she built around it. Four years ago, Dorothy Urlich […]

On a brand-new episode of Eat In or Dine Out, Derek O’Brien CMO of Peabody Essex Museum pops by Jennifer Harrington’s kitchen to: 🤝  Talk about when, why, and how the PEM marketing team partners with external agencies. 🏛️  Share what’s exciting and challenging about building and leading a museum marketing team. 🍱  Dine out […]

HATCH CEO & Founder Jennifer Harrington joined Sean Halter, host of the Rise of the Independent Podcast, on-site at Advertising Week in New York to discuss the new ways marketing leaders are sourcing talent, why independent agencies like HATCH are creating their own content, and more.   Watch Jen and Sean’s conversation now:

  At Startup Boston Week, HATCH CEO & Founder Jennifer Harrington joined fellow CEOs and leaders to discuss the key moment in every startup’s growth when the founder must pass the baton in order to scale sales. It’s a tricky transition to get right. Founders carry the startup’s story in their heads: why they built […]

HATCH recently unveiled a comprehensive brand refresh for the Nantucket Historical Association, transforming the 130-year-old organization’s visual identity and broadening awareness to better reflect its extensive offerings of historic sites, island tours and year-round community programs. The challenge facing NHA was one of overshadowed success. While its Whaling Museum ranks as Nantucket’s #1 attraction on […]

  Stephanie Browne is a talent and diversity leader who’s helped build marketing teams for organizations like Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. She’s also a wine industry entrepreneur and cookbook author. We’d call that a perfect pairing for an Eat In or Dine Out guest.   Stephanie is Jen Harrington’s guest on a freshly […]

Heritage brands face real challenges when making changes. But that’s (usually) only because people care. Cracker Barrel’s new logo reminds us that while customers may love a brand, loyalty doesn’t always mean unconditional approval. Check out MarketWatch’s article to learn more about the effects their new logo is having and to read what HATCH’s founder, […]

Escape the Algorithm, HATCH’s imaginative brand campaign for Peabody Essex Museum, was selected to be featured in the new issue of Lürzer’s Archive, the globally recognized publication and online platform showcasing the best and most innovative advertising campaigns from around the world. The campaign repositioned the 225-year-old PEM as a curated antidote to digital monotony—driving […]

HATCH’s very own Jen Harrington joined Stephanie Browne, author of Sipping Sense: Uncorking the Flavors of Wine, Entertaining, and Healthy Cooking and host of the Sips N’ Swigs podcast, to discuss how to develop a full-bodied brand using the classic 4 C’s. 🔗Listen to the episode here: And this won’t be the last time you see […]

By Dorothy Urlich, as published in ANA While in-house agencies scramble to do more with less, the smartest creative leaders aren’t just cutting costs — they’re fundamentally reimagining how great work gets made. In the past, when a client win fueled our need to ramp up quickly, we turned to freelancers to help. But consider […]

Jennifer Harrington is the guest on this week’s Own It, the podcast that tells the stories of women and nonbinary ad agency owners’ challenges, successes, and goals for the industry. Hear what Jen has to say about how women agency owners can lift each other up, and why it’s essential to build on-ramps into the […]

Your customer doesn’t distinguish between your marketing promise and your service delivery. To them, it’s all one experience. Read Jennifer Harrington’s piece in Ad Age on why it’s time to unify customer experience and brand experience.

MountainOne climbed to the top at the Neffies, winning gold in three categories. The awards were announced at the New England Financial Marketing Association Spring Conference in Portland.

When your brand needs to ramp up marketing, the question you must answer is about talent—not agency vs. in-house—writes HATCH CEO & Founder Jennifer Harrington in SmartBrief. Freelancers now represent over 50% of the creative workforce in marketing and advertising, per a 2023 Upwork study. Whether inside or out, on payroll or on contract, brands are […]

Mo the MountainOne Spokesgoat’s storybook won a 2024 American Bankers Association Brand Slam Award for best video campaign! Learn more about the campaign and why a bank made a storybook.

In an era when brands can be called out by consumers at any sign of inauthenticity, the strongest brands live by a single truth in everything they do. How do you find your brand’s Living Truth? Read about our tried-and-true process here.