DNA Recruit Sponsors the First Ever NABS Growth Hack

2nd April 2026

Our founder Ali Wallace joined some of the sharpest growth minds in UK advertising to help shape the future of our industry’s most important charity.

On 26 March 2026, our founder Ali Wallace headed to NABS HQ in London for the first ever NABS Growth Hack. NABS and growth consultancy As The Crow Flies co-hosted this day-long strategy session.

The concept was simple but ambitious. They brought together a room full of senior agency leaders, including chief growth officers, business development directors, strategists, and agency founders from across the UK. They tasked this group with one challenge: help NABS build a growth strategy that will secure its future for years to come.

DNA Recruit was proud to be the official sponsor partner of the Growth Hack. We saw this as a valuable chance to give back to the organisation that supports the very people we work with every single day.

What Is NABS and Why Does It Matter?

NABS is the charity for everyone working in the UK advertising, media, marketing, and communications industry. For over 100 years, it has provided free, confidential support to people across our sector. They offer career coaching, financial grants, mental health advice, and wellbeing workshops. Whether you are a junior creative or a CEO, NABS is there for you if you work in this industry.

Last year alone, NABS fielded 18,000 requests for support. That is 18,000 people in our industry reaching out for help with mental health challenges, financial hardship, career crises, and the kind of personal struggles that people often feel uncomfortable sharing with their employer.

And yet, out of over 25,000 agencies in the UK, only a tiny fraction currently donate to NABS. The industry NABS serves is barely funding it. The Growth Hack set out to close that gap.

What Happened on the Day

The Growth Hack brought together senior leaders from across the agency landscape. Representatives from global networks including Accenture Song, Dentsu, Publicis, and Saatchi & Saatchi were in the room alongside brilliant independents from across the country. The mix of perspectives made for an incredibly productive day. Big network thinking combined seamlessly with the agility and entrepreneurial mindset of smaller shops.

The morning kicked off with an introduction from the NABS team. They laid out the state of play, explaining the scale of demand for their services, the funding challenges they face, and the brief for the day. From there, everyone split into two rooms to brainstorm.

By the afternoon, the groups had generated around 30 ideas between them. They distilled these down to six strong proposals and presented them back to the NABS CEO and board of trustees. The ideas spanned short-term revenue generation through to longer-term strategic initiatives. This created a roadmap that NABS can build on for the next five to ten years.

As Ali put it afterwards:

“It was one of the best days I’ve had in years. The energy was unreal. It reminded me how much I love problem-solving and being in a room full of smart people going at a real challenge.”

Why DNA Got Behind This

We have been recruiting across the advertising, media, marketing, and tech industries for over 17 years. We speak to candidates and clients every day. We see first-hand the pressures people in this industry face, such as redundancy, burnout, mental health struggles, and career uncertainty.

NABS acts as the safety net for all of those people. Supporting them means looking after the community we are part of.

Sponsoring the Growth Hack felt like a natural fit. It aligns with everything DNA stands for. We believe in being an active, engaged part of the industry we serve. We hold the same belief about our involvement in the BD100 because showing up matters.

A Challenge for Every Agency Owner

Ali made a point during the day that stuck with everyone in the room. If every agency owner in the UK gave just £100 a year to NABS, that would generate £2.5 million. Think about what NABS could do with that funding. They could provide more support, run more workshops, help more people at the exact moment they need it most, and expand their reach further.

You might think your team will never need NABS. However, people rarely tell their boss when they are struggling. NABS exists for the moments people cannot or will not come to you. A £100 annual donation is a small price to make sure that support exists.

If you would like to find out more about NABS, what they do, or how your agency can get involved, visit nabs.org.uk.

The NABS Growth Hack 2026 was hosted by NABS and As The Crow Flies. DNA Recruit was the official sponsor partner.

To learn more about NABS, visit nabs.org.uk. To learn more about As The Crow Flies, visit crowflies.co.uk.