Fresno marketing agencies bet on people as AI and Gen Z change ad work

Key Takeaways

1. Lucy Siong, owner of Fresno-based Siong Marketing, told The Business Journal that AI will speed up planning and production but won't replace human creativity.
2. The three largest Central San Joaquin Valley agencies reported 79 employees combined on the 2026 list, compared with 78 in 2025.
3. Jeffrey Scott Agency kept the top spot with 34 employees. Archer & Hound Advertising had 25 and HYPHEN had 20.
4. The Business Journal ranks agencies by employee count, and not every firm disclosed its numbers.

Seventy-nine employees. That's the combined headcount Jeffrey Scott Agency, Archer & Hound Advertising and HYPHEN reported for The Business Journal's 2026 list of Central San Joaquin Valley marketing agencies and public relations firms, one more than the same three firms reported a year earlier.

The flat number comes as Fresno agencies figure out what artificial intelligence changes about their work. The Business Journal took that question to local agency leaders in a Nov. 2 piece by reporter Ben Hensley. The paper reported that a new generation of consumers, changing social media platforms and AI are reshaping the advertising industry and forcing agencies to adapt. The leaders it talked to argued that authenticity and local knowledge still count.

What Siong said

Lucy Siong owns Siong Marketing, a Fresno shop whose website lists branding, digital marketing and social media management among its services. She told the Business Journal that AI will make planning and production faster. She doesn't think it will replace human creativity.

That's a narrower claim than the one software vendors tend to make, and it puts AI in the production budget rather than the creative one.

Siong is also the social media chair on the Fresno Association of Realtors' 2026 YPN Committee, according to the association's website.

What the headcount shows

The Business Journal ranks the list by number of employees and uses the number of accounts to break ties. By that measure, Jeffrey Scott Agency held first place with 34 employees. Archer & Hound came second with 25. HYPHEN, which used to be JP Marketing, was third with 20.

Headcount is a blunt measure. It tells you how many people an agency employs, not what each of them bills, and the paper noted that not every firm disclosed employee counts or other business information. The Business Journal described an industry where staffing levels go up and down, digital services keep expanding and smaller firms compete for clients across the Central Valley. It also noted that Archer & Hound and HYPHEN have stayed among the largest agencies through staffing changes.

The top firm's own numbers have moved around too.

Jeffrey Scott Agency reported 32 employees in 2023, 33 in 2024 and 30 in 2025, according to the Business Journal's rankings. This year it reported 34.

Central Valley AI is produced by the CVAI Business Desk team and developed by Kaweah Tech, a regional firm that builds, deploys, and integrates AI solutions for businesses across California's Central Valley.

Source

https://thebusinessjournal.com/fresno-marketing-agencies-ai-gen-z/