April, 2026.- In the 2026 advertising ecosystem, where digital saturation is the norm, there are brands whose communication seeks not just to sell, but to secure the future and life itself: critical brands. Angela Herbst, recently appointed President of Mighty Union, leads this specialized frontier serving organizations in sectors such as aerospace, defense, and financial services. With seven years at the agency and a vision forged in client leadership, Herbst takes the helm during a period of triple-digit growth, driven by a methodology she has perfected: “Deal-Based Marketing.” This practice isn’t limited to demand generation; it provides strategic support in multi-billion-dollar procurement processes, where message precision for key decision-makers is the winning factor. For Angela, the key isn’t simplifying the message, but finding the human truth behind the most complex technology.
In this exclusive interview with Roastbrief, Angela Herbst explains how she balances technical curiosity with strategic conviction to guide clients through extended sales cycles and niche audiences. Additionally, Herbst reflects on the agency’s future under her presidency, integrating Artificial Intelligence to empower a team where new generations —Gen Z and Gen Alpha— already represent 35% of the workforce. Discover how Mighty Union is proving that creativity doesn’t just belong to consumer goods, but is essential in B2B and B2G, where telling stories that resonate with a warfighter or a patient can unlock unprecedented value. It is a lesson in how strategic depth and active mentorship are building the next chapter of high-level advertising.
1. The “Critical Brands” Framework: Mighty Union defines itself as the agency for “critical brands”—mission-, life-, and future-critical organizations across aerospace, defense, healthcare, financial services, and higher education. How do you differentiate serving these types of brands from traditional consumer brand marketing? What do they need that’s fundamentally different?
A: Critical brands face a unique set of challenges: complex sectors, extended sales cycles, and niche audiences, often paired with limited marketing resources. Success requires doing more with less, building awareness, and driving impact in a very intentional way.
We approach that with deep curiosity and a breadth of experience across industries, which helps us quickly understand the landscape and step in as a true partner. We know how to engage diverse, technical audiences and turn complex value into clear narratives. For example, we recently worked with an autonomous aircraft company to position a prototype aircraft as a credible defense solution using mission-driven messaging and immersive visuals that made complex capabilities feel more tangible.
Our “shoot once, use many” mindset ensures every asset works harder across channels. And with longer sales cycles, we prioritize the right metrics, focusing on steady, meaningful progress such as engagement, pipeline movement, and evolving perceptions.
2. From Chief Client Officer to President: You’ve been promoted from Chief Client Officer to President after seven years at the agency. How does your perspective on leadership change as you step into this broader role? What are you most focused on in your first months as President?
A: Stepping into the President role, my perspective expands to shaping how the entire agency evolves. Over the past seven years, I’ve already been deeply involved in shaping how Mighty Union grows and sharpens its offering, in addition to leading client relationships and day-to-day agency operations. What changes in this role is that I’m now looking at the full agency in a more unified way across our people, operations, priorities, and trajectory. My immediate focus is building on the momentum we’ve created, unifying Mighty Union’s brand, refining how we operate, and strengthening our position as the agency for critical brands.
At the same time, I’m taking a step back to look ahead, especially at how AI and emerging technologies will transform how we work, create, and deliver for our clients. That means investing in the right tools and building a future-ready workforce. Equally important is fostering an environment where talent can grow and ensuring our flexible, hybrid model enables every generation represented on our team to do its best work.
3. The Deal-Based Marketing Practice: You launched a new deal-based marketing practice that has driven substantial contract wins for B2G organizations. What is “deal-based marketing,” and how does it differ from traditional brand or demand generation? What makes it effective for government contracting?
A: Deal-based marketing is a more focused, high-impact approach than traditional brand or demand generation. It centers on a specific pursuit, delivering targeted, “surround sound” messaging to key decision-makers and influencers, while extending beyond advertising into agile, collaborative sales enablement, customer engagement, and proposal support.
For example, in a multi-billion-dollar defense pursuit, we helped a client deliver tailored messaging to a focused decision group across a multi-year evaluation, keeping their solution top of mind and effectively countering competitive pressure.
What makes it especially effective in procurement-driven and government contracting is its precision. With long sales cycles and small, high-stakes audiences, success depends on influencing the right people at the right moments, often before an RFP is issued. Deal-based marketing aligns closely with business development teams, helping shape perception, build trust, and ultimately improve win probability.
4. Triple-Digit Growth and Retention: Mighty Union has seen triple-digit growth, increased new business wins, and consistently high employee and client retention. How do you maintain growth momentum without sacrificing the culture, collaboration, and client intimacy that likely drove that retention in the first place?
A: For us, maintaining growth starts with staying grounded in our core values: Leading with curiosity, digging deep to understand our clients’ businesses, listening carefully, connecting insights across teams, collaborating as hands-on builders, and sharing ownership of outcomes. These behaviors ensure we remain close to both our teams and our clients, even as we scale.
We also intentionally create space to step back from the day-to-day through regular check-ins and working sessions. These are moments to reflect on the work and explore trends shaping it, from shifting global dynamics such as how global conflicts impact our defense clients to evolving audience needs such as how AI is impacting trust in user experience . That balance of execution and perspective allows us to grow thoughtfully and preserve the culture, collaboration, and client intimacy that drive both retention and results.
5. Curiosity and Conviction: Matt Naffah described your leadership as bringing “trademark curiosity and conviction” to complex client challenges. How do you balance these two qualities? When do you lean into curiosity, and when do you lean into conviction? Can they ever be in tension?
A: I see curiosity and conviction as two sides of the same coin. Curiosity is where it starts. It pushes me to dig deeper, uncover what’s not obvious, and truly understand our clients’ challenges and the broader forces shaping them. That exploration is what builds a more informed, differentiated point of view.
From there, conviction is what allows us to move forward with clarity and purpose, whether that’s evolving the agency to meet changing client needs or shaping the strategy work I still lead for our clients. The balance is knowing when to shift from learning to action. If you stay in curiosity too long, you risk analysis paralysis; if you jump to conviction too quickly, you miss critical insight. The goal is to do both with intention.
6. B2B and B2G Marketing Expertise: Your background includes work for Raytheon Defense, Intelsat, and other B2B/B2G organizations. What have you learned about marketing to government and enterprise clients that would surprise someone who has only worked on consumer brands? What’s the most misunderstood aspect of this space?
A: One of the biggest misconceptions is that creativity doesn’t belong in this space and that government and enterprise clients are too risk-averse or too complex to tell compelling stories. That’s simply not true.
On the surface, what they do can feel hard to visualize or communicate. But what I’ve found is the opposite: that complexity is where the opportunity lives. When you lean into the nuances, you uncover unexpected, emotionally relevant audience insights, particularly when you put the work we do for government contractors or large healthcare systems through the lens of the end-user, like a warfighter or patient. Those insights can unlock more differentiated, human, and ultimately more creative messaging.
7. Anything else you’d like to share?
A: Building a strong advertising community is essential to developing the next generation of
talent. With 35% of our team made up of Gen Z and Gen Alpha, this isn’t a future conversation for us — it’s a very real part of our business today.
We’re intentional about creating an environment where emerging professionals feel welcomed, supported, and set up to succeed. That’s why our leaders actively mentor younger team members, bringing them into the work, into conversations, and into the broader industry through both virtual and in-person events. It’s about opening doors, sharing access, and helping them build the confidence and connections they need to grow meaningful careers.
