In UM’s offices, on a wall next to the kitchen where employees will sometimes gather for meetings, are two words written in lights: “Yes, and.”

“Yes, and” is a concept that comes from the world of improv. The idea is that, when making up a scene on the spot with someone else, no matter how silly, boring or outrageous their suggestion might be, you not only accept it, you build on it. This philosophy is one that UM has embraced, especially when it comes to technology.

Take client BMO. The bank wanted to reach Gen Z and young millennials – cohorts not typically interested in banking. So, working with FCB on creative, the agency helped develop a first-of-its-kind global campaign, turning a BMO employee (who had a knack for both banking and gaming) into a Twitch streamer. “The entire Gen Z and young millennial audience now have this comfortable space to go and get financial advice,” says Cory Peters, VP, digital at UM.

Streamers on Twitch will occasionally take a break from gaming and pull up a screen that says they’ll be right back. Where some might see an inconvenience, UM saw an opportunity and turned the “break” into a game. Literally. “It became a BMO branded experience that gamers could try while they waited for streamers to come back,” explains Richard Fofana, EVP, strategy, adding that the agency was able to tap into a new media vehicle as a result of UM’s mindset.

Back in the world of improv, they’ll tell you one of the biggest impediments to “Yes, and” is ego, which leads to fear: not wanting to try something different, lest you look foolish if it fails. However, UM’s leaders say they’ve created a culture where that fear isn’t part of the equation.

“If you’re curious, you’re going to look for new opportunities to drive business growth for your clients, but you’re also going to look for new opportunities to learn and grow,” says CEO Ben Seaton. “If you’re courageous, you’re going to have the guts to try something new, to push your clients forward, to do something different for your team… We give people the runway to develop at their own pace.”

Another essential value at UM is recognition. To some degree, that’s true of the industry as a whole. But UM recognizes that not all work gets lauded with industry hardware, so they launched their own internal program called “Guts and Glory.”

This year, the agency received a record number of employee submissions. It rented out a movie theatre and presented winners with trophies. The awards went to campaigns that showed grit and determination, work that made something big happen on a small budget.