ICOM Network

Independent. And global.

A local crew with a global network behind it. Wise Pirates is part of ICOM, the world's largest network of independent agencies: 70+ agencies, 50+ countries, one shared goal, growth.

Independence is in our DNA. So is ambition. Being part of ICOM lets us stay fully independent, no holding company, no strings, and still put people on the ground in more than fifty countries. When your brand needs to move across markets and languages, we do not hand it to a stranger. We co-orchestrate it with trusted partners we know by name.

Part of how we run Internationalization.

70+independent agencies in the network
50+countries with partners on the ground
75+years connected under one idea
100sof international awards across members
What is ICOM

The world's largest network of independent agencies.

More than 70 agencies across 50+ countries, connected for over 75 years under one idea: connect to grow. Owned by its members, not a holding company.

Owned

Owned by its members

The network belongs to the agencies themselves, so there is no head office taking a cut between you and the work.

Non-competing

No conflict of interest

Members do not chase the same clients, so they collaborate by choice, not obligation, and share what they know.

Connect to grow

One shared goal

Knowledge, people and on-the-ground expertise, pooled across borders for a single purpose: growth.

Wise Pirates is the Porto member, one of two agencies representing Portugal in the network.

How the network works

Not a holding company. A network of agencies that chose each other.

ICOM is owned by the agencies themselves, and the members do not compete. That one design choice changes everything: partners collaborate because they want to, and share real knowledge instead of guarding it.

Member-owned, not holding-company-owned

The network is run by its agencies, so there is no head office chasing margin between you and the work.

Non-competing by design

Members do not fight over the same clients, so they open up their people, data and playbooks to each other.

Always learning together

ICOM runs collaborative circles, including one dedicated to AI, an Agency Exchange programme, and two global gatherings a year, so what works travels fast across borders.

Interdisciplinary

Between them, members cover strategy, brand, creative, media, digital, data, PR, social and activation, in more than fifty markets.

What it means for your brand

What being global, and still fully independent, means for your brand.

Global reach, local expertise

50+ countries
  • Trusted partners who know their market, language and culture from the inside
  • Local execution held to one global standard

Full independence, no strings

Member-owned
  • No holding-company conflicts and no hidden agenda
  • Independent thinking, everywhere your brand goes

Shared knowledge and firepower

70+ agencies
  • Best practice, market intelligence and specialists from across the network
  • Including ICOM's collaborative circles on strategy and AI

International campaigns, run locally

On the ground
  • Bring a global brand into a new market, or take a local brand abroad
  • Real people in-market, and no extra overhead

Local nuance, global consistency, and one crew accountable for all of it.

How we use the network

You still have one partner, and one senior lead accountable for your results.

When a project crosses borders, we plug in the right ICOM partners for each market and co-orchestrate the work, so you get local nuance and global consistency from a single point of contact.

One partner

A single point of contact

One senior lead owns your results end to end, wherever in the world the work happens.

Per market

The right partners plugged in

We bring in trusted ICOM agencies market by market, so every stage gets a local expert.

No machine

Scope without the overhead

Full-scope international experience across languages and time zones, without the cost and distance of a holding-company machine.

Like having an office in every major market, while staying the independent crew you actually wanted to work with.

Proven across borders

This is not a logo on a wall. The network runs real cross-border campaigns together.

One recent network collaboration, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail World Bourbon Toast, was coordinated by independent agencies working as one. It is the kind of multi-market delivery the network is built for.

Reach

49 countries

across six continents, one coordinated network campaign.

Scale

57M+ impressions

generated by independent agencies working as one.

Model

One network

real cross-border delivery, not a badge on a website.

That is the reach we can bring to your brand when the map gets bigger.

Independent by design

We could have joined a holding company. We chose not to.

Independence is how we stay fast, honest and free to do what is right for your business, not what is right for a head office. ICOM lets us keep that independence and still act globally, the best of both worlds.

Independent, always

No holding company, no strings, and no head office taking a cut of your budget.

Global when you need it

Partners on the ground in 50+ countries, ready the moment your map gets bigger.

One accountable lead

A single senior point of contact owns your results across every market.

Shared firepower

The specialists, data and playbooks of 70+ agencies, including collaborative circles on strategy and AI.

No conflicts of interest

Member-owned and non-competing, so partners collaborate by choice, not obligation.

Business results first

The best of digital, marketing, people and technology, aimed at one thing: your growth.

Fully independent. Globally connected. In our Showcases you will find the brands and cases we have worked alongside.

Thinking about going global, or just tired of agencies that cannot follow you across a border? Let's talk →

Frequently asked questions

The questions we hear most.

What is ICOM?
ICOM is the world's largest network of independent advertising and marketing agencies: more than 70 agencies in 50+ countries, connected for over 75 years. It is owned by its member agencies, not a holding company, and members are non-competing.
Is Wise Pirates still independent as an ICOM member?
Yes. ICOM is owned by its members, not a holding company, and the agencies are non-competing. We keep full independence and gain global reach, with no conflicts of interest and no head office taking a cut.
Can Wise Pirates run international, multi-market campaigns?
Yes. We stay your single accountable partner and plug in trusted ICOM partners on the ground in each market, so you get local expertise with global consistency from one point of contact.
How many countries can you cover through ICOM?
More than 50, across Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East, through 70+ independent member agencies who know their markets from the inside.
What does ICOM membership mean for my brand?
Local insight with global execution, access to shared knowledge and specialists from across the network, and international reach without the overhead or distance of a holding-company structure.
Which network agencies do you partner with?
Any of the 70+ ICOM agencies, whenever a project calls for them. We partner with trusted agencies across the globe and have recently worked with Switch in Malta, Golley Slater in the UK, BrandGalaxy in Germany, Espace M in Canada and Lewis Communications in the USA.
Ready when you are

An independent crew, with global reach.

Thinking about going global, or just tired of agencies that cannot follow you across a border? Tell us where your brand is trying to go, and how our crew and the network get you there.

Let's talk →