Oxford's Hunt Marketing wins nine Telly Awards for client work

Hunt Marketing’s nine Telly Awards put an Oxford office in the same national competition as bigger agencies from across the country and overseas, a sign that Lafayette County’s creative economy is doing more than serving local storefronts. The wins also point to a deeper shift in Oxford: a homegrown marketing firm is building work for clients in automotive, grocery, agriculture, services, higher education and health communications while keeping its headquarters here.

The firm said it was recognized in the 47th Annual Telly Awards for work created for Cannon Motors of Mississippi, Corner Market, Lasseter Tractor Company, Sunshine Quality Solutions, Robinson Electric Company and the University of Mississippi’s University Counseling Centers. That mix matters locally because it shows Oxford-based creative labor reaching both private businesses and institutional clients with regional name recognition, the kind of accounts that can bring steadier production work, media buying and branding assignments into town.

The Telly Awards are not a niche contest. Their official materials say the competition honors video and television across all screens, drew more than 13,000 entries from all 50 states and five continents, and was judged by a council of more than 200 industry experts. In that context, nine wins from one Oxford firm suggest more than a single campaign going well. They suggest that work produced here can compete outside Lafayette County and still hold up under national scrutiny.

Hunt, based in Oxford since 2010, said it has 15 full-time employees and provides digital, social, traditional and video advertising, along with branding and community engagement services. The company rebranded from Hunt Marketing to Hunt in 2024, a move that reflected the agency’s broader scope as it continued serving partners from its Oxford headquarters. Will Hunt, the firm’s president and CEO and an Oxford native, has built the agency around relationship building, growth strategy and development.

For Oxford, that combination has economic implications. Every larger account that stays in town supports local jobs, from account management and design to video production and strategy, and it raises the odds that young graduates looking for creative careers can remain in Lafayette County instead of moving away. It also strengthens the case for Oxford as a place where professional service firms can scale, not just open. Hunt has already picked up outside validation as an Adweek Fastest Growing Agency and Mississippi Business Journal Best Media Group, and the Telly results extend that run. The firm’s continued growth shows how a local agency can turn Oxford into a base for national-caliber work.