To paraphrase the late American anthropologist, Margaret Mead: never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people.
We’re extremely proud to have made it to the finals at the Global Agency Awards 2026. Clean Digital may be a small agency based in sunny Leith, Edinburgh, but we’re also a team of dynamic, innovative, thought leaders with ambitious goals, genuine passion, and an impressive portfolio of challenger brands, both nationally and internationally.
This recognition is evidence that technical innovation isn't reserved for Silicon Valley giants or network agencies with massive headcounts. It proves that with the right expertise and a culture of curiosity, a small team can engineer solutions that stand out on a global scale.
We were finalists in the “Best Use of AI in a Client Campaign” category for our work with Arden University. Our relationship with Arden University spans nearly a decade, a partnership that is really important to us. Arden is an incredibly forward-thinking partner that has consistently empowered us to push the boundaries of what’s possible. This nomination wasn't just a celebration of our team’s innovation, but also of our longstanding partnership with Arden University.
The Challenge: Scaling Without Losing Relevancy
Arden’s account is complex. Managing 285 active campaigns across diverse international markets created a massive operational bottleneck: relevancy. To meet 2025 intake targets, we faced three core hurdles:
- Broad Match Irrelevance: Broad Match can be a double-edged sword; it often matched specific course keywords to irrelevant, high-funnel terms like "university jobs" instead of "university degrees".
- Operational Strain: Our Specialists were spending over 20 hours per week manually policing thousands of search queries.
- Scalability: We needed a way to scale volume through AI Max without losing control of the budget or quality.
The Solution: A Bespoke "Intent-Engine"
The solution came from the sheer brilliance of our Head of Data & Analytics, Aitor Larrañaga, who spearheaded the development of our proprietary Vector Classification Intent-Engine. Rather than relying on outdated scripts that only catch typos, Aitor’s engine uses LLM embeddings to understand the actual meaning behind a search. By converting queries into mathematical vectors, the system recognises that 'tertiary education' and 'degree' are synonymous, despite sharing no common letters.
This wasn’t just about adopting a third-party tool; it was about engineering a bespoke backend solution from our office in Leith. By implementing a 'Confidence Score' and hybrid search guardrails, we successfully automated the 'mental exhaustion' of query analysis. This innovation hasn't just improved performance; it has reclaimed vital time for our specialists to reinvest back into high-level strategy and creative optimisation.
What This Honour Means to Clean Digital
Being shortlisted for a Global Agency Award remains a monumental moment for everyone at Clean Digital. In an industry where "AI" is often just a buzzword for generative copy or imagery, this nomination validated our commitment to solving deep structural problems with technical architecture.
"Seeing our work alongside the world's biggest agencies is a real 'pinch-me' moment," says Rory Young, CEO. "It’s a testament to our 'small but mighty' philosophy. We don't just want to follow industry trends; we want to build the tools that set them. Reclaiming 20 hours of manual work a week for our account managers hasn't just improved performance - it’s improved our team's quality of life, allowing them to focus on high-level strategy and creative optimisation."
For us, this award entry represents the perfect coupling of human intuition and machine precision. It proves that a small agency in Edinburgh can compete on the world stage by staying agile, staying curious, and never being afraid to build something from scratch.
We are incredibly grateful to our partners at Arden University for trusting us to innovate on such a significant scale. Whilst we didn't win the trophy, being named a finalist at the Global Agency Awards is a win for the Edinburgh tech scene and for small agencies everywhere who are punching well above their weight.
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FAQs
What was the specific innovation that led to the Global Agency Awards shortlisting?
We were recognised for our proprietary "Vector Classification Intent-Engine." Developed by our Head of Data & Analytics, Aitor Larrañaga, this tool uses LLM embeddings to understand the semantic meaning of search queries. Unlike traditional scripts, it can recognise that terms like "tertiary education" and "degree" are synonymous, allowing us to scale volume for Arden University while maintaining strict relevancy and budget control.
How does this AI innovation benefit the team at Clean Digital?
The primary benefit is the reclamation of time. By automating the "mental exhaustion" of manual query policing, the system saved our specialists approximately 20 hours of manual work per week. This allowed the team to move away from repetitive tasks and reallocate their expertise toward high-level strategy, creative optimisation, and driving better performance for our clients.
