Start with the job rather than the agency’s size. Mindgruve and Power Digital can run creative, media, commerce and analytics at national scale; MiresBall is the call when the brand itself needs work; (W)right On Communications handles reputation and press; Digital Operative and Anderson Direct & Digital specialize in online stores and direct mail; and Captura Group reaches Spanish-speaking customers. California has also tightened its rules on data lists, subscriptions and influencer content, so confirm that any agency you hire knows the three laws below.
What does California’s Delete Act mean for buying marketing lists?
Since January 1, 2026, Californians have been able to use the state’s Delete Request and Opt-out Platform, known as DROP, to send a single deletion request to more than 600 registered data brokers, and from August 1, 2026 every broker must check the platform at least once every 45 days and process those requests. Brokers that fail to delete as required face fines of $200 a day plus investigation costs, and the California Privacy Protection Agency has said marketing firms can operate as data brokers; it has already fined a custom-audience seller and a list reseller, so ask where any purchased list comes from and look the seller up in the state’s public broker registry.
What changed for subscription offers in California in 2025?
California’s amended Automatic Renewal Law has applied since July 1, 2025. Sellers now need a customer’s express affirmative consent to the renewal terms, must let anyone who signed up online cancel online without obstacles, must send an annual reminder naming the product, the charges and how to cancel, and must give notice 7 to 30 days before a price change and 3 to 21 days before a free trial longer than 31 days ends. The Eighth Circuit vacated the FTC’s federal click-to-cancel rule on July 8, 2025, so California’s law, rather than that federal rule, sets the detailed cancellation requirements for sellers serving Californians.
Do influencer campaigns featuring children carry extra rules in California?
Yes. Since January 1, 2025, Senate Bill 764 has required content creators whose monetized videos feature a minor in at least 30% of the content, and who meet viewership and compensation thresholds set in the law, to keep records and put 65% of the minor’s proportionate share of gross earnings into a trust the child can access as an adult. Agencies that hire family creators should confirm the creator complies before a campaign runs.
