Award-winning Anapol Weiss video places New Jersey creative and legal marketing talent on a global stage
A New Jersey-based legal marketing agency is earning international recognition for a campaign that puts women’s leadership in the legal profession front and center.
Esquire Digital, a full-service marketing and public relations agency serving law firms nationwide, has been named a 2026 AVA Digital Award winner for its commercial video project, “Fearless. Focused. Female. Anapol Weiss.” The announcement was made on January 29, 2026, marking the firm’s first-ever win in the prestigious global competition.
The honor places Esquire Digital among top creative agencies from around the world and highlights the growing strength of New Jersey’s expanding creative and professional services economy within the broader business community.
The award was presented in the Commercial and Promotional Video category, recognizing standout work in branded storytelling, production quality, and strategic messaging.
The video was directed and produced by Ricky Leighton, Esquire Digital’s Director of Video Production, who led the project from concept development through final post-production. The campaign was created for Anapol Weiss, a nationally recognized law firm known for its litigation work representing survivors and individuals harmed in complex, high-stakes cases.
Rather than following a traditional law firm advertising formula, the video centers on the voices and experiences of female attorneys who lead the firm. In the production, attorneys speak candidly about how working within a female-led practice has shaped their professional growth, strengthened their advocacy, and influenced how they approach client relationships in emotionally demanding and legally complex cases.
The film highlights leadership, mentorship, and professional identity while tying those themes directly to courtroom strategy and client representation. According to the agency, the creative goal was to move beyond generic branding and instead deliver an authentic portrait of modern legal leadership driven by lived experience and collaborative culture.
Esquire Digital executives said the project reflects a broader shift in how law firms are presenting themselves to the public — away from stock imagery and scripted slogans, and toward narrative-driven storytelling that communicates purpose, values, and internal culture.
Founded as a legal-only marketing and public relations agency, Esquire Digital specializes in comprehensive digital strategy for law firms, including video production, social media campaigns, website development, branding, and national media outreach. The firm’s exclusive focus on the legal industry allows its creative and strategy teams to tailor campaigns around regulatory requirements, ethical advertising standards, and the highly competitive nature of attorney marketing.
The agency’s video division has grown rapidly in recent years as law firms increasingly rely on high-quality visual storytelling to build trust with prospective clients and to differentiate themselves in crowded digital marketplaces.
The AVA Digital Awards, administered by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals, is an international competition recognizing excellence in digital creativity across advertising, marketing, corporate communications, and interactive media. Each year, the program evaluates thousands of submissions from agencies, production companies, corporate marketing teams, and independent creators across multiple continents.
Winning an AVA Digital Award places Esquire Digital’s Anapol Weiss campaign alongside global brand work from major international agencies and production studios.
For New Jersey’s professional services sector, the recognition underscores the state’s growing influence beyond traditional industries. Marketing agencies, creative studios, and digital communications firms across the state are increasingly competing — and winning — on international stages, contributing to economic diversification and high-skill job growth.
Industry analysts note that specialized agencies like Esquire Digital are also helping elevate New Jersey’s reputation as a hub for niche professional marketing services, particularly in regulated industries such as legal, healthcare, and financial services.
Esquire Digital leadership said the award represents both creative achievement and validation of the firm’s strategic approach to legal marketing, which prioritizes authenticity, accessibility, and human-centered storytelling.
The agency also credited the attorneys at Anapol Weiss for their willingness to participate openly on camera and to speak directly about leadership, responsibility, and advocacy within a female-led legal environment.
As law firms across the country continue to invest heavily in digital engagement, branded content, and video-first communication strategies, campaigns like “Fearless. Focused. Female.” illustrate how narrative-driven creative work is reshaping how legal organizations communicate with the public.
For New Jersey’s growing creative economy and professional marketing sector, Esquire Digital’s AVA Digital Award win signals that locally based agencies are not only keeping pace with national trends — they are helping define them.
