Agency Business

Welcome to Agency Business. David Dweck , president of Go Fish Digital , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley to discuss how the agency is adapting its business model to AI, pricing pressure and private equity ownership. David shares how Go Fish is using AI to improve efficiency and output without positioning itself as a software company, why the agency maintains a pricing floor rather than compet...

Welcome to Agency Business. This week, Peter Finn CEO and founding managing partner of Finn Partners , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley on the podcast. The Agency Business podcast is part of the Marketecture Media podcast network . Reach Out: Subscribe for free to the Agency Business newsletter. Interested in joining Agency Business as a guest? Submit a pitch. Listen to 📊 The Madison and Wall...

Welcome to Agency Business. Lola USA was formed by bringing together 180 US and adam&eveDDB in the U.S. as part of Omnicom’s broader agency consolidation. This week, Agathe Guerrier CEO of Lola USA , joins Olivia Morley to discuss establishing the Lola brand in the U.S. The Agency Business podcast is part of the Marketecture Media podcast network . Reach Out: Subscribe for free to the Agency B...

Welcome to Agency Business. Leeann Leahy , CEO of The VIA Agency , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley to discuss how the agency’s ESOP structure is shaping its culture, recruiting, investment strategy and approach to growth. The Agency Business podcast is part of the Marketecture Media podcast network . Reach Out: Subscribe for free to the Agency Business newsletter. Interested in joining Agency...

Welcome to Agency Business. David Angelo , founder and creative chairman of David & Goliath , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley to discuss how the agency's challenger philosophy has shaped its growth, client relationships and culture over more than 25 years. The Agency Business podcast is part of the Marketecture Media podcast network . Reach Out: Subscribe for free to the Agency Business n...

Welcome to Agency Business. Matthew Naffah , CEO of RareOne joins Olivia Morley to discuss the newly-formed agency platform’s approach to scaling independent agencies without eliminating their individual brands, leadership or specialized expertise. The Agency Business podcast is part of the Marketecture Media podcast network . Reach Out: Subscribe for free to the Agency Business newsletter. Intere...

Welcome to Agency Business. The Agency Business podcast is part of the Marketecture Media podcast network . Reach Out: Subscribe for free to the Agency Business newsletter. Interested in joining Agency Business as a guest? Submit a pitch. Listen to 📊 The Madison and Wall Podcast : Brian and Luke Stillman open up about Madison and Wall's latest work — plus crucial economic, financial, and industry...

Welcome to Agency Business. Katy Hornaday , CEO of independent, private-equity backed agency, BarkleyOKRP , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley to discuss her path from creative leader to CEO, how the agency is using its PE backing to build and buy capabilities, and what it takes to make integration across creative, strategy, media and AI-enabled tools work inside the business. For more on the me...

Welcome to Agency Business. Shannon Langrand , founder and CEO of Houston-based independent agency Langrand , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley to discuss how starting an agency without first working inside one shaped the firm’s model, and why that outsider perspective helped her build around the “job to be done” for clients rather than the inherited structures of the agency business. The Agenc...

Welcome to Agency Business. Mark Penn , chairman and CEO of Stagwell , join Brian Wieser live last week at Cannes to discuss why he sees marketing services as more resilient than many technology businesses, how Stagwell is investing in AI, software and digital transformation, and why he believes agencies are undergoing transformation rather than decline. Mark also talked about Stagwell’s global ex...

Welcome to Agency Business. PJ Pereira and Rob Wrubel , co-founders of SILVERSIDE , join Olivia Morley this week to discuss what it means to build an AI-native marketing innovation lab outside the traditional agency model. PJ and Rob discuss how SILVERSIDE grew out of an experimental AI group inside Pereira O’Dell, and why they believed the technology required a separate structure built for speed,...

Welcome to Agency Business. Kwame Taylor-Hayford , co-founder of Kin, joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley this week to discuss what it means to build an independent agency around specificity rather than scale. Kwame discusses how his global upbringing shaped his approach to advertising and design, and how Kin’s work sits at the intersection of innovation, culture and community. He explains why th...

Welcome to Agency Business. Joe Gagliese , co-founder and co-CEO of Viral Nation , joins Brian Wieser this week to discuss how the company grew from representing creators into a social-first business working with enterprise brands. Joe discussed Viral Nation’s early days in influencer marketing, why the company raised capital to build AI, data infrastructure and measurement tools, and how it is tr...

Welcome to Agency Business. Dimi Albers , CEO of DEPT , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley this week to discuss how the marketing and technology company has scaled globally while operating as one agency. Dimi discussed DEPT’s expansion across Europe, the Americas and APAC, why the company sees cultural alignment as central to successful acquisitions, and how its independent structure shapes its...

Welcome to Agency Business. Blake Heal , founder and CEO of Conscious Minds , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley this week to discuss how the agency built production into its model from the beginning. Blake shares how Conscious Minds evolved from the viral video era into a social and culture-focused agency working with large brands including Nike, Starbucks, Yahoo and Google. He also describes:...

Welcome to Agency Business. Alison Weissbrot , executive editor at Adweek , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley to discuss the agency business from her vantage point covering the industry. Alison talks about the pressure holding company CEOs face around growth and AI transformation, why independent agencies continue to generate industry attention, and how private equity is shaping parts of the in...

Welcome to Agency Business. Maggie Malek , CEO of Crispin , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley to discuss the Stagwell agency’s next chapter. She discusses the agency's history, and the 2023 combination of MMI, Crispin (then CPB), and Observatory . Maggie also discusses how Crispin is building around creative, media and social under one P&L, and how Crispin is balancing its creative roots wi...

Welcome to Agency Business. Tamara Alesi , CEO of Mediaplus North America , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley to discuss how the Serviceplan -owned media agency is building its presence in the U.S. and Canada. Tamara explains how Mediaplus is approaching growth in North America, including its reliance on global client relationships, local market development, and a measured, profitability-focuse...

Welcome to Agency Business. Remy Stiles , global CEO of Kepler , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley to discuss the agency’s evolution from its programmatic roots into a full-service, data-driven business. Founded out of MediaMath , Kepler was built around audience-first, technology-led thinking at a time when those approaches were still emerging, and has since expanded into creative, global oper...

Welcome to Agency Business. Michael Magnusson , founder and CEO of Pinnacle Advertising , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley to discuss what it means to run an agency built on retail performance and measurable outcomes. Michael explains how that focus shapes team structure, client relationships, and day-to-day decision-making, as well as how the agency operates in a market defined by consolidati...

Welcome to Agency Business. Scott Shamberg , president and CEO of independent media agency  Mile Marker , joins Brian to discuss the growing opportunity for independent agencies serving mid-market and private equity-backed brands.  Shamberg expl...

Welcome to Agency Business. This week, Olivia and Brian interview Boston Consulting Group's  Janet Balis . We discuss how AI is reshaping the agency business beyond efficiency gains. Janet argues that many agencies and clients are&nbsp...

Welcome to Agency Business. This week, Madison and Wall’s Tucker Lake joins Olivia and Brian to discuss new research examining how the largest agency groups are approaching AI. Based on M&W's interviews with senior leaders across holding companies , one theme stood out: while AI has become a central focus, agency offerings today are far more similar than they are different. The Agency Business...

Welcome to Agency Business. This week, Brian and Olivia interview Andrea Bendzick , CEO of independent digital agency, Wpromote . The group discusses Wpromote's recent acquisition of Giant Spoon and what it signals for the future of advertising agencies, including the convergence of creative and performance marketing. Drawing on her background in finance and technology, Bendzick explains why the t...

Welcome to Agency Business. Rick Milenthal , chairman and CEO of independent agency, The Shipyard , joined Brian and Olivia for a conversation about building and sustaining a full-service independent agency — with major operations in Columbus, Ohio and San Diego — around the philosophy of "engineering brand love" through the integration of paid, earned, and owned media. Rick shares how The Shipyar...