The Immortal Life of Agencies

Today’s guest is Stuart Dunk, a former marketing procurement leader at the likes of Nike, Reckitt and Danone. He now runs his own consultancy, Don't Forget to Look. Procurement remains one of the most misunderstood client-side functions. Stuart offers a rare insider’s perspective on what agencies get wrong and how they can engage more effectively with the people influencing buying decisions. He ex...

Today’s guest is John Connors, CEO of the Boston-based, full-service agency, Boathouse. John argues that agencies have become too transactional, weakening client relationships as well as their impact on business outcomes. So he’s built a client-centric culture that deeply understands the drivers of commercial performance. The conversation explores the disconnect between client-side CEOs and CMOs,...

Today’s guests are Courtney Worthman and Stacey Gersten, Co-Founders of Main Character, the celebrity partnership specialists helping brands stop buying celebrities and start buying into culture. Drawing on two decades of experience across entertainment, advertising and PR, Courtney and Stacey explain why moving ‘at the speed of culture’ has become a practical necessity and how building celebrity...

Today’s guest is Micky Ogando, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of the 80-person, Austin-based independent creative agency, Bakery. Unpacking the trend of big brands choosing indies, Micky explains why many clients misunderstand what they’re actually buying when they swap HoldCo. polish for opinionated misfits, and how this friction can be channeled into better work. The conversation also covers how...

Today’s guest is Måns Hosk, Co-CEO of Eidra, the Swedish consultancy collective that’s grown from five founding businesses into a 1,500-person organisation spanning Europe and the US. Måns shares how Eidra was built around a simple idea: modern client challenges rarely fit neatly into a single discipline. He explains how strategy, creativity, technology, data and AI have been brought together to s...

Today’s guest is Josh Campo, CEO of Huge. And if you think your to-do list is long, you might need to reconsider. On top of the wider market disruption, Josh is overseeing all manner of change – still fresh from exiting IPG, Huge is navigating PE-ownership, integrating with Hero Digital and continuing its productisation journey. On the integration with Hero, he explains why successful integration...

Today’s guest is James Greenfield, Co-Founder and CEO of Koto, the globally recognised branding agency working with companies like Netflix, Spotify and Google. James explains how listening closely to client needs has shaped the agency’s evolution, remaining anchored in brand, but also delivering high quality campaigns and digital products. The conversation also explores how Koto’s buyer landscape...

Today’s guest is Marcel Petitpas, CEO of Parakeeto – the agency profitability specialists. He brings a clear and often counterintuitive perspective on how agencies actually make money. Marcel challenges one of the industry’s most deeply held assumptions, arguing that most agencies don’t have a revenue problem, they have an operational one. Through the lens of what he calls “indigestion, not starva...

Today’s guest is Enda King, Head of Innovation for Communications, Media and Technology at Accenture. Having also worked in media, advertising and brand, he offers a rare perspective on the convergence of agencies and consultancies. Enda describes how innovation has shifted from long-term strategy decks to faster, more adaptive thinking based on experimentation, collaboration and real-world testin...

Today’s guest is Jonathan Emmins, Founder and Global CEO of Amplify, the creative agency known for redefining brand experience for the likes of Google, Netflix, and PlayStation. Jonathan shares how Amplify evolved from experiential onto a broader creative canvas, helping brands become “match fit for 3-D world”. He explains why worldbuilding sits at the heart of their approach, creating ideas that...

Today’s guest is Greg Caplan, Co-Founder of Dovetail, the IT managed service provider trusted by leading agencies including Uncommon, Quiet Storm and Isobel. Greg brings a rare perspective on how technology is quietly reshaping the agency business model from the inside out. With a background in post-production and years spent supporting creative companies, he explains why IT is no longer a back-of...

Today’s guest is Jenny Biggam, Owner of the7stars – and one of the most respected voices in independent media. With 20 years at the helm of the UK’s largest independent media agency, she offers a clear and compelling view of what it really means to stay independent in a market obsessed with scale. She explains how only a purely fee-based model creates true neutrality, why transparency isn’t a slog...

Today’s guest is Justin Billingsley, Co-Founder of Symbioniq and former CMO of Publicis Groupe. With his prior client-side career with the likes of Unilever, Coca-Cola and Nokia, Justin brings a rare – and often forthright – perspective on our industry. He reflects on Publicis’ transformation and the criticism their ‘Power of One’ strategy received at the time, despite it now arguably inspiring th...

Today’s guest is Ben Rudman, Executive Director at MSQ, one of the fastest growing, private equity backed marketing services groups, positioning itself between the traditional holding companies and independent agencies. Ben shares why the agency model is at a pivotal moment, as AI accelerates the shift from selling time to selling outcomes, products and packaged services. He explains how MSQ has s...

Today’s guest is Zaid Al-Qassab, Global CEO of M+C Saatchi Group. Fascinatingly, having been client-side CMO with the likes of P&G, BT and Channel 4, this is his first agency role. So his rare perspective is gold dust. Zaid explains why agencies must stop talking to themselves and start truly understanding the complexity faced by modern CMOs – not least how the old brief-led model is being rep...

Today's guest is Craig Elimeliah, Chief Creative Officer at Code and Theory, sharing his passion for why technology and creativity must go hand in hand. In his view, clients have been carrying the burden of fragmentation for far too long. That’s why his role blends engineering, strategy and craft to help clients navigate modern complexity. The discussion also explores Stagwell’s orchestration plat...

Today’s episode features Sean McDonald, Global CSO and Partner at Rethink, exploring the power of belief. Sean’s built a reputation for candour, competitive ambition and an unwavering belief in setting the standard. But he hasn’t always led that way. He reflects on how letting go of the need to ‘win’ every meeting transformed his leadership and why discovering the answer matters more than having i...

Today’s guest is Christine Olivas – Practice Director, Advertising & Brand Marketing at Toptal, the world's largest, fully remote workforce. Christine describes how on-demand talent has evolved from a stop-gap to a strategic growth lever for modern agencies, enabling them to build flexible teams that respond faster, protect margins and deliver stronger work. Drawing on her experience scaling o...

Today’s guest is Jared Belsky, Co-Founder and CEO of Acadia – the hugely successful digital marketing and analytics agency. This is a masterclass in optimism, principled leadership and long-term thinking. Jared shares why bravery and belief sit at the heart of great leadership, from taking outspoken ethical stances, to building an agency designed to nurture future CEOs. We explore how Acadia has d...

Beth Ann Kaminkow is CEO of Dentsu North America. She brings a rare candour about why so many agency groups struggle to articulate their strengths, and why Dentsu is choosing to double down on strong, clearly positioned brands rather than chasing endless consolidation. She shares her perspective on where independents are winning, why speed and specialisation matter more than ever, and how global n...

Today’s guest is Zoe Scaman, founder of Bodacious – and one of our industry's most original and outspoken thinkers. She’s built her career by following her curiosity, from her early days at Naked Communications to optimising her own business around freedom and variety. Zoe shares her take on why the traditional agency model has reached breaking point, how creativity is being squeezed by efficiency...

Today’s guests are PJ Pereira and Andrew O’Dell, co-founders of renowned creative agency Pereira O’Dell as well as their AI venture SILVERSIDE– fresh from delivering Coca-Cola’s fully AI-generated 2026 Holidays Are Coming campaign. Alongside the controversy and lessons learned, PJ and Andrew explain why SILVERSIDE was spun-out as a separate business, how speed and experimentation are reshaping cre...

Today’s guests are Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley – not only the co-hosts of the fantastic ‘Agency Business’ podcast, but Brian is also a seasoned analyst across advertising, tech and finance, and Olivia is an editorial and communications specialist, formerly of Adweek and Forrester. Together, they bring an unusually rigorous focus to the choices agency leaders make. We explore why the sector is n...

Today’s guest is Luke McKelvey, Co-Founder and CEO of MIRIMAR – the creative company helping brands achieve cultural significance in a world where traditional advertising isn’t enough. And as of last week, ADWEEK’s newly minted small agency of the year for 2025. Luke reflects on MIRIMAR’s early challenges, from launching ‘too soon’ in 2019 to navigating the pandemic. He also shares how conviction,...

Today’s guest is Richard Huntington – former Chief Strategy Officer and Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi. He brings a rare blend of honesty, affection and sharp-edged provocation to this conversation about the agency business.  Richard describes an industry that’s been commodified – caused by the “creative” agency label that stripped out the commerciality, as well as a pitching culture that...