The Immortal Life of Agencies

Today’s guest is Jon Wilkins, best known for co-founding Naked Communications and now a founding partner at The Intangibles. First Jon reflects on what made Naked distinctive – not least how they attracted “brilliant misfits”, protected their culture as they expanded internationally, and built trust by putting client interests first. We also explore his transition via Karmarama into Accenture, hel...

Today’s guest is Jamie Williams, Managing Partner at Isobel, the independent agency that’s recently repositioned itself as ‘the brand reset company’. Jamie explains what prompted the change and how it’s designed to capitalise on what the agency does best, as well as reflect where they believe the market is heading. He also shares how productisation helped turn their refined proposition into a clea...

Today’s guest is seasoned agency leader, Justin Thomas-Copeland – now CEO of the 4As – unpacking their transformation from agency trade body into a more proactive, service-led organisation. He explains why agencies also need to look in the mirror, identify what they’re genuinely brilliant at and resist the temptation to be everything for everyone. Justin shares how specialisation strengthens cultu...

Today’s guest is Dana Hork, Founder of Beers with Friends, the sprint-based creative agency that makes creative firepower available on tap. Drawing on her experience as a brand-side marketer at Jet.com, Walmart and Wonder, Dana explains why she felt the traditional agency model was no longer keeping pace with modern marketing. That’s why Beers with Friends takes a radically different approach – wo...

Today’s guest is Lisa Morgan, Group Managing Director at Generation Media, the independent media agency specialising in children, youth, communities and fandom. Lisa explains why AI should redesign entry-level roles rather than replace them, liberating people from repetitive processes to focus on using their brains. She shares how Generation Media identifies and develops young talent, balancing cu...

Today’s guest is Claire Hollands, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, one of the most iconic agency brands in advertising. Claire unpacks how she revitalised this “legacy brand” by giving its most famous belief – ‘Nothing is impossible’ – renewed meaning for a more client-centric age. She describes creating an operating model around realising impossible ambitions – from seeking clients at transformative...

Today’s guests are Eric Segal and Brett Banker, Co-Founders of X&O – the sprint-based agency with an expert-only model, bringing together specialist talent to solve client challenges in double quick time. Drawing on more than 20 years leading teams inside traditional agencies, they share why they chose not to replicate what exists, but to rethink how the work gets done. Brett and Eric explore...

Today’s guest is Sam Hawkey, CEO EMEA at Digitas and former CEO of both Saatchi & Saatchi and AMV BBDO. He shares his perspective on how clients and agencies must evolve together. He talks about prioritising genuine client fit – getting beyond the excitement to really understanding the likelihood of working well together. Sam unpacks his two most important criteria – the client's readiness for...

Today’s guest is Michael Nyman, Founder and CEO of the Acceleration Community of Companies (ACC), an agency group designed specifically in response to the traditional holding company model. Having spent his prior career within that model, Michael explains that clients now demand speed, specialist expertise and a deeper consumer insight. So rather than accepting internal competition, ACC is optimis...

Today's guest is Patou Nuytemans, former CEO of Ogilvy EMEA, whose remarkable 30-year journey from intern to regional chief has given her a rare perspective on leadership, reinvention and the future of agencies. Patou reflects candidly on the emotional reality of leaving the business that shaped her, explaining how heartbreak became gratitude and ultimately inspired a new chapter of reflection and...

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...