Agency Business

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 explains how Mile Marker is positioning itself between small media boutiques and holding companies, why its clients prioritize flexible, “human in the loop” service models, and how the agency is using automation and AI to enhance — not replace — talent. 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 trends.Listen to 🎬 Screen & Sponsor: Olivia & VaynerMedia's Jessie Holder explore how brands are shaping Hollywood.

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 underestimating AI’s impact by treating it as a cost-saving tool rather than an opportunity to rethink operating models, partnerships, and growth strategies.We explore how agencies should adapt to evolving client expectations, where work should sit between agencies and in-house teams, and why success increasingly depends on designing more flexible, account-specific models that better align creative, media, and technology capabilities.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 trends.Listen to 🎬 Screen & Sponsor: Olivia & VaynerMedia's Jessie Holder explore how brands are shaping Hollywood.

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 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 trends.Listen to 🎬 Screen & Sponsor: Olivia & VaynerMedia's Jessie Holder explore how brands are shaping Hollywood.

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 traditional divide between brand and performance no longer reflects client needs, how Wpromote is integrating creative, media, and data through its PolarisIQ platform, and why the company is building a tech-enabled services model to drive measurable outcomes.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 trends.Listen to 🎬 Screen & Sponsor: Olivia & VaynerMedia's Jessie Holder explore how brands are shaping Hollywood.

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 Shipyard has grown to ~450 people by bringing together best-in-class talent across creative, media, PR, and experiential disciplines rather than treating them as separate businesses. He discusses the agency's sweet spot serving mid-market clients spending $50–$100 million, why he sees a significant greenfield opportunity in media buying for that segment, and how he thinks about acquisitions as talent acceleration rather than traditional M&A. Brian and Olivia also dig into the appointment of Nancy Hall as the new U.S. head of WPP Media, Havas' agency acquisition in Germany, the $220 million DHS media campaign and the political agency world it surfaced, and how agencies navigate clients or campaigns that staff find ethically fraught.The Agency Business podcast is part of the Marketecture Media podcast network.Reach OutSubscribe for free to the Agency Business newsletter.Interested in joining Agency Business as a guest? Submit a pitch.Inquire about Briefly.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 trends.Listen to 🎬 Screen & Sponsor: Olivia & VaynerMedia's Jessie Holder explore how brands are shaping Hollywood.

Welcome to Agency Business.This week Dan Khabie, cofounder of CourtAvenue, joined Olivia for a conversation about building an independent digital and AI transformation agency — from a garage startup in San Diego to a 250-person company growing at 64% year-over-year.Daniel discusses CourtAvenue's five pillar go-to-market strategy — spanning digital ecosystems, retail media, physical-digital experiences, and AI consulting — and how AI has become the central accelerant across all of it. He also shares his "fresh water" philosophy for working alongside in-house teams, reflects on lessons learned inside WPP and J. Walter Thompson, and offers his take on holding company consolidation. Brian and Olivia also dig into WPP's Elevate28 restructuring plan, Globant's client losses, and a remarkable 36-page court document that revealed the actual media spending of WPP's largest clients across major platforms.The Agency Business podcast is part of the Marketecture Media podcast network.Reach OutSubscribe for free to the Agency Business newsletter.Interested in joining Agency Business as a guest? Submit a pitch.Inquire about Briefly.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 trends.Listen to 🎬 Screen & Sponsor: Olivia & VaynerMedia's Jessie Holder explore how brands are shaping Hollywood.

Welcome to Agency Business.Brian and Olivia interviewed Beth Ann Kaminkow, CEO of the Americas and global chief client officer at Dentsu, following a significant leadership transition and renewed scrutiny of the company’s international business. The conversation comes as Dentsu posted weak financial results, announced Takeshi Sano as its new global CEO and president, and signaled that a previously explored sale of its international operations is no longer under consideration.Beth Ann discusses Dentsu’s strategy to prioritize Japan and the U.S. as growth engines, strengthen its power brands including Merkle, and position the company as “right-sized” for the AI era. She addresses questions around integration, talent turnover and global alignment, and confirms that partnership models — similar to the recent Horizon–Havas arrangement — remain a possibility as Dentsu evaluates ways to accelerate growth without creating further internal disruption.The Agency Business podcast is part of the Marketecture Media podcast network.Reach OutSubscribe for free to the Agency Business newsletter.Interested in joining Agency Business as a guest? Submit a pitch.Inquire about Briefly.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 trends.Listen to 🎬 Screen & Sponsor: Olivia & VaynerMedia's Jessie Holder explore how brands are shaping Hollywood.

Welcome to Agency Business. John Elder, CEO and co-founder of independent creative agency Supergood, joined Brian and Olivia to discuss how data — not AI alone — may become the real differentiator for agencies navigating margin pressure and rising client expectations.Reach OutSubscribe for free to the Agency Business newsletter.Interested in joining Agency Business as a guest? Submit a pitch.Inquire about Briefly.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 trends.Listen to 🎬 Screen & Sponsor: Olivia & VaynerMedia's Jessie Holder explore how brands are shaping Hollywood.

Welcome to Agency Business. Patti McConnell, co-founder and managing partner, and Tommy Henvey, co-founder and chief creative officer of independent creative agency Something Different, joined Brian and Olivia for a conversation about building an agency designed for closeness, flexibility, and creative fulfillment rather than scale.Patti and Tommy discuss the studio model that allows Something Different to expand and contract around client needs, how trust and chemistry still decide pitches once you’re in the room, and why disciplined scoping and margin protection still matter even when agencies take on passion projects or long-term bets. We also explore cautious approaches to new business investment, rising expectations around transparency and security driven by procurement and fintech clients, and why many independents continue to prioritize culture, senior involvement, and client relationships as holding companies focus on profitability and structural change.Reach OutSubscribe for free to the Agency Business newsletter.Interested in joining Agency Business as a guest? Submit a pitch.Inquire about Briefly.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 trends.Listen to 🎬 Screen & Sponsor: Olivia & VaynerMedia's Jessie Holder explore how brands are shaping Hollywood.

Welcome to Agency Business.Judith Carr-Rodriguez, CEO and partner at independent full-service creative agency, FIG, joined Brian and Olivia this week on the podcast.Judith shared how clients increasingly value small, senior teams over large pyramidal organizations, how FIG has grown by focusing on long-term AOR relationships rather than project-based work, and why the agency has become more selective as demand increases.Judith also shares how Fig thinks about controlled growth, client fit and longevity, arguing that focus — not scale for scale’s sake — has become one of the most important disciplines for independent agencies.Reach OutSubscribe for free to the Agency Business newsletter.Interested in joining Agency Business as a guest? Submit a pitch.Inquire about Briefly.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 trends.Listen to 🎬 Screen & Sponsor: Olivia & VaynerMedia's Jessie Holder explore how brands are shaping Hollywood.

Welcome to Agency Business.Andrew Cohen, CEO of independent St. Louis creative agency Moosylvania, joined Brian and Olivia for a candid conversation about building an agency around senior talent, continuity, and long-term thinking.Andrew shares the origin story of Moosylvania, founded by his father after leaving an IPG-owned agency, and reflects on taking over leadership during the pandemic as the firm evolved into a more digital, hybrid operation.Reach OutSubscribe for free to the Agency Business newsletter.Interested in joining Agency Business as a guest? Submit a pitch.Inquire about Briefly.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 trends.Listen to 🎬 Screen & Sponsor: Olivia & VaynerMedia's Jessie Holder explore how brands are shaping Hollywood.

Welcome to Agency Business.Brian and Olivia interview Dean Broadhead, founder of independent agency, Broadhead about how agencies should rethink production, talent, and investment as AI reshapes how work gets done.Drawing on his “stop making shoes” framework, Dean explains why agencies should focus less on long-tail production and more on strategy, creativity, and risk mitigation, using AI to create space for higher-value work rather than replace it. The conversation also explores culturally led AI adoption, proprietary platforms built around subscription models, capital allocation decisions — including exiting an ESOP — and why independents may be better positioned to stay closely connected to clients as holding companies navigate structural change.Reach OutSubscribe for free to the Agency Business newsletter.Interested in joining Agency Business as a guest? Submit a pitch.Inquire about Briefly.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 trends.Listen to 🎬 Screen & Sponsor: Olivia & VaynerMedia's Jessie Holder explore how brands are shaping Hollywood.

Welcome to Agency Business.Brian interviews Ammunition CEO Jeremy Heilpern to examine how agencies can defend pricing and articulate value as AI reshapes workflows, timelines and client expectations.Drawing on Ammunition’s growth from a category-focused shop into an independent agency with a broad client roster, Jeremy explains why specialization, internal production and deliberate investment decisions have been central to maintaining margins and client retention.Reach OutSubscribe for free to the Agency Business newsletter.Interested in joining Agency Business as a guest? Submit a pitch.Inquire about Briefly.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 trends.Listen to 🎬 Screen & Sponsor: Olivia & VaynerMedia's Jessie Holder explore how brands are shaping Hollywood.

Welcome to Agency Business.Brian and Olivia discuss 2026 agency trends with media and tech analyst Ian Whittaker. Drawing on his background in financial markets and consulting, Ian frames 2026 as a crossroads year for agencies, one defined less by immediate disruption than by a series of strategic choices that will determine longer-term positioning.The conversation explores whether agencies can move up the value chain by better articulating the financial value of creativity, how AI has intensified pressure from tech platforms, and why independent agencies may be better positioned to defend pricing and confidence than holding companies. Whittaker also shares his outlook on organic growth across the major holding companies, the risks facing Dentsu’s international business, and what agency leaders should prioritize when hiring senior leadership in a market where creative credibility and business fluency increasingly need to coexist.Reach OutSubscribe for free to the Agency Business newsletter.Interested in joining Agency Business as a guest? Submit a pitch.Inquire about Briefly.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 trends.Listen to 🎬 Screen & Sponsor: Olivia & VaynerMedia's Jessie Holder explore how brands are shaping Hollywood.

Welcome to Agency Business. Mollie Rosen, president of member experience at the 4As, joins Olivia and Brian this week to unpack the 4As' 2026 Look Ahead report and what it signals about the future of agencies. Agencies face two divergent but overlapping paths, according to Mollie. They can 1. Become platform- and technology-led or 2. Double down on creativity and strategic partnership. We explore how AI is accelerating this tension, why most agencies are likely to land somewhere along a continuum between the two extremes, and how longstanding issues around compensation models, talent strategy and investment risk could determine which agencies are best positioned to adapt. Reach OutSubscribe for free to the Agency Business newsletter.Interested in joining Agency Business as a guest? Submit a pitch.Inquire about Briefly.Listen to 📊 The Madison and Wall Podcast: Brian opens up about his latest work — plus crucial economic, financial, and industry trends.Listen to 🎬 Screen & Sponsor: Olivia & VaynerMedia's Jessie Holder explore how brands are shaping Hollywood.

This week Brian talks with Amanda Forgione, CEO of Morrison. We talk about many of the very human elements of running an independent agency with family roots in the industry, and contrast some of her agency's choices with those of the holding companies.The episode also features a brief mention of Olivia's new subscription PR model offering agencies a weekly hour of senior strategic thinking. For details, email [email protected] to the Agency Business newsletter for episode notes and analysis. It’s free and drops every Monday.Reach OutAgency Business features agency CEOs and financial decision-makers alongside third party experts including agency pitch consultants. We are always accepting pitches, and are particularly interested in hearing from women and leaders of color.📬 Pitch a guest or inquire about sponsorships:📩 Brian at [email protected]📩 Olivia at [email protected] Madison and Wall and FusionFront Media on LinkedIn for updates.Explore Our Other Podcasts:📊 The Madison and Wall Podcast – Brian opens up about his latest work — plus crucial economic, financial, and industry trends.🎬 Screen & Sponsor – Olivia & VaynerMedia's Jessie Holder explore how brands are shaping Hollywood.