In this episode of the Scope Shift Podcast, host Brian Saemann sits down with Kyle Manning, Founder of On Point Marketing and Co-Founder of Zenned Out Kombucha. Kyle’s journey spans from being a self-taught freelancer designing social graphics in 2017 to building a boutique marketing agency and then branching into consumer products. His story highlights the realities of scaling, avoiding burnout, and diversifying passions between digital and physical worlds.
🎯 What You'll Learn:
✅ How Kyle evolved from freelancing late nights in college to building an agency with a team and steady client base.
✅ The turning point when OnPoint Marketing delivered a convention website that drove a 25% increase in ticket sales and 10–15% more sponsorship revenue.
✅ Why understanding your audience is more important than assumptions (even billion-dollar brands get this wrong).
✅ The balance between creativity and fatigue in design—and how diversifying work prevents burnout.
✅ Why asking your customers directly why they value you may be the most powerful (yet underused) marketing tool.
✅ Kyle’s perspective on generative AI: how to leverage it as a tool while keeping domain expertise and human strategy at the core.
✅ The surprising parallels between running an agency and brewing kombucha—community, customer connection, and building something people truly value.
✅ How Zen Out Kombucha became both a passion project and a way to recharge from digital agency life.
🧠 Guest Spotlight: Kyle Manning – Founder of On Point Marketing / Co-Founder of Zenned Out Kombucha Kyle is a skilled web designer, digital marketer, and product developer who was named one of the Top 100 Marketing & Advertising Leaders at the MarSum Conference. His dual role in services and products gives him a unique lens on what it takes to succeed in both digital and real-world markets.
🔗 Connect with Kyle:
OnPoint Marketing: marketingonpoint.org
LinkedIn: Kyle Manning
Social: @OnPointMarketing
🔍 Topics Covered:
Kyle’s early path from college side hustle to full-service agency.
Why aligning SEO, social, and long-form content is still a massive missed opportunity.
The importance of uncovering actual customer motivations versus relying on dashboards and assumptions.
Generative AI as a “partner,” not a replacement, for strategy-driven content creation.The philosophy of staying human in an increasingly automated marketing world.
How Kyle and his co-founder used their complementary skills to launch Zenned Out Kombucha and connect with their local community.
The lessons agency owners can learn from balancing a digital-first business with a physical product brand.
📌 Resources & Links:
GoBeyond SEO Digital Marketing: gobeyondseo.com
Transform your revenue generation with GoBeyond Data: gobeyondseo.com/daas
Get a free Google Maps Audit with Archer: audit.archer.gobeyondseo.com
Connect with Brian here: Brian Saemann on LinkedIn
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#AgencyLife #DigitalMarketing #AI #ContentStrategy #Entrepreneurship #OnPointMarketing #ZenOutKombucha #KyleManning #Podcast
