Shows
Agency Business#30: Inside M+C Saatchi Americas’ Growth Strategy, With CEO Nadja Bellan-WhiteThis week on Agency Business, Olivia and Brian speak with Nadja Bellan-White, group CEO of M+C Saatchi Americas.Nadja explains how the agency is structured to compete across disciplines—from creative and PR to sports marketing and issues management—while remaining lean and independent. She outlines how the team scopes work through upfront strategy sessions and how a focus on speed, senior talent, and selectivity shapes their client roster.She also discusses:Working across time zones and markets without holding company overheadHow M+C Saatchi is experimenting with hybrid and outcome-based pricingThe impact of A...2025-07-2131 minAgency Business#29: How FCB New York Leverages Its AutonomyThis week on Agency Business, Olivia and Brian speak with Emma Armstrong, CEO of FCB New York and global transformation officer at FCB.Emma shares how FCB’s structure gives local offices real autonomy, and how her newly formalized transformation role helps scale innovation across the network. She reflects on how her team built a strong creative reputation, why agency operations must evolve alongside new pricing models, and how FCB New York has maintained just 10% voluntary turnover for three years running.She also discusses:How AI is reshaping lower-funnel work, but not brand fundamentalsWhy th...2025-07-1438 minAgency Business#28: What Chase Design Group Built After Losing Its FounderThis week on Agency Business, Olivia speaks with Chris Lowery, president of Chase Design Group.Chris shares how he helped scale Chase Design Group from a three-person studio in a Silver Lake house into a global design agency with offices in Los Angeles, New York, and the UK. He reflects on the company’s creative roots in music and entertainment, the influence of founder Margo Chase, and how the agency has grown without acquisitions—by planting cultural seeds in new markets through longtime team members.He also describes:What distinguishes design-focused agencies from traditional crea...2025-06-3040 minAgency Business#27: Building a Multi-Agency Model for Collaboration, With Tim RingelThis week on Agency Business, Olivia speaks with Tim Ringel, global CEO and founder of Meet the People. Tim shares how his global performance marketing background and time at IPG informed his vision for Meet the People, an independent agency group now 800 people strong. The company’s pitch? A multi-agency model designed to preserve individual agency cultures while operating under a single P&L and shared equity system. That structure, he says, fosters collaboration without the bureaucracy of traditional holding companies.He also discusses:Why Meet the People keeps acquired agency brands intactHow its te...2025-06-2337 minAgency Business#26: Tyler Turnbull on FCB, Holding Companies, and the Case for Agency BrandsTyler Turnbull, global CEO of FCB, joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to talk about what it means to run a global creative network today—and why he’s betting on premium creativity, flexible local leadership, and a new approach to audience planning.Tyler traces his own journey from intern to global CEO, shares how FCB evolved after the DraftFCB merger, and explains why the network empowers its office-level CEOs with operational independence while still supporting global brand clients. He also discusses how the agency integrates strategic media planning earlier in the creative process, and how it’s...2025-06-1650 minAgency Business#25: Paramount Drops WPP, Consultancies Consolidate, and Indies Gain SteamThis week’s episode of Agency Business is a little different—our scheduled guest couldn’t make it, so co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser go deep on the biggest news of the week. From sudden account moves to growing competition from consulting firms, we explore what it all means for agencies navigating a rapidly evolving landscape.Subscribe to the Agency Business newsletter.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...2025-06-0915 minAgency Business#24: Jill Kelly on the Evolution of Media and Her Vision for AssemblyJill Kelly, North America CEO of Assembly, joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to discuss her first few months leading the Stagwell media agency—and how she’s thinking about pricing models, technology, and talent in an increasingly complex media ecosystem.Jill shares her unconventional path to executive leadership, which spans media buying, corporate communications, and group-level leadership roles across several major holding companies. She reflects on how the practice of media has evolved—from basic reach and frequency toward nuanced brand performance KPIs—and why Assembly is leaning into both agility and simplification to meet marketer...2025-06-0233 minAgency Business#23: Scaling Exverus Media Without Shortcuts, With Talia ArnoldTalia Arnold, managing director and co-founder of Exverus Media, joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to discuss how the Los Angeles-based agency has scaled without shortcuts—maintaining a lean team, independent ethos, and focus on solving complex marketing problems with creativity and tech-enabled insight.Talia shares her nontraditional path into media, why she believes “anyone can start an agency, but not everyone is a chef,” and how Exverus grew from an attic startup into an award-winning agency serving Fortune 500 brands and fast-scaling CPG and streaming clients.She also explains how Exverus manages to punch above...2025-05-2630 minAgency Business#22: Sean Corcoran on Leading BarkelyOKRP's MissionOne MediaSean Corcoran, president of MissionOne Media and longtime agency leader, joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to discuss the launch of MissionOne within the growing “big indie” platform BarkleyOKRP—and what it takes to build a media brand inside a full-service agency structure.Sean walks through his career path, from political work and affiliate marketing to stints as a Forrester analyst and co-founder of Mediahub. He explains how his experience defining media categories and evaluating agencies from the outside shaped his approach to building challenger shops on the inside.At MissionOne, he’s aiming to blend...2025-05-1935 minAgency Business#21: Red Door Interactive CEO Reid Carr on Building an Integrated Agency BusinessReid Carr, CEO and executive creative director of Red Door Interactive joins this week's episode of Agency Business. In a wide-ranging interview, Reid shares the history of his agency, its focus on integrated services and the choices he has made as the business has grown.Plus, Brian and Reid discuss:S4 Capital and Stagwell's diverging Q1 2025 resultsLayoffs at GroupM (or WPP Media Services) and of Dentsu’s latest Americas CEO, too4As new CEO appointment.Subscribe to the Agency Business newsletter.Reach OutAgency Business features agency CEOs an...2025-05-1232 minAgency Business#20: Acadia CEO Jared Belsky on Growth, Ethics, and the Mid-MarketJared Belsky, CEO and co-founder of Acadia, joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to talk about building a mid-market agency at scale and why he’s become one of the industry’s most vocal critics of principal-based media buying.Jared shares what led him to co-found Acadia after leading 360i, and why the firm has centered its business model around operational efficiency, cultural values, and a diversified client base. He explains why Acadia has no VPs, how it’s maintained 9% unwanted turnover, and why staying private has helped the agency say no to misaligned opportunities — including a $150 mi...2025-05-0539 minAgency Business#19: José Villa of Sensis on Building a Cross-Cultural AgencyJosé Villa, founder and president of Sensis, joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to talk about what it takes to build and scale an independent cross-cultural agency, and what the future of multicultural marketing looks like in today's shifting business and political climate.José shares the origin story behind Sensis, how the agency evolved from a digital-first shop building Spanish-language websites into a full-service cross-cultural advertising firm, and why research and strategy have been central to its growth. He explains how Sensis structures its offerings across media, creative, research and earned media, and how the agency na...2025-04-2829 minAgency Business#18: Mediahub’s Place in IPG’s Media Model, With Nicole EstebanellNicole Estebanell, U.S. CEO of Mediahub, joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to talk about what it means to lead a challenger agency inside one of the world’s largest media networks.Nicole walks through her career journey, beginning with her early media roles at Digitas and Neo to later leading the Nike account at Mindshare, serving as global chief client officer at Initiative, and now taking the reins in the U.S. for Mediahub. She reflects on the client and agency-side experiences that shaped her commercial instincts, what it means to build integrated teams to...2025-04-2136 minAgency Business#17: Blending Creative and Tech at Scale, With VML's Jon CookJon Cook, CEO of VML, joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to talk about the agency’s evolution and what it means to lead a business that spans both world-class creative and deep enterprise technology.Jon walks through how VML was formed through a series of mergers — including Wunderman, J. Walter Thompson, and Y&R — and how the newly unified brand operates across creativity, commerce, customer experience and technology. He explains the structure of VML’s Enterprise Solutions group, which makes up roughly 40 percent of the company, and why the agency’s growth often hinges on integratin...2025-04-1435 minAgency Business#16: Building a Brand-First Business, With Simon Hill of FutureBrandSimon Hill, U.S. president of FutureBrand, joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to talk about what it takes to build a consultancy built around brand, inside one of the world’s largest holding companies.Simon shares how FutureBrand operates as a brand-led strategy and design company within IPG, and how the firm balances its project-based model with the broader agency network. He discusses FutureBrand’s role at critical moments of change for clients—like M&A, private equity transitions, and category disruptions—and how the team works alongside AORs and sibling agencies across IPG to shape br...2025-04-0730 minAgency Business#15: Running an Indie Creative Powerhouse, With Joan’s Lisa ClunieLisa Clunie, co-founder and CEO of JOAN joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to talk about what it takes to build and lead a modern independent agency. From JOAN's origins in New York to its expansion into Berlin and London, Lisa shares how the company has evolved into a multi-faceted creative firm—with an advertising agency, production studio, and influencer arm—all while staying founder-owned and values-driven.Lisa discusses the financial logic behind JOAN's production studio, how influencer marketing is diversifying beyond the “tonnage” model, and why integration across functions like creative, media, influencer, and soci...2025-03-3141 minAgency Business#14: Navigating Media’s Pricing Dilemmas With Kate O’BrienKate O’Brien, founder of Powers of Reasoning and former executive at Omnicom Media Group agencies such as Hearts & Science and Resolution Agency, joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to discuss evolving compensation models, balancing senior talent with efficiency, and the future of media agency leadership.Drawing from her extensive experience leading media strategy for global brands, Kate shares insights into launching her own consultancy and advising clients on media strategy, pricing models, and managing economic uncertainty. The conversation explores the tension between principal-based buying and transparent partnerships, as well as how agencies can deliver value whil...2025-03-2430 minAgency Business#13: Growth in Uncertain Times: Jane Crisan on Leading Rain the Growth AgencyJane Crisan, CEO of Rain the Growth Agency, joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to discuss how independent agencies are navigating market uncertainty, balancing media and creative, and leveraging technology to drive client growth.Jane shares her journey from leading digital practices at holding company agencies to taking the helm at Rain, a Portland-based, female-led independent agency. She talks about Rain’s performance-driven approach, the importance of integrating creative and media strategies, and how the agency’s proprietary technology infrastructure supports speed and agility in today’s complex environment.Plus, Olivia and Brian discuss Coca-C...2025-03-1731 minAgency Business#12: Why Some Agencies Are Thriving While Others Struggle—Known CEO Kern Schireson Weighs InKern Schireson, chairman & CEO of Known, joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to break down what’s wrong with today’s agency model and how data, AI, and a new approach to transparency could fix it.Kern shares his journey from building a data science consultancy to leading Viacom’s advanced TV efforts and ultimately launching Known, an agency designed to address the inefficiencies of traditional holding company structures. He shares his viewpoints on why separating media and creative has led to broken marketing strategies, how Known is applying AI to optimize media performance, and wh...2025-03-1041 minAgency Business#11: Bob Lord on Horizon Media’s Tech Strategy and the Future of AgenciesBob Lord, President of Horizon Media Holdings, joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to discuss how Horizon is challenging the traditional agency model with AI, transparency, and performance-based pricing.Bob explains why he believes the media industry is in a “Great Marketing Emergency”—lagging behind other sectors in adopting technology and transparency. He shares how Horizon’s proprietary platform, Blu+, is redefining agency-client relationships by putting more control in the hands of marketers and brands.He also discusses the evolution of agency compensation models, the increasing demand for performance-based pricing, and why a single client m...2025-03-0343 minAgency Business#10: The HoldCos: Collections of Agencies or Marketing Services Firms? With Macquarie Group's Tim NollenTim Nollen, a longtime ad industry sell-side analyst at Macquarie Group Ltd. and previously at J.P. Morgan and Bear Stearns, joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to discuss the state of agency holding companies, their challenges, and the sustainability of their business models.Tim explains how financial pressures, shifting client demands, and competition from consulting firms and ad tech companies are forcing holding companies to evolve. He shares insights on media and creative integration, how agencies are adapting to new economic realities, and the potential impact of the Omnicom-IPG merger.He also reflects...2025-02-2437 minAgency Business#9: The Creative AI Revolution & What It Means for Agencies—With mktg.ai CEO Kevin WassongKevin Wassong, founder & CEO of marketing analytics startup mktg.ai, joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to discuss how artificial intelligence is reshaping creative and media, and why most marketers are struggling to keep up.Kevin explains why creative and media have been siloed for decades, how AI is accelerating the velocity of content production, and why marketers are overwhelmed by a flood of assets they can’t effectively manage. He shares how mktg.ai is tackling these challenges by creating a creative operating system that helps brands optimize content performance in real time.Ke...2025-02-1843 minAgency BusinessEpisode 8: QRY CEO Samir Balwani on Brand Investment, Media Buying & Agency GrowthSamir Balwani, founder and CEO of media agency QRY, join co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to discuss the evolving role of media agencies, the challenges of brand awareness investments, and how independent agencies can compete with industry giants.Samir shares thoughts on why mid-sized brands struggle with top-of-funnel marketing and how his agency bridges the gap between performance marketing and brand-building. He explains the importance of media forecasting, how QRY helps clients de-risk brand investments, and why CFOs remain skeptical about long-term marketing returns.Reach OutFor sponsorship inquiries or to discuss...2025-02-1033 minAgency BusinessEpisode 7: OMD’s Chrissie Hanson on Media Strategy, Data & LeadershipCo-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser sit down with Chrissie Hanson, CEO of OMD USA, to discuss the evolving role of media agencies, balancing creativity with cost efficiency, and how brands can maximize the impact of their media investments.Chrissie shares her journey from strategist to CEO, highlighting how her background in media buying and planning has shaped her leadership style. She offers a candid look at the challenges and opportunities facing agencies today, from the push for centralization within holding companies to the evolving expectations of clients navigating an increasingly complex media landscape.From...2025-02-0328 minAgency BusinessEpisode 6: Ebiquity's Ruben Schreurs on Smarter Ad SpendIn this episode of Agency Business, co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser interview Ruben Schreurs, CEO of Ebiquity, to explore the evolving landscape of media investment and the role of media audits in maximizing ad spend. Ruben shares insights into how brands can ensure their media dollars are working harder, the importance of transparency in agency relationships, and why now—more than ever—marketers must take a data-driven approach to media planning and buying.From uncovering hidden inefficiencies to leveraging insights that drive real business impact, this conversation dives into the critical factors shaping today’s medi...2025-01-2723 minAgency BusinessEpisode 5: The Independent Agency Model with Crossmedia USA’s Kamran AsgharIn this episode of Agency Business, Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley talk with Kamran Asghar, CEO and founder of Crossmedia USA, about the evolving landscape of independent media agencies. Asghar shares insights into Crossmedia’s journey, its commitment to transparency, and how independent agencies can provide an alternative to holding company networks.Key topics covered in this episode include:Crossmedia’s origin story and its mission to provide integrated media solutions outside of the holding company model.How Crossmedia’s partnership with Joan Creative is shaping new approaches to collaboration.How Asghar thinks about delivering scale, cost e...2025-01-2027 minAgency BusinessEpisode 4: Joanne Davis and Agency Search ConsultingIn this episode of Agency Business, Brian and Olivia are joined by Joanne Davis, one of the industry's leading agency search consultants.Joanne founded Joanne Davis Consulting in 2000 and became a partner in SCAN International in 2006 and is currently Co-CEO. The firm specializes in agency models – internal and external, agency search/selection, agency compensation and client/agency optimization and training. Clients include and have included: Benjamin Moore, Cotton (“The Fabric of Our Lives”), ExxonMobil, Johnson & Johnson, Marriott, Microsoft and Sonic.In this episode we talk about the impact of AI on fees (and related emerging functi...2025-01-1327 minAgency BusinessEpisode 3: FerebeeLane Co-Founders Matt Ferebee and Josh LaneIn this episode of Agency Business, we're joined for a fascinating conversation with independent agency FerebeeLane's co-founders to talk about working with high-end brands, broadening service offerings, global expansion and how Matt and Josh manage their business more generally. We also discuss recent industry news including the appointment of Bob Lord at Horizon, recent results at Accenture and the politicization of advertising.2025-01-0635 minAgency BusinessEpisode 2: Omnicom+IPG, A Discussion With Forrester's Jay PattisallIn this episode of Agency Business, Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley are joined by Jay Pattisall, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, to discuss the biggest agency news of the year (and probably the decade): Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG. Wieser, Morley, and Pattisall share their insights into the implications of this deal, including:What the acquisition signals about the future of agency holding companies.How IPG’s media and creative operations might integrate into Omnicom’s structure.Why consolidation of brands seems likely, despite public assurances to the contrary.The discussion also explores broader trends...2024-12-1634 minAgency BusinessEpisode 1: Paul Woolmington, CEO of Canvas WorldwideOn our debut episode, Olivia and Brian interview Paul Woolmington, CEO of Canvas Worldwide to talk about his experiences as a leader in the agency industry. We discuss a significant amount of history given his foundational role establishing media agencies as stand-alone businesses (at Y&R and The Media Kitchen) and co-founding Naked, which pioneered communications planning. We also review agency industry news from the first week of December, including IPG's sale of Huge and layoffs at Edelman, with a conversation focusing on the bigger picture impacting both of those businesses.2024-12-0939 min
Madison and Wall PodcastEpisode 9: The Politics of Advertising (And the Espresso Machine Wars)Each week on the M&W Podcast, Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser discuss Madison & Wall’s research and analysis to help listeners understand how the advertising business works. They explore how the economy and major trends impact the ad industry, delve into relevant accounting and finance concepts, and touch on advertising history.In this episode, Brian and Olivia break down the implications of the current political landscape on the advertising industry and explore the consequences for media owners and advertisers under potential new administrations. They also dig into the surprising outcomes of measuring attention metrics and why th...2024-11-0124 minMadison and Wall PodcastEpisode 8: How Pumpkin Patches GrowEach week on the M&W Podcast, Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser discuss Madison & Wall's latest research and insights to uncover how the advertising industry really works. From economic indicators to ad history, we explore what’s moving the needle for agencies, marketers, and media companies.In episode 8, Olivia and Brian dive into the latest agency holding company results and explore the consequences that would follow from recent academic research suggesting that some of the long-held principles of Byron Sharp's How Brands Grow - and the importance of reach - might be incorrect, as outlined in a re...2024-10-2530 minMadison and Wall PodcastEpisode 7: Apple-Picking AdvertisingEach week on the M&W Podcast, Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser discuss Madison & Wall’s weekly research and analyses to help listeners understand how the advertising business works. We explore how the economy and its major indicators could impact the advertising industry; dig into relevant accounting and finance concepts; and overview ad history.In episode 7, Brian guides listeners through current trends on retail sales and wage growth, then does a deep dive on Adobe's new AI-based video production and integrated martech + ad tech products. Plus, SMBs vs. large advertisers, agency holdco trends from Omnicom and Publicis, Ne...2024-10-1819 minMadison and Wall PodcastEpisode 6: From Michigan to MadisonEach week on the M&W Podcast, Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser discuss Madison & Wall’s weekly research and analyses to help listeners understand how the advertising business works. We explore how the economy and its major indicators could impact the advertising industry; dig into relevant accounting and finance concepts; and overview ad history. In episode 6, Brian and Olivia guide listeners through Madison & Wall’s latest work on capital expenditure data for the media industry. Then, they talk about how the data illuminates which companies are investing in their futures and which are not. (This is part...2024-10-1127 minMadison and Wall PodcastEpisode 5: 'Classifying' The Top 50 Ad SellersEach week on the M&W Podcast, Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser discuss Madison & Wall's weekly research and analyses to help listeners understand how the advertising business really works. We talk through how the economy and its major indicators could impact the advertising industry; dig into accounting and finance concepts relevant to the ad industry; plus, overview ad history facts.In episode 5, Brian and Olivia talk listeners through Madison & Wall's list of the top 50 advertising sellers. Then, they analyze how the industry changed when digital newcomers such as Indeed or Zillow absorbed the classifieds market...2024-10-0429 minMadison and Wall PodcastEpisode 4: Running on Short-Term MarketingEach week on the M&W Podcast, Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser discuss Madison & Wall's weekly research and analyses to help listeners understand how the advertising business really works. We talk through how the economy and its major indicators could impact the advertising industry; dig into accounting and finance concepts relevant to the ad industry; plus, overview ad history facts.In episode 4, Brian sizes the global marketing industry, while later, Olivia and Brian look into how companies define "marketing;" Brian analyzes Nike's business relative to category peers and determines that performance marketing isn't going anywhere...2024-09-2728 minMadison and Wall PodcastEpisode 1: Introducing the M&W PodcastIntroducing the M&W Podcast from Madison and Wall, hosted by Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser. In episode one, Olivia summarizes investor conference commentary from General Mills, Mondelez, Kraft Heinz and more. Brian recaps new M&W ad spend forecast results and explains why ad spend growth is still, somehow, surpassing expectations.The Amazon account is worth billions, but measuring how much the account loss will impact incumbent agency IPG poses a challenge. Brian tells listeners why.Listen to episode one and future M&W Podcast episodes at https://feeds.captivate...2024-09-0634 min