Agency Business is a podcast about ad agencies, from media industry analysts Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley. In our interviews with marketing agency CEOs and ad industry business experts, we explain the week's agency news and provide the context you need to navigate the business. Check it out on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. The Agency Business podcast is part of the Marketecture Media podcast network.
Welcome to Agency Business. Katy Hornaday , CEO of independent, private-equity backed agency, BarkleyOKRP , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley to discuss her path from creative leader to CEO, how the agency is using its PE backing to build and buy capabilities, and what it takes to make integration across creative, strategy, media and AI-enabled tools work inside the business. For more on the media side of BarkleyOKRP’s model, revisit Episode 22 , with MissionOne Media president Sean Corcoran . 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. Shannon Langrand , founder and CEO of Houston-based independent agency Langrand , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley to discuss how starting an agency without first working inside one shaped the firm’s model, and why that outsider perspective helped her build around the “job to be done” for clients rather than the inherited structures of the agency business. 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. Mark Penn , chairman and CEO of Stagwell , join Brian Wieser live last week at Cannes to discuss why he sees marketing services as more resilient than many technology businesses, how Stagwell is investing in AI, software and digital transformation, and why he believes agencies are undergoing transformation rather than decline. Mark also talked about Stagwell’s global expansion, capital allocation, investor perceptions of the agency sector and the company’s push to combine services and technology. 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. PJ Pereira and Rob Wrubel , co-founders of SILVERSIDE , join Olivia Morley this week to discuss what it means to build an AI-native marketing innovation lab outside the traditional agency model. PJ and Rob discuss how SILVERSIDE grew out of an experimental AI group inside Pereira O’Dell, and why they believed the technology required a separate structure built for speed, experimentation and new ways of working. They explain how early work with Coca-Cola helped shape SILVERSIDE’s approach to creative production, personalization and client collaboration, and why the company often enters organizations through the “side door” of innovation and chaos management. They also discuss why senior creative leaders need to work directly with AI tools, and why hands-on experimentation matters more than big technology announcements in a market changing day by day. 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. Kwame Taylor-Hayford , co-founder of Kin, joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley this week to discuss what it means to build an independent agency around specificity rather than scale. Kwame discusses how his global upbringing shaped his approach to advertising and design, and how Kin’s work sits at the intersection of innovation, culture and community. He explains why the agency is focused on helping brands become meaningful participants in communities — whether those communities are defined by demographics, interests or geography — through original ideas and intellectual property that can take many different forms. 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. Joe Gagliese , co-founder and co-CEO of Viral Nation , joins Brian Wieser this week to discuss how the company grew from representing creators into a social-first business working with enterprise brands. Joe discussed Viral Nation’s early days in influencer marketing, why the company raised capital to build AI, data infrastructure and measurement tools, and how it is trying to make social operate more like a mature marketing channel. He also talked about creator pricing, global social strategy, working alongside holding companies and why Viral Nation remains focused on services as it builds more technology into its model. 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. Dimi Albers , CEO of DEPT , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley this week to discuss how the marketing and technology company has scaled globally while operating as one agency. Dimi discussed DEPT’s expansion across Europe, the Americas and APAC, why the company sees cultural alignment as central to successful acquisitions, and how its independent structure shapes its competition with holding companies, consultancies and systems integrators. He also discussed DEPT’s technology platform, its private equity backing and why the company remains focused on managed services rather than a pure SaaS model. 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. Blake Heal , founder and CEO of Conscious Minds , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley this week to discuss how the agency built production into its model from the beginning. Blake shares how Conscious Minds evolved from the viral video era into a social and culture-focused agency working with large brands including Nike, Starbucks, Yahoo and Google. He also describes: How the agency’s production capabilities shape its work How faster social timelines differ from traditional TV production How AI is affecting content costs, internal operations and future billing conversations. 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. Alison Weissbrot , executive editor at Adweek , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley to discuss the agency business from her vantage point covering the industry. Alison talks about the pressure holding company CEOs face around growth and AI transformation, why independent agencies continue to generate industry attention, and how private equity is shaping parts of the indie agency market. She also discusses what makes agency AI claims credible, where agencies are investing beyond AI, and why Cannes Lions remains central to the industry even as its role continues to evolve. 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. Maggie Malek , CEO of Crispin , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley to discuss the Stagwell agency’s next chapter. She discusses the agency's history, and the 2023 combination of MMI, Crispin (then CPB), and Observatory . Maggie also discusses how Crispin is building around creative, media and social under one P&L, and how Crispin is balancing its creative roots with client demand for integrated media, social, and creator 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. Tamara Alesi , CEO of Mediaplus North America , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley to discuss how the Serviceplan -owned media agency is building its presence in the U.S. and Canada. Tamara explains how Mediaplus is approaching growth in North America, including its reliance on global client relationships, local market development, and a measured, profitability-focused expansion strategy. She also outlines the agency’s “house of communication” model, integrating media, creative, and technology, and shares her perspective on talent, AI, and the trade-offs between independent and holding company structures as agencies navigate industry-wide change. 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. Remy Stiles , global CEO of Kepler , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley to discuss the agency’s evolution from its programmatic roots into a full-service, data-driven business. Founded out of MediaMath , Kepler was built around audience-first, technology-led thinking at a time when those approaches were still emerging, and has since expanded into creative, global operations and new business growth. 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. Michael Magnusson , founder and CEO of Pinnacle Advertising , joins Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley to discuss what it means to run an agency built on retail performance and measurable outcomes. Michael explains how that focus shapes team structure, client relationships, and day-to-day decision-making, as well as how the agency operates in a market defined by consolidation and evolving client demands. 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. 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 Out Subscribe 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 Out Subscribe 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.
