Podcast
Agency Business
Hosted by Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley · EN
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.
14episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
#70: Adweek's Alison Weissbrot on agency business trends and coverage
2w ago00:26:27Tap to summarizeWelcome 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.
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#69: Crispin’s next chapter, with Maggie Malek
3w ago00:39:24Tap to summarizeWelcome 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.
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#68: Scaling Mediaplus in North America, with Tamara Alesi
4w ago00:29:44Tap to summarizeWelcome 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.
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#67: Growing a media agency into creative and global services, with Kepler's Remy Stiles
Apr 2700:29:39Tap to summarizeWelcome 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.
Transcribe →#66: Running an agency built on retail performance, with Michael Magnusson
Apr 1300:30:09Tap to summarizeWelcome 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.
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#65: The opportunity for independent agencies in the mid-market, with Scott Shamberg
Apr 600:31:17Tap to summarizeWelcome 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.
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#64: Why AI is forcing agencies and clients to rethink how they work together, with BCG's Janet Balis
Mar 3000:29:22Tap to summarizeWelcome 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.
Transcribe →#63: The real agency AI divide: data, commercial models, and what's next
Mar 2300:21:51Tap to summarizeWelcome 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.
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#62: Wpromote CEO Andrea Bendzick
Mar 1600:31:17Tap to summarizeWelcome 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.
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#61: Rick Milenthal, CEO of The Shipyard
Mar 900:38:20Tap to summarizeWelcome 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.
Transcribe →