

Marketing Agencies Are Feeling an Artificial Uptick in Business
8 snips Sep 24, 2025
Marketing agencies face struggles leading to interesting M&A opportunities. The hosts discuss the difference between genuine growth and an artificial uptick in business, highlighting operational fixes as key to conversion. Brand-safety lessons emerge from a viral social media incident. They draw parallels between sports and business, emphasizing the power of small edges, as exemplified by Federer and Djokovic. Additionally, unconventional marketing strategies from the Dallas Cowboys are explored, alongside a rising trend of SEO traffic from LinkedIn posts.
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Agency Owner's Revenue Drop And Deal Talk
- Eric Siu recounts multiple agency founders reaching out about steep revenue declines and potential M&A conversations.
- He describes one target moving from reported ~$20M to about $5.7M and starting a data room for a possible sale.
Prefer Asset Purchases Over Stock Deals
- Neil Patel advises buying agency assets rather than stock to avoid inheriting liabilities.
- He warns to confirm contract assignability before closing an asset purchase.
Upticks Often Represent Delayed Deals
- Neil Patel found recent agency 'upticks' often come from old deals finally signing, not net-new revenue.
- He notes leads are up but new-lead revenue hasn't materially increased yet.