Episode 5: The Independent Agency Model with Crossmedia USA’s Kamran Asghar

Jan 20, 2025

Kamran Asghar, CEO and founder of Crossmedia USA, discusses transforming the media landscape with a focus on transparency and accountability. He shares his journey from Ogilvy to starting an independent agency at just 26. Asghar elaborates on the rise of integrated media solutions and the importance of partnerships, like the one with Joan Creative. He highlights the challenges of agency leadership turnover and the necessity for the industry to realign with client-centered values. His insights into ethical media procurement are particularly compelling.

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ANECDOTE

Kamran's Departure from Ogilvy

Kamran Asghar told how he left Ogilvy instead of joining the newly formed Mindshare media group.
He valued integrated media and creative communication and believed media shouldn't be separated from creative.

ANECDOTE

Early Growth of Crossmedia

Crossmedia started with no clients and reached out to creative agencies lacking media practices.
Their pitch of integrated media and creative collaboration helped them gain recognition and business.

INSIGHT

Serving Underserved Mid-Market

The underserved smaller and mid-market advertisers lack access to world-class media services.
Democratizing big data integration improves planning, targeting, and performance even for smaller clients.

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In 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 efficiencies, and transparency to clients. "There are more integrated remits now than there have been before," he says. "I don't think there are many solutions out there."
The growing demand for principle-based media buying.
Asghar’s take on recent industry news, including leadership changes at major holding companies and what it signals for agency culture.

Key Moments:

[1:20] Asghar’s journey from Ogilvy to launching Crossmedia USA.

[5:30] How Asghar bootstrapped and grew Crossmedia.

[10:45] The importance of integrated media and creative partnerships, featuring the Crossmedia and Joan Creative collaboration.

[15:20] How Crossmedia is addressing client expectations around cost efficiency and transparency.

[20:05] Insights on agency leadership turnover and the evolving role of agency brands.

About the Guest:

Kamran Asghar is the CEO and founder of Crossmedia USA, an independent, data-driven media agency founded with the vision of bringing transparency and accountability to media buying.

Reach Out

For sponsorship inquiries or to discuss potential guests, email Brian brian@madisonandwall.com and Olivia at olivia@fusionfrontmedia.com.

Follow Madison and Wall and FusionFront Media on LinkedIn for updates.

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