The Innovative Agency

Some think that being everything to everybody drives success for a marketing agency. But the truth is that there are far more advantages to finding a niche and growing your expertise. Alex Membrillo, CEO of Cardinal Digital Marketing, joins me to share why you should niche down and how to go about doing it. Topics covered: - Choosing to focus on the healthcare industry - Creating opportunities for authority building and thought leadership - Developing a proprietary data analytics tool To hear more from Innovative Agency owners, listen to The Innovative Agency podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for The Innovative Agency in your favorite podcast player.

Out of every crisis comes opportunity. When live sports came to a halt in March of last year, sports marketing agencies had to scramble to find new opportunities to bring value to their clients all while supporting a heavily impacted industry. In today’s episode, Michael Neuman — Founder, EVP, & Managing Partner of Scout Sports and Entertainment — talks with me about driving innovation in chaotic times. Topics we cover: - Tracking lost client value and understanding changing fan behavior - Pivoting to new opportunities - The challenges of an agency leader in a vulnerable industry - Changes that will remain moving forward To hear more from Innovative Agency owners, listen to The Innovative Agency podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for The Innovative Agency in your favorite podcast player.

When COVID hit, experiential marketing agencies specializing in in-person events were forced to adjust. In this episode, Rick Kiley and Jeff Boedges, Partner and Managing Partner, respectively, at SoHo Experiential, share how they were able to leverage the networks they had in place to pivot their business. What we talked about: - How COVID accelerated changes to their business - Educating clients on delivering high-quality, virtual experiences - Finding a new revenue stream with marketing sports book gambling -Opportunities in cannabis marketing To learn more about the topics discussed in this episode, email Rick (rick@sohoexp.com) or Jeff (jeff@sohoexp.com) or listen to their podcast, The Green Repeal. To hear more from Innovative Agency owners, listen to The Innovative Agency podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for The Innovative Agency in your favorite podcast player.

A lot has changed in content marketing over the last year. So much, in fact, that it brought the man who wrote the book on content marketing out of retirement to update his seminal work. On today’s episode, Joe Pulizzi, Founder of The Tilt and author of Content Inc, joins me to talk about what content marketing looks like today. Topics we covered: - Why it was time to update his book - Asking hard questions before diving into content marketing - Focusing on one main content type on one channel - The genesis of The Tilt Pre-order Content Inc at content-inc.com and sign up for The Tilt at TheTilt.com. To hear more from Innovative Agency owners, listen to The Innovative Agency podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for The Innovative Agency in your favorite podcast player.

There’s no denying we’re in a video content boom — even shorter-form videos can have outsized impact. And when you add the brand equity, audience reach, and production expertise of an influencer, your video content can attain even greater levels of success. In this episode, Gabe Gordon, Co-Founder at Reach Agency, speaks with me about the ins and outs of video-driven influencer campaigns. What we talked about: - Starting out in a niche, then expanding out to other corners of the market - Trends in video consumption - Tips for collaborating with influencers To hear more from Innovative Agency owners, listen to The Innovative Agency podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for The Innovative Agency in your favorite podcast player.

Inbound referrals can only provide a limited amount of a marketing agency’s new business. At some point, you need to diversify your lead generation. Today’s guest, James Harper, Founder of Agency Flare, tells me that we’re at a tipping point where marketing agencies need to adopt a blended approach to lead generation — using both inbound marketing strategies and a cold sales approach. Topics we talk about: - The role of the agency owner in the sales process - Using a blended approach of inbound and outbound tactics - Adopting a “serve” rather than “sell” mentality - The value of niching up To hear more from Innovative Agency owners, listen to The Innovative Agency podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for The Innovative Agency in your favorite podcast player.

Recently, I was invited on The Climb hosted by Jon Tsourakis, President and Chief Revenue Officer at Oyova, to talk about the legal counsel I provide to agencies. In this crossover episode, the tables are turned. Jon joins me to talk about how an agency leader approaches legal issues and to share his advice for other agency owners. We cover topics like: - Negotiating contracts with clients, other agencies, and freelancers - Properly valuing and charging for your expertise - Asking clients the hard questions upfront Other resources mentioned during the podcast: - Digital Mastermind Group Annual Event - Want to join the Digital Mastermind Group? Email Jon at Jon@digitalmastermind.com To hear more from Innovative Agency owners, listen to The Innovative Agency podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for #FlipMyFunnel in your

For small and mid-sized agencies, client work comes first — but often at the expense of new business development. So how do you go about refocusing efforts on your agency’s growth engine? Lee McKnight, Vice President at RSW/US, has some ideas for you. He joined me to talk about the opportunities and challenges facing agencies today and how to recalibrate the way you approach new business. What we talked about: - The state of new business for small and midsize agencies - Why you shouldn’t wait to go after new business - Taking a step back to instill an agency-wide culture around new business   To hear more from Innovative Agency owners, listen to The Innovative Agency podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for The Innovative Agency in your favorite podcast player.

Working with startups isn’t for everyone. In fact, many agencies avoid them completely. But for an agency with the right skills and fortitude, the experience can be incredibly fulfilling. In this episode, I interviewed Melissa Wallace and Laura Maiurano, the co-founders and chief executives of fivefoottwo marketing. We talked about how to be effective when working with entrepreneurs and startups. What we discussed: - Misconceptions agency owners have about working with startups - How to build effective agency-to-agency collaboration - Constructing a fair compensation package with a startup - Why a small, independent agency can be a perfect match for a startup To hear more from Innovative Agency owners, listen to The Innovative Agency podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for #FlipMyFunnel in your favorite podcast player

If you want to build brand demand over time and stop having to rely on advertising to get clients, you need to get serious about building your personal brand on LinkedIn. You will need to move far beyond your company page. You will need to humanize your personal profile by sharing both valuable content as well as stories, thoughts, and experiences. In this episode, I interview Mandy McEwen, Founder & CEO at Mod Girl Marketing, about demystifying LinkedIn and personal thought leadership. What we talked about: - First steps for getting started growing your LinkedIn presence - What happens when you stop selling and start providing value - Building LinkedIn cadences and using direct messaging - The challenge to be vulnerable online To hear more from Innovative Agency owners, listen to The Innovative Agency podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for The Innovative Agency in your favorite podcast player.