The Innovative Agency

About 15% of 2020 is already gone — making this the perfect time to review our plans and think about what's working and what's not. In my view, this was a masterclass episode in strategies that are evergreen and strategies to reevaluate. I got to sit down with Patricia Beitler, President at Velocitas, and Abigail Sierra, Director of Content Strategy at Velocitas, to talk about trends in marketing that are actually working for agencies. What we talked about: - 3 strategies that the average B2B company should just toss - 3 classic strategies that will endure beyond 2020 - Video gives potential customers a way to meet you before they meet you - Video and email campaigns are meant for each other To hear more from Innovative Agency owners, listen to The Innovative Agency podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

As a small, recently founded agency, committing to a growth strategy can be intimidating, to say the least. More than likely, you're going to overanalyze instead of choosing a strategy and executing on it. Recently on The Innovative Agency, I interviewed Grayson Lafrenz, Founder and CEO at Power Digital Marketing, about agency growth and what prevents it. What we talked about: - The 5 pitfalls that hinder your growth... - And 5 ways to grow your business - How much of your time should be spent on RGAs - How fast star talent will pay for themselves - The 4 pillars of diversifying deal flow To hear more from Innovative Agency owners, listen to The Innovative Agency podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.

The age-old dilemma: how to build an agency that makes sense for you plus makes you attractive to your clients. Arguably the best form of marketing is to pay for your marketing after you get your customer. Also known as performance-based marketing. In this episode, I interview Robert Glazer, Founder and CEO at Acceleration Partners, about how to implement performance-based marketing in the agency world. What we talked about: - Robert's litmus test for whether a firm is best-in-class - What it takes to do affiliate program management - The differences between newer agencies and traditional digital agencies - Challenges to rapid growth for performance-based marketing Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: - Robert wrote Performance Partnerships about affiliate marketing - The Friday Forward podcast To hear more from Innovative Agency owners, listen to The Innovative Agency podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.

Ad agencies aren't known for taking things slowly or being highly conservative. At least, a lot of the best ones aren't. Is that growth all coincidence, or does it stem from a carefully plotted strategy? In this episode, I interview Scott Harkey, Cofounder and Managing Partner at OH Partners, about strategies for agency growth. What we talked about: - How corporate leads and managing partners are alike - Agency organization and his choice to be a house of brands - Tactical strategies for agency growth, including… - 3 tips for staying opportunistic while having an overall growth plan To hear more from Innovative Agency owners, listen to The Innovative Agency podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.

If you hear ROI, you're either groaning or super excited. These are the 3 letters that most agency owners talk about, regardless of whether their return on investment philosophy is a source of joy. In this episode, I interview Mike Krass, co-founder and CEO at MKG Marketing, about why he loves having the ROI conversation with clients, prospects, and teams. What we talked about: - Choosing measurable metrics & client verticals - Doing vetting and discovery with scorecards - Why agencies really get hired. To hear more from Innovative Agency owners, listen to The Innovative Agency podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.

You want to get into podcast guesting, but you have no idea how. (Frankly, you don't even have a message yet, much less a brand strategy.) You just know podcast guesting is going to be big for you. And you're right. In this episode, I interview Kelly Glover, Podcast Guest Booker at the Talent Squad, about the art and science of how to podcast successfully as a guest. What we talked about: - Your most important relationship is with the host, not the audience - What to do before & after you guest - How to package yourself - Why winging it just doesn't cut it in podcast guesting To hear more from Innovative Agency owners, listen to The Innovative Agency podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.

Advertising work doesn't have to be sexy, shrouded in technical lingo, or confined to just one package. Actually, it's mostly just words and pictures. I recently interviewed Richard Kaiser, CEO and Founder of Wilderness Agency, which is based in my home state of Ohio in Dayton, about why he is proudest of his "ugly baby" clients. What we talked about: - He got his start working in manufacturing… at age 8 - Advertising consists almost exclusively of words and pictures - Flexibility is a key principle behind the success of Wilderness Agency - Talent poaching is a problem in advertising as well as manufacturing - Richard's ugly baby clients are his faves Check out this resource we mentioned during the podcast: - Richard's life changed when a professor handed him Ogilvy on Advertising To hear more from Innovative Agency owners, listen to The Innovative Agency podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.

"Values-based" is a great SEO keyword, isn't it? It can be so much more than that, though. If values drive your agency to the point of shaping your entire business model, you might be ready for B Corp certification. In this episode, I interview Ben Herman, President and Co-Founder at Mad Fish Digital, about values-based businesses. What we talked about: - Becoming a B Corporation - The certification process & whether it affects your profits - How to keep a focus on culture - Where to start on promoting employee engagement and agency culture Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast: - The B Corp certification website - Scaling Up by Verne Harnish - Officevibe To hear more from Innovative Agency owners, listen to The Innovative Agency podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.

As a marketing agency, your client's customers are like tourists standing in Times Square, bombarded with billboards and bright lights on all sides….. And without any idea where to look. That's a metaphor for brands today -- so how do you cut through the clutter? On this episode, I interview Ron Tite, author, speaker, and founder at Church+State, about brand development. We talked about how nurturing relationships is crucial to founding an agency, how to develop your brand with 3 actions, and agency challenges & why to fire a client. Check out this resource we mentioned during the podcast: Think. Do. Say. -- This is Ron's book about brand. To hear this episode and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

With 100 million Prime members in the U.S. alone, Amazon is the place to sell products online. Marketing agencies focused on Amazon can help a lot of clients. To do that, however, those agencies must understand how to operate a proper Amazon business. Dan Brownsher, President, CEO, and Co-Founder at Channel Key LLC, an agency focused on selling, marketing, and building brands on Amazon, joined our podcast to talk about how agencies can help clients change that. Dan began his career sourcing products and selling them on eBay. That project morphed into a company that now holds a place in the top 200 sellers on Amazon. Dan then leveraged what he'd learned to help brands drive high-volume sales on the platform. Building a successful Amazon-based company means more than amazing product photography, the best titles, and top-of-the-line advertising campaigns. It also means keeping inventory in stock, maintaining service levels, and much more. Dan gives us his insights into how to help clients build Amazon-based retailers right here on The Innovative Agency Podcast.