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The Advertising Business Is Growing. Is Your Agency?
The Advertising Business Is Growing. Is Your Agency? I have some unusually good news for agency owners. The advertising business is growing. Really growing. Madison & Wall estimates that global advertising revenue increased 12.7% year…
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Every Agency Win Is a Lesson for the Others
I’ve spent many years helping agencies win new business and helping marketers find agencies. During that time, I’ve heard hundreds of agency leaders explain why they believed they won an account. Sometimes it was the…
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Your Agency’s Problem Isn’t Prospecting. It’s Showing Value.
Your Agency’s Problem Isn’t Prospecting. It’s Showing Value. That’s why growth often slows long before anyone notices the real issue. Every few weeks, I end up having essentially the same conversation with a different agency…
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Your BD Process Is a Test Drive
Your BD Process Is a Test Drive I recently read a McKinsey article that, though not about advertising agencies, made me reflect on the agency business development process. The article, “The Surprising Economics of B2B…
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New Business Is Your Agency’s Biggest AI Risk
New Business Is Your Agency’s Biggest AI Risk Over the past year, I have observed ad agency leaders discuss AI with visible excitement and underlying apprehension. Many agree: “This changes everything.” The problem is that…
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Will AI Kill the Craft of Advertising
Will AI Kill the Craft of Advertising Spend ten minutes on LinkedIn, and you would think the agency model is either dead or about to be fully automated. AI will replace strategy.AI will generate creative.AI…
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The AI Marketing Operating System
The AI Marketing Operating System For decades, marketing ran on a familiar structure. Leadership sets direction.Analysts processed data.Strategists planned campaigns.Creatives brought them to life.Media teams executed.Account people managed the process. People were the engine. But…
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The Pipeline Wasn’t the Problem
The Pipeline Wasn’t the Problem A few years ago, I had a video call with an agency owner who, by most external measures, was doing fine. Revenue was steady. Referrals were trickling in. The calendar…
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What’s different, what’s the same in BD
What’s different, what’s the same in BD Agency business development looks very different from a year ago. Even more so than five years ago. At least on the surface. Underneath, it’s the same animal it’s…
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Are you using AI in New Business
Are you using AI in New Business If your answer is some variation of “we’re experimenting,” that time has passed. I treat AI like a Swiss Army knife strapped to my belt. Not a novelty,…
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The Next Agency Inflection: 2026’s Blueprint for Growth
The Next Agency Inflection: 2026’s Blueprint for Growth Forget “business as usual.” The world agencies once dominated is breaking. The Forrester “Predictions 2026“ already gives us a structural map: agencies must become resellers, product‐builders, embedded…
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Some Agencies Are Winning Now: How About You
Some Agencies Are Winning Now: How About You Let’s not sugarcoat it. 2025 tested every agency leader’s grit. Margins are under pressure. Marketers are in triage mode. Headcounts are leaner. Budgets are delayed. And the…
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The New Ad Agency Search
The New Ad Agency Search If you’re an ad agency owner or business development leader, now’s the time to rethink how you’re tracking and engaging in the search process. While legacy consultants hold on to…
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5 Reasons You Need a Consultant NOW
5 Reasons You Need a Consultant NOW The first half was slow. Declining agency tenure, increasing client turnover, in-housing continues, project relationships, and tighter margins put even greater pressure on the need to add, replace,…
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Does the BD Person Matter
You just fired your last BD person. You are ready to hire your first BD person. Everyone in your agency is a BD person. No one in your agency is a BD person. Agencies do…