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  • Dive into an energizing discussion on the simplicity of work attire, the nuances of office culture, and the riveting journey of climbing the corporate ladder in digital marketing. From wardrobe hacks to the intricacies of acquisitions and the essence of agency success, this episode is a treasure trove for keen minds!

    Here are a few topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.

    Sweatshirt and white polos for weeks!Why choose consistent clothing?Tactical decision-making power talk.How a chance dinner talk led to a job.Transforming from peer to president.

    Resources:

    MediauraDevNoodleThe Influence of ADHD on Entrepreneurial Tendencies (Masters in Marketing Agency episode with Andrew Aebersold

    Connect with Amelia Veron:

    LinkedIn

    Connect with our hosts:

    Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedIn

    Quotables:

    56:35 - It's 'cause I think it's so important. But you know, I always use the diner example. When you go to a restaurant that has everything under the sun on the menu, it usually means nothing is that great there. As opposed to when you go to those fine dining restaurants, and there's like three things on the menu, you know, that there's services or in this case, the food is probably a lot better per service or dish. So I think and to your point, we've talked to a few marketing agencies that their aim was to be that full service, and then they realize they're kind of diluting all the services and not providing the best service for their clients. So, you know, I think that's worth mentioning.22:03 - Amelia: And that, not to say we haven't had our fair share of disagreements, but I think the trust is built there at this point that we can disagree and get into it and then the next day be like, I'm fine. I'm over it now.
    Josh: Well that was literally gonna be kind of my next question, which is like, does that ever get frustrating or is that kind of just how it should be? 'cause you know, I think there's a lot of power when it comes, I call it like diversity and thought.33:57 - Your kind of production work doesn't really have much to do with your managerial skills. You know, I think, you have to be self-motivated. Like you have to be a problem solver and you have to just be a little tenacious. Like, I mean, stuff gets rough sometimes and you have to go home and be like, I'm gonna do it one way or the other, I'm going to do it. And sometimes people just don't have those qualities and I don't think you can make someone be that person.38:32 - I call it like Aristotle's mean, or Aristotle's, I forget, but it's this idea that everyone tends to bounce up and down. Whether it's happiness, it can go into politics, it can go into anything and people bounce. 'Cause what they do is they identify that there's an issue, maybe everyone's upset so they try to go the other way and they usually go too far and then they identify that too far and then they come back. And the more someone can kind of close that, that gap or that parabola, that tends to be the better solution. So I think that was, a really good point.42:36 - The beginning stage is mainly like, how are you doing? Are you getting the concepts like do you like it here? Do I mean frankly like, do we like you here? And so it's kind of us trying to suss out like the skills that maybe you can't interview about during that 90 days.
  • Dive deep into the insightful world of marketing and PR with our expert guest, Jen Hartmann. Discover fascinating insights on mergers, strategic networking, and innovative PR tactics like News Jacking. Packed with relatable stories and expert tips, this episode is a goldmine for agency owners looking to up their game.

    Here are a few topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.

    The art of strategic networking.Importance of community in agency growth.Innovative PR tactics that work.Hiring practices that set agencies apart.The impact of M&A on your agency.

    Resources:

    NEAT: The AgencyDevNoodleInvisible InfluenceMy First Million Podcast

    Connect with Jen Hartmann:

    LinkedIn

    Connect with our hosts:

    Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedIn

    Quotables:

    38:11 - I pay for their coffee and I ask them all about them. I do not make the conversation about me. In fact, I talk very little when I am taking somebody out to dinner or coffee. I just wanna learn all about them and what they're working on. And then what I do is I do something for them. I don't expect anything in return. I want nothing in return, in fact in that moment. But I will make an intro to somebody who I think they should meet. I will review their website or their marketing strategy, their social media, I'll give them tips, I will send them a contact of a journalist. I do something just because I think I should do something for that person and that comes back tenfold every single time. They will open up doors for me that I would not have been able to open myself. And so that has been really impactful. 28:28 - Josh: How did you guys get your first client?
    Jenn: Oh my gosh, okay. Let me think back. My network, this is still something I do a lot of, but I do a lot of networking and I go on a lot of coffee dates and dinner dates and whatever it may be. But I really leveraged my network to get our first couple of clients back in 2020 or back in 2019 really. And I still do it today. I still do a healthy amount of networking and that really helps to bring in clients. I mean of course we have a sales team and we're doing a lot of lead gen and closing deals on the phone, but like I'm still out and about having conversations with people. I've just noticed that when I meet people they, not to toot my own horn, but people like me very quickly. And when people like you, they trust you and they wanna buy from you.47:34 - And that's truly not the way to do PR in 2024. I think that worked maybe 20 years ago. But things are just different nowadays. So for example, we do a lot of news jacking, which sounds kind of wild, but essentially what it means is we're constantly looking at trends and breaking news and we're figuring out how can we latch our client onto that trend or that breaking news topic. And so we get a ton of features for our clients from doing that. So other agencies see it, they like it, they bring clients to us.20:02 - Josh: Because this is something that we've talked about a decent amount, especially if the owner was an athlete or something like that and they find a lot of value in hiring athletes. Do you see the same thing?
    Jenn: For sure. I would say that a high percentage of our employees played professional sports or competed at like the top level of their sport, whatever that might look like. And I think athletes do have certain traits, they know how to work really, really hard and they also know how to take feedback. They're very coachable. And so yes, I think athletes develop these skills that do carry over into the workplace.36:31 - So a piece of advice I would definitely give people right off the bat is start building your network before you need your network. If you need a network and you haven't built a network, it's too late. Like you, you're already starting up behind. So start building up your network years before you need them. I have always been a really great networker. I think I got it from my dad. My dad has a great network, he's a talker, he's very friendly, people like him and I think I just saw what he did growing up and I took it and I started doing that when I was in college. So any networking event they had in college, I would go any opportunity to meet CEOs or CMOs from companies around town, I would go and I would take it. I took every internship opportunity I could throughout college just for the sake of building up my network. And it honestly really paid off.
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  • Dive into the dynamic world of influencer marketing with BabbleBoxx CEO Sherri Langburt. Discover the resilience behind her story, groundbreaking moves in marketing, and the power of trusting your gut in business. This episode is a must-listen for those seeking inspiration and industry-insider knowledge.

    Here are a few topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.

    Sherri’s unique approach to getting hired.Influencer marketing: beyond the hypeStaying in your lane for success.The impact of having immigrant parents.Building communities within agencies.

    Resources:

    BabbleBoxxDevNoodle

    Connect with Sherri Langburt:

    LinkedIn

    Connect with our hosts:

    Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedIn

    Quotables:

    41:18 - Sherri: I think the cream thing was like, you could see all the stuff on your face, right?
    Josh: Not only that, but it was actually like, it was like a silly design. Like it was this, it looks like a push pop almost. And because even just the look of it was like anyone could put cream on their face, right? But it was like literally the look of the product was different, and for that reason, it ended up blowing up on TikTok. So Yeah. Yeah. TikTok is, and I'll be honest, I don't see it cooling off anytime soon. I, I see that as like it's, we're still in the ramp-up phase. I'm trying to think if there's like another example of something that took off and then didn't really go anywhere after two years. But I see TikTok shop or whatever it's called.16:28 - Josh: And I guess since you, you know, you did talk about the box, can you tell us a little bit more about BabbleBoxx and who you guys help?
    Sherri: So we have all different kinds. So we're an influencer marketing agency. I say full service because we stay in our lane. We don't offer SEO and we don't offer email marketing. We only do influencer very specific, but we do a lot with an influencer. So when you think about influencers and you say full service, people are like, that's bizarre. But you know, we do regular campaigns that are not a Boxx. So any kind of influencer activation. We do our co-branded boxes, which are our BabbleBoxx, which are these themed kits that go out to brands. So they're multi-brand collab. So right now we have one for Super Bowl in market, we're gearing up for National Nutrition Month and we bring five brands in those boxes. They go out to influencers. And then because of those kits, then brands started to come to us saying, well wait a minute, could you do custom kits? So we do custom kits. I would say, my favorite way to describe them is these hype kits.21:10 - Like we've had a lot of PR people say, could we become your in-house PR person? And I think we have to stay in our lane. And you know, it's funny, so many people come to me and say like, as I was growing this and people laughed at me when I launched this and what are you doing? And oh, now they're like, there's so much competition. There's like 30,000 ad agencies in New York, so there's a thousand influencer agencies.29:05 - Josh: And I think I shared a story last time we spoke, but how do you listen to your gut? Do you have any, do you focus on specifically, do you think it's actually just natural to you now? Like what does that look like?
    Sherri: I think that I'm by nature very intuitive and I think that for so many years people told me, like with the Weight Watchers thing, like, you're crazy. You're crazy, you're crazy. And if you have that intuition, listen to it. Don't listen to the, I'm crying to the outside voices, right? And so it's like taking the outside voices and not listening to them is I think one of the biggest steps. It's even like you'll see it on social, like, why are you listening to all the noise? Or when I started this company and people are like, there's, there's one woman who kept calling me and really might wanna come work with you, but, and she would always find a thing and it's like the noise. But I think that it's something that you just feel. 34:13 - Don't stay in your silo. Like, don't assume like so many brands, like, oh, men are not our demo. Try it, test it. Or women 50 plus are too old for us, or we need to be like with the hottest, you know, beauty people. What if maybe that's not like people want what they think they want, like it's really cool to have the hot women promote your product. Maybe that's not where your product is gonna shine, so don't stay in that silo.
  • Dive into the engaging world of Brian Mattocks as he unfolds the significance of community in business, the nuances of marketing, and the power of podcasting in this insightful episode. Discover his unique perspective on building networks, mastering communication, and why attention is the currency of connection.

    Here are a few topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.

    Community building insights.Teaching through experience.Marketing attention mechanics.Brian's podcasting journey.Referral importance in business.

    Resources:

    Podcast ChefDevNoodle

    Connect with Brian Mattocks:

    LinkedIn

    Connect with our hosts:

    Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedIn

    Quotables:

    24:25 - If you give someone attention, you've beaten the game. The trick is how to give them the right attention in the right way. And how to direct that into something that's positive and productive with what you guys have done with the profiles and with building out the amount of research you've done, you are giving attention to somebody in a even more powerful way because the attention you're giving them is information about the most important subject in their life, right? Which is them.37:36 - I had to deal with the fact that, you know, what I thought was clever and interesting wasn't effective. I had to learn that everything that you're doing in an environment like this is practice. And as practice as that experiment, you have to evolve your approach to solving those problems. And as I went through, you know, week after week, year after year, I learned what works and what doesn't in this case.45:34 - Alex Garaschenko: That's really interesting. So we're starting our community with having done 60 some episodes, so 60 plus members potentially that will be coming into this community wonder, do you think that the initiation, when we start the community of all 60 coming together by us pairing people up, maybe in a way would that, how would you do the initiation for something like that where you already have a pool of people and now you're just.
    Brian Mattocks: I wouldn't have, I wouldn't take 60, I'd take a dozen, I'd take eight and make them the founding founding members, give them their own experience and then slowly bring in the rest of the, the outliers. Make sure that your initial tribe, as it were, are folks that you believe are gonna be spark plugs in your community, folks that engage folks that care and make them your founder circle.47:02 - So, alright, so there's a couple ways to learn, right? I mean, you can talk about the learning styles, which has been debunked, but the best way to learn is from somebody else's experience, right? Because it's a force multiplier. I can go out and learn how to play piano by myself or I can watch somebody else who's learned how to play piano and get access to that, like in a video game, right? I'm a big video gamer, and so learning from other people is outrageously the strongest force multiplier you can get.49:32 - Yeah, a podcast is great. Like how big is your network gonna be when you're sitting in your office by yourself? Even if you go to the local networking events, more often than not, the folks that are showing up there aren't sweet spot folks for you. They're not either great partner relationships or not good peer relationships. More often than not, those are a collection of local folks that don't want to sit in their office anymore. I'm not suggesting that face-to-face networking is bad, but focus driven face-to-face networking is so much better where you can control, or at the very least, get access to a limited audience that's specialized. That's why the conferences usually are a much better play when it comes to the networking conversation or do it on steroids, do it with podcasting. I can specify position an organization, I can specify size of organization, I can get folks to be on a show that really, you know, you can get down to some very, very fine level of demographic detail and you can't network that sharply that powerfully locally. You're just not gonna get there.1:05:09 - The rest of it is just execution on that attention cycle. How can you give that attention in a way that is super powerful? 'cause again, the path you're on is the path to creating believers. It's lifelong, you know, partners, it's the kind of relationship that folks would give up last in the event that they had to give up a relationship because you made them feel great because you gave them attention in ways that they couldn't get any other way. So I would just say lean into that.
  • Dive deep into the world of in-house marketing agencies with expert Kasper Sierslev, Chief Commercial & Creative Officer at Zite. Kasper unveils the intricacies of creativity and process-driven success. Explore his unique model that combines efficiency with innovation and learn the art of churning out impactful ideas while fostering a thriving workforce community. It's an episode brimming with insider tips that bridge the gap between abstract creativity and tangible business outcomes, a true treat for the marketing-minded!

    Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.

    The art of bad ideas vs. great outcomes.Building communities within in-house teams.External creatives enrich in-house ideas.Two-day co-creation sprints with experts.Process and creativity walk hand-in-hand.

    Resources:

    ZiteDevNoodleWin-Win-House

    Connect with Kasper Sierslev:

    LinkedIn

    Connect with our hosts:

    Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedIn

    Quotables:

    19:42 - What are this relatable truth that you and I know, but we never really talk about it. So I really like that. And I think it's for that part. I mean, I write a lot of these things down in my notebook or on my phone when whenever I notice weird things say, oh, maybe I could use this at something at some point. And I look it up whenever I have to come up with an idea.20:38 - I mean, for the first, I don't know, 20, 15 years of my career, it was really scary showing your bad ideas and telling them it was like taking all your clothes off and just say, ah, here I am, look at me. But it actually, it's the best, best advice I could give anyone is just share all your bad ideas. Just lay them out there and it will at one point, if you keep going, inspire the person you're sitting next to come up with something slightly better.26:04 - Sometimes we use AI to just spark something, something you can put up the walls. I mean, it's literally we put things on the wall, we [use] very old fashioned white paper black ink and so on. So if you can draw it badly and you can write it with an ink marker on a piece of paper and people understand it, then I'm sure it will work whenever you bring in photographers or 3D artists or whatever.28:19 - I don't think inspiration is for amateurs at all. I think inspiration is really important. You have to visit places you haven't been before. Look at, I mean, I love going to a thousand Europe or Japan or something, and look at the advertising, look at the art, look at the streets and everything. Read magazines I haven't read before, hear new music, etc. Not necessarily to do something now it's just to fill up, as you say, you know, fill up all the brains with weird things and at one point you connect them. Creativity is really, you know, connecting.42:10 - I'm not scared of the gut feeling, but I also know that if I have to sell it in afterwards, I have to do the rational thing. I was doing a lot of car advertising couple of years back and we always had like this, you don't buy a car for the meth or the specs, you buy it for how it looks or how it feels in the curves or something like that. But you need to have that kind of, we call it the pop argument when you are explaining it to your friends at the pop or your wife. You say, oh, but it really goes really fast on the mileage or it's really efficient or it's safe or something like that. But it's a feeling that you buy that makes you buy the car.
  • From under-the-weather resilience to big wins in higher education marketing, this episode is a mishmash of grit, strategy, and insider tricks. Discover how one agency CEO capitalized on specific niches and key partnerships to dominate the community college marketing scene—all while fighting off the remnants of a COVID cough. Tune in for stories and strategies that inspire!

    Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.

    Battling COVID while still on the job. Strategic shifts that spike agency wins.The intricacies of higher education marketing.Turn rejections into productive fuel.Insights on hiring the right agency talent.

    Resources:

    Graduate CommunicationsDevNoodle2BobsBuild a Better Agency

    Connect with Cheryl Broom:

    LinkedIn

    Connect with our hosts:

    Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedIn

    Quotables:

    8:50 - She was in the back of the room standing and she was crying, crying. She was crying for me because she felt so bad that I'd finally, you know, gotten the nerve to get up and do this thing. And I had forgotten. And then I looked in the beginning in the front of the audience at the kids sitting on the floor. And this one really cool sixth grade girl looked up at me and it was like something out of an eighties movie. And she said, you can do it.16:18 - I'm very much motivated by challenge rather than discouraged by it. And I think that's interesting like the MiraCosta example that the college, I mean women have been putting up with this for years. I mean, every woman at every community college for the last 50 years had been told that they didn't get maternity leave and they couldn't use their sick time past, you know, four to six weeks.22:45 - Like I didn't set out to be like, I'm gonna destroy you. It was more like like I better get going if I'm gonna survive. It was like a fire under me to fight back to pro to protect myself and my family rather than to undermine someone.25:10 - Yeah, we have, so we have a really creative team and we have people who are musicians, professional authors who, huge sports fans, even athletes. And I think that people that have that drive in their life just bring a lot of enthusiasm and challenge to the workplace. So we like to hire people who are outgoing and who have passion 'cause they bring that passion and it's makes work more interesting.45:25 - I think being a good listener, I hear a lot of problems when I come in. When our agency comes in after failed relationships with other agencies, I'll always ask what, why did your last agency not work out for you? And usually it's because they didn't take the time to listen and to find out what the true problem was. They just jumped right into solutions. And now even in my scopes of work that I write, I usually put blocks of time to strategy rather than just jumping straight to a solution.
  • Dive into the riveting journey of Cassandra Bailey, as she navigates partnerships, acquisitions, and the stimulating challenges of running a successful PR agency. Uncover her passion for fostering community, her robust marketing approach, and how she capitalizes on future trends. Get ready for a trove of insights that will inspire both budding and seasoned marketers!

    Here are a few topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.

    Discussing the future of digital communications.How to maintain a "clean digital footprint".Importance of community and EO networks.Cass shares acquisition and business operation insights.Center of Influence & Referral Network strategies.

    Resources:

    Slice CommunicationsDevNoodle

    Connect with Cassandra Bailey:

    LinkedIn

    Connect with our hosts:

    Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedIn

    Quotables:

    1:23 - I think a lot of times we get so fixated on the here and now of what does that social post say or what's in that press release? Is it AP style? Are we using an Oxford comma that like we lose sight of the fact that we have tremendous influence in the world. In a lot of cases we direct or advise CEOs on what to say and how to say it. We influence how nonprofits talk about their mission or their vision or their values. Like there really is a lot that we have to add to the world of the community and that is a superpower that we should take seriously and be intentional about.8:24 -I think we would have, and I should have early on, clearly defined our roles in the company, understood our swim lanes. I think we should have allocated equity in the business based on what each of us had to bring to the table. That was an article that I read after I bought the company back that like, that's a common mistake that a lot of founders, especially friend founders start that. That they start with is that you just go in 50-50, oh, we're just gonna be 50-50. Whereas one partner might bring a certain skillset and another partner might bring a different skillset. And really 50-50 probably isn't the way that most relationships should be when they start as friends and then become businesses. that's just a default that actually isn't intentional or thoughtful and creates a lot of resentment from the very beginning. 13:51 - That became a real big point of conflict in terms of how we were doing cashflow management and cash management. But neither one of us knew how to talk about it as cash management. And so that put us in a really uncomfortable and bad place around money early on.28:57 - The company lost so much value and I didn't even know it. Like we weren't getting, so they took over all of our financial operations, our HR operations, which was also very attractive, right? We talked earlier about how like I had no business operations expertise and really no interest in business operations. So like they were gonna give us these platforms and this incredible technology that we could use to grow. We didn't see like bank statements or financial reports and is or like anything for months and months. 45:10 - Oh my gosh. It's a whole thing about known and unknown and self-discovery and recognizing your blind spots, right? The clearing tool, the clearing tool has been an amazing thing that has changed trust and relationship in my agency. It is like six parts. It's amazing. I love it. It's the way to deal with conflict.
  • Dive deep into the art of agency growth, team culture, and strategic collaboration in this powerhouse episode featuring Skyler Reeves. Get insider knowledge on honing operations, the importance of philosophy in business, and harnessing community for creating enterprise value. Plus, tips on positioning your agency in a crowded market. Don't miss these impactful insights that can reshape your agency's future!

    Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.

    Growth through internal education.Effective client expectation management.Collaborating with other agencies. Building enterprise value.The importance of conversion rate optimization.

    Resources:

    Ardent GrowthDevNoodle

    Connect with Skyler Reeves:

    LinkedIn

    Connect with our hosts:

    Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedIn

    Quotables:

    4:19 - I think it's, you know, when you're running a business, there's definitely some merit to the who not how line of thinking, I need to do it more myself. Frankly, I think if you know that you're the type of person who does like to learn or who does like to challenge themselves, I think that's where the real benefit comes from. So there's a certain, you know, when we give ourselves these self-limiting beliefs of I can't do something or I'm not capable of something that's very different from, I don't want to do something and it's the things that you think you can't do that I think are worth exploring and trying to get down to the core and really asking yourself, why do you think that way? At what point in your life did you start telling yourself that?8:57 - I think it probably comes, a lot of it has to do with how you're looking at both the micro and the macro simultaneously sometimes. So in the micro, I don't think about the macro and I just think about what's the small win. But when I do feel like I'm kind of hitting against a wall, like whether I'm trying to, I mean in the world of software development, it's like a lot of times you're solving novel problems unless you're just on a team somewhere just banging out code for somebody. But in that world of solving novel problems, it's you're always gonna hit a brick wall at some point and there's always something that goes wrong. You gotta troubleshoot, you gotta figure out, you don't even know how to approach the problem. And I think what helps me push through there is the experience of, I look back and I say, things may be hard, but if I just start to calculate up the progress that I've made over a year, you start to realize what that golf looks like.41:56 - Once things start to get boring, don't change. If it's making you money and it's consistent, just start hiring people to run your company at that point and just let it make money and you go solve whatever novel problems you want to on the side, but just let that thing start printing you money at that point. 'cause that's when you know you've got something. 29:32 - Where you give a customer something to review like a piece of content and tell 'em to edit it. Most customers are not at trained editors, right? They're like, there's a way to edit content, there's different stages of editing, different types of editing. You have to kind of know what the writer's looking for, et cetera. Most writers or most customers are not trained editors, but everyone thinks that they are just like everyone thinks that they can write when half the time what they're really doing is just hitting keys on a keyboard. And so what happens is you ask 'em to edit it and in their mind think I have to provide feedback here, right? Like I have to, I have to do something, I have to, I don't know if it's like, I need to assert control or I need to assert my knowledge or what, right? So getting on a call with them, streamline that a ton because we can say, we're not here to talk about grammar.34:34 - So it's like, look at the behavior and change the behavior. Like ask yourself like, what's the root cause here? How do I change it? And again, I think a big part of it's just fear. It's fear of telling the clients either a no or yes, but, they really don't care for the most part. Again, they just wanna know, they want the thing done. And if it's something that's like really urgent, okay, they'll let you know, they'll say, I really need this like this week, is there any way we can expedite this? And then there's your chance to make more margin just like sure, you know, 200% the cost, right? And if it's really that urgent, they'll pay it.
  • Dive into a riveting journey with Grant McKinstrie, from learning SEO on the fly to becoming CEO, and discover the team-building magic behind the digital position. Fuelled by video games, trust, and meticulous processes, this episode unpacks the strategies that transform ordinary groups into extraordinary marketing teams.

    Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.

    Trust as a team-building foundation.Video games' role in company culture.The art of mastering time management.The growing impact of AI on marketing.The synergy of PPC and SEO for success.

    Resources:

    Digital PositionDevNoodleThe YardThe Game

    Connect with Grant McKinstrie:

    LinkedIn

    Connect with our hosts:

    Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedIn

    Quotables:

    4:56 - I mean, playing like Call of Duty and like League of Legends all these years. And also just like kind of reaching that final boss aspect of you just, you build yourself up throughout this entire time. You've learned so many different things. Oh, dark Souls is another one to get into it where it's like you just keep getting beaten down all the time. You die hundreds of times until you really like, understand all of your mistakes all the time. You make a bunch of mistakes throughout the entire period of time. And you just build up to this final outcome of like, we finally conquered the mountain, the demon, whatever it might be. And yeah, it's just like, it's the satisfaction of really like reaching an end result after just like busting your ass and like really working hard through it. 'Cause yeah, it's really easy to say that like video games are a fun thing, but there's like so many positive fundamental like building blocks that you can take out of it that you can just apply anywhere else too.11:20 - I was like, holy crap. Like this is just working out all in my favor and how could this possibly go wrong? And they liked me in the interview they're like, do you know anything about SEO? I was like, I know nothing about SEO, I have no idea what this is. And they're just like, come back next week, tell us what you learned. Go and read up as much about SEOs you possibly can and tell us what you learned coming back a week later. It's like, okay. And so I take an unbelievable amount of notes, I bring my notebook into the interview and they just said, we're really impressed that you even brought in all of your notes here. 15:04 -15:04 - It was month to month to month to month constantly rinsing and repeating just how to do SEO in different forms. And I was like, I feel like I could be applying so much more knowledge and so much more value here. And that was when I approached the co-owners at the time and I was like, “Hey, I'm getting a little burnt out of SEO, I'd like to try something else”. And they're like, “Hey, this is perfect timing.” We are just looking to do like a pivot to like digital position 2.0. And they were like, “Hey, would you have any interest in trying PPC?” and I was like, "Absolutely!".21:24 - I think is always the biggest part of trying to establish a process is who is responsible for everything at every step of the way too so that nobody is ever confused or nothing gets left undone because somebody assumes that somebody else is going to take care of it. So it was, as I was working through that, I started to knock out a bunch of other process client offboarding, employee onboarding, employee offboarding, employee training, pretty much everything that just sets a foundation of like where the business is going to be able to succeed from. 35:51 - I think the, yeah, the trust element is so big and I don't know, I think it's, I think a lot of it does come from who is making the hiring decision to, like, the hiring is the biggest part of it is one, initially understanding and defining like who is that right fit to bring into the company, which we've certainly had some misses in the past and ultimately like we've, we've lost a few people because of that, but no one's gonna be perfect at hiring to begin with.
  • Dive into this thrilling chat with Valerie Tyson, where urgency meets strategy in the fast-paced world of marketing. With candid tales of brushing shoulders with icons and insights into building a cult-like agency culture, this episode unpacks game-changing tips for marking your territory in the marketing arena.

    Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.

    The Power of PreparationBuilding a 'Solve City' CulturePioneering a Team of Point GuardsEmbracing the "Mamba Mentality"Leveraging a Neutral Mindset

    Resources:

    UnrivaledDevNoodle

    Connect with Valerie Tyson:

    LinkedIn

    Connect with our hosts:

    Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedIn

    Quotables:

    6:16 - I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. But when you are on a team, your teammates don't let you fail because everyone wants to win. And so you coach up the weakest link. So I look, when I built my agency, I wanted to do something different than other agencies were doing. And you can't teach someone how to be a good teammate, but if they have the drive and it's also hard to teach effort, like that's almost impossible to teach.8:33 - You don't have to be sick to get better. Everyone always thinks to be, well you have to be sick. And so I think that's not a Kobe quote. We work with a kind of a neutral mindset company and I was listening to one of their podcasts this week and they talked about, like, their quote was like, hey, and it was like really tongue in cheek, like, you don't have to be sick to get better. And I think that's just so like healthy. Like I, I don't, I don't, I wake up every day and I'm like, how can I get better? It used to be when I had like, you know, not such a neutral mindset, I was like, how am I less bad today? How do I make things less bad today? Which is a terrible attitude, but once you're like, how do I get better?11:57 - So like, even if there's a challenge or someone think like someone took like in power says you can't do something, like I still think it's possible. So if someone tells you you can't, like, what do you mean you can't? Like, I mean obviously you can't like break into someone's house. Like I'm not talking about that. So no one do that who's listening to this. But you know, if it's something that you think is possible and you have a solution for it, like lay out your plan and test it and fail fast and often and figure it out. But I think that you can always challenge people when they tell you it's now too.20:03 I don't get it right all the time. I mean, I probably get it right wrong more than I do, right? But I know now, like when you talked about like, hey, you know, like benchmarking and being down, like I know when I'm in it, like everyone gets in it, right? You're like, oh, I'm not enough or can I do more episodes of a podcast? Can I win more clients? Like whatever it might be. But like it's enough to know that it's happening and you're like, wait, like those are good problems to have.29:45 - Everyone's not for everyone forever. And that's okay. Everyone's gotta go and explore and do everything they want. Maybe they found something one day, they probably come here and question that after that. But you know, to create like that initial commitment, like run through walls for me while you're here, until you don't want to anymore or there's something else and then great like then it's not, you know, it used to be people were like afraid about like, oh I wanna leave or I might wanna do this or can I try something else in the office? I feel like we're a little bit more fluid that we can talk about those things and those conversations are much more open.
  • Cash Miller, the Founder and CEO of Titan Digital, shares his inspiring journey from military service to becoming a successful agency owner. Despite starting his agency while deployed in Iraq, Cash self-taught SEO and utilized his military experience to shape his business and leadership skills. The episode explores the transformative experiences of veterans in the military and the dynamics of change in the workplace. It also emphasizes the importance of communication, exploration, and continuous learning in overcoming challenges, retaining clients, and driving agency growth. Additionally, Cash recommends captivating books like "Shoe Dog" and the podcast "Business Wars" for valuable business insights presented in an entertaining manner.

    Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.

    Cash Miller self-taught SEO and grew his website traffic by collaborating with business coaches and using their content.Cash's first true client was a mergers and acquisitions company, and he ran their Google ads while still in Afghanistan.Transitioning from a veteran community to a group of fresh recruits brings about a significant change in experience and skill levels.The bigger an agency gets, the more challenging it becomes to maintain consistent communication, making it important to establish communication processes early on.Choosing a location for your agency should consider factors like political stability and the potential for disruption.Each episode of "Business Wars" consists of multiple stories of competing businesses.It uses voiceover actors and scenes to create a fictionalized yet informative narrative.

    Resources:

    Titan DigitalDevNoodle

    Connect with Cash Miller:

    LinkedIn

    Connect with our hosts:

    Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedIn

    Quotables:

    2:07 - So I ended up building my first website and I wrote a bunch of content, you know, like a hundred articles on, everything from accounting to marketing to management as you know. But eventually I got to the point where I was like, I don't wanna keep writing all this content and I also need traffic. You know, so how do I get traffic? 17:01- I don't think business owners should worry about everybody's opinions, when it comes to your own staff, take it as input. But you know, if you think it's the right thing to do, then you're gonna want to do that. And if people disagree with it, they'll leave up their own accord.22:11 - My team was kind of pushing a little bit like, yeah, so let's put together a plan. And I'm in the background going, no, not this guy. This is not a, this is not a good fit for us. And I was getting flashbacks of some previous clients that were just really difficult. And I said, look, this guy's a referral. We need to talk to the source that referred. And sure enough, that guy says, yeah, this guy's really high maintenance. I'm like, no, we'll take a pass on this. And so that's one of the things that you help other business owners, it's like, what are some of the red flags? So that kind of a shared experience. We've all dealt with it. Everybody, you know, everybody's had that bad client experience. And then you also have things, because as business owners you have a lot in common.26:28 - The constant in the agency world is “I have too much work. Not enough people.” If you talk to the employees, that's what they're always going to say. They're like, you signed this next project, we don't have enough time for it or something. And so how do you, so communication is always one of those things, except for the biggest clients, it always gets put on the back burner, you know, 'cause it still takes time to write an email. And even if you have account managers, but they're busy onboarding new accounts, people forget the easiest [stuff] you wouldn't have to onboard as many new accounts if you took care of the ones you had. 'cause you would have less churn. 43:29 - I could see warning signs all over the place that this was not gonna be a good relationship. And so I have to ignore those dollar signs. And if you do that, you know, I say you can grow your business and, but I do think I've seen some agencies that are so niche down that they're gonna struggle to grow. They're too specific, always remember if you're in business, did you create for yourself a job or a company?
  • In this episode, Henry McIntosh explores the significance of agency partnerships and how they can mutually benefit both parties. They emphasize the importance of agencies referring to and showcasing each other's strengths, fostering a supportive community. They also touch on the potential for monetizing these partnerships and keeping introducers engaged through incentives. With a unique approach to positioning and industry-agnosticism, collaborations can be a powerful tool in boosting thought leadership and market traction.

    Henry McIntosh is a marketing strategist and Director at Twenty One Twelve Marketing, specializing in creating predictable lead-generation systems for high-ticket businesses. With a knack for reinvigorating marketing strategies and reaching even the most elusive markets, Henry's agency has helped a diverse range of businesses scale quickly. He's also the co-founder of GLOW Festivals, bringing Alpine-themed entertainment to winter music festivals.

    Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency:

    Proposing commercial collaborations as a strategic approach to business growthPositioning as a lead gen agency with a focus on partnering with complementary businessesLeveraging know, like, and trust to extend reach and drive resultsReflecting on successful case studies to determine the most effective positioning strategyOffering industry-agnostic collaboration opportunities to a wide range of businessesFinding the right incentives is crucial for keeping introducers engaged.The power of natural, conversational episodes can result in valuable insights and content.

    Resources:

    Twenty One Twelve MarketingDevNoodlePodcast Chef

    Connect with Henry McIntosh:

    LinkedIn

    Connect with our hosts:

    Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedIn

    Quotables:

    7:13 - “We break collaborations down into three segments. So the kind of thing you're talking about, which we'll be doing is what we call a value exchange. So, it is a win-win. So although I'm your target market, I'm winning because my personal brand is getting further out there. I might, you know, be heard by a marketing director who wants to work with us, right? For you guys leveraging me, I have a lot of agencies in my own network. So when the podcast episode comes out, I'm going to share it. So you are leveraging my trust within that network. So we call it value exchange, we call it co-created content.”12:51 - “So we started off as creative collaborations and what we realized was: it was positioning us against creative agencies and, weirdly, although we can get super creative and we can bring that in, why clients like working with us is because we look at the… we get involved in their business, right? It's like, well how much margin can you actually afford to give away? You know, okay, we're only going to pay commissions on the first piece of business done. So we've got to look at customer lifetime value within that. But we get, we become quite close to a lot of our clients because they rely so heavily on us because we're advising them on, you know, that business development rather than it just being straight up marketing focus.”06:09 - “So the way we position our podcast is there's a company we work with, Podcast Chef, they produce our podcast, they help us with some of the outreach and their value prop, which we bought into was that you can create a podcast for your network of best clients essentially, which for us is marketing agencies. We're a white labeled development partner for marketing agencies. And so that's exactly is what we did. As we reach out to marketing agency owners, we talk to them, we don't always pitch them, but if there's a need, it becomes a good resource for us.”03:27 - “One of the lessons that he said, if you want to really grow as a business or as a business person, you need to go and talk with other people outside of your business. Like go and talk with like the artists and go talk with the engineers or whoever and that's how you're really going to grow.”16:56 - Alex: “I told her about the show, and she said, oh, so you interview marketing agencies. She's like, we are going to, we're going to need a lot of help as I create the strategy for them, we're going to need people to implement. She's like, could you make introductions? I was like, I have a list of every single marketing agency we've interviewed, every service that they do. Let me know when you're ready. And so, yeah.”
    Henry: “Yeah. That's cool. That's really cool. It, it is a major resource right. To have that at your fingertips as well. And you know, if you were our client, we'd probably be saying that there are probably ways you can monetize that as well. Like whether you look at it as we, you know, got a big list, but are they going to refer back to you? Right? So if they're not, do you make it a commission? So we'll introduce you but we'll take 10% of the first year's earnings Right? Or something like that.”
  • In this episode, Henry McIntosh, the Director at Twenty One Twelve Marketing, shares valuable insights on the community side of marketing. He discusses the importance of building a strong community and the benefits of community collaboration for business growth. Henry also highlights the significance of partnerships and collaborations in marketing strategies, citing real-life case studies. Additionally, he emphasizes the need for personalization and genuine connections when networking, offering tips on building meaningful professional relationships.

    Henry McIntosh is a marketing strategist and Director at Twenty One Twelve Marketing, specializing in creating predictable lead-generation systems for high-ticket businesses. With a knack for reinvigorating marketing strategies and reaching even the most elusive markets, Henry's agency has helped a diverse range of businesses scale quickly. He's also the co-founder of GLOW Festivals, bringing Alpine-themed entertainment to winter music festivals.

    Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency:

    Selling branded shot glasses to college halls as a creative business venture.Referrals and reciprocation lead to the right projects and successful execution.A 30-page white paper and cold outreach to competitors resulted in conversations and increased sales by 80%.Creating a balanced give-and-take within a community fosters meaningful relationships.Collaboration and partnerships with other agencies can lead to mutual benefits.

    Resources:

    Twenty One Twelve MarketingDevNoodleThe Diary of a CEOThe Hard Things About Hard Things

    Connect with Henry McIntosh:

    LinkedIn

    Connect with our hosts:

    Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedIn

    Quotables:

    19:35 - “When you're younger you think every business is kind of you're going direct to consumer. And you're so focused on the consumer, especially when you have a product like that. And what we realized was it was so much easier to find the right individual, hit them with the right message at the right time, which included a lot of benefits to them. Because they've got this budget to spend and they don't really know what to put in these packs.”26:55 - “And what we realized was every single case study we had, there was an element of partnership marketing a really strong element. So I kind of looked at that and felt really, really stupid when it kind of hit me slap in the face and I turned to my team and I was like, we're rebranding to the commercial collaborations agency. And they were like “that sounds a bit impulsive”. I wanted to do it instantly. As soon as I saw it, I was like “This is it. This is who we are, this is our point of difference”.”30:30 - “There's that Richard Branson thing of never saying no, just figuring out how to do it, which actually is just really dangerous advice in marketing because it takes you years to figure it out and then it's changed, but it kind of encourages you then to refer. And what happens when you start referring really openly and being really generous with it is people start to reciprocate and people start to give you leads back which are right for you. And when you get the right projects and you have the processes in place to execute for them, that's when things start to fall into place, really.”37:00 - “Our client wins because they generate referrals at scale that don't waste their small teams time because they're coming from highly educated referrals who understand what quality lead looks like to them, and the trust is already built. So they can convert. So that's kind of the value exchange and we've got some other examples of that where we've generated enterprise-level leads by actually partnering one of our clients with their own clients to create content.”01:02:45 - “What we focus on with our clients is becoming trusted advisors to them. And sometimes that means that detriment to ourselves. So we have a rule here that if we're upselling to a client, do we genuinely believe they need what we're selling to them? And if they don't, don't bother selling it because a lot of our clients we've worked with five years now, we have a really good relationship with the founder or the owner. And I don't want to jeopardize that for a quick buck.”
  • Amy Winner, Co-Founder & Head of Strategy and Development of Wheels Up Collective shares her inspiring journey from starting a pony grooming business at a young age to building a thriving boutique marketing agency. She discusses the importance of perseverance and hiring former athletes, while also sharing the story behind the formation of Wheels Up Collective. Amy highlights the significance of networking, referrals, and building strong relationships in the B2B marketing industry. Additionally, she explores the impact of having a tight marketing budget and the shift toward measurable impact. Amy also emphasizes the power of creating a virtual work environment with flexible hours, promoting mental health, and utilizing user-generated content for community building. Overall, this episode offers valuable insights for success in the marketing industry.

    Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.

    Wheels Up Collective was born during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on helping companies transition to a digital-forward strategy.Lean budgets force marketers to be more prescriptive and strategic.Rigor and accountability are necessary to avoid wasting money.Foster strong relationships through one-on-one interactions and build trust with your team members.Incorporate user-generated content to expand the reach of your community and share success stories.Focus on your strengths and partner with other agencies to provide a comprehensive service.Stay connected with clients even when referring business to others to maintain a strong network.

    Resources:

    Wheels Up CollectiveDevNoodleHard Fork Podcast

    Connect with Amy Winner:

    LinkedIn

    Connect with our hosts:

    Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedIn


    Quotables:

    00:47 - Well, you know, like every little girl when she's four or five wants a pony. And I was one of the brats who got one. I have horses in my blood. It's what keeps me working. So I can play at the barn, but yeah, I started grooming my own horses when I was young because I was a barn rat and wanted to do it myself. And, you know my parents said, if you wanna do this sport, it's expensive, you gotta figure out how to pay for it. And so I started hustling the other people at the barn and doing some work for them and built up quite the clientele base and ultimately ended up making enough money to put a down payment on my first house when I was, I think 25. So it was quite lucrative.7:10 - Nobody really knew what Zoom was or the general public didn't know what Zoom was before the pandemic. So there was just this huge gap of talent out there to help companies adopt a more digital forward footprint or strategy. We actually had people reaching out to us that colleagues from Seattle saying, “Hey, can you help with this? Can you help with this?” And the next thing you know we got the gang back together. 28:54 - It's so addictive. Which one of us wouldn't admit that like at two o'clock in the morning we're scrolling doom scrolling through like TikTok because the algorithm has it figured out, you know? I think especially in industries where you wouldn't think TikTok would be a hit. Like we've had clients use it and it's a small slice, it's a small slice of people, but if you reach the right people, it's not that expensive to do. We actually have a TikTok celebrity on the Wheels Up team. She's like an accidental TikTok celebrity. She ended up like a million followers without trying.33:23 - I think you need to know what you're good at. I think like, especially in the early days, it's really easy to want to get like any business that you can, and I get it like you just need to get revenue through the door, but the wrong fit is gonna slow you down and it's gonna waste your time and it's gonna, you know, it's the opportunity cost of the, of the jobs that you missed and the opportunity cost of time that you didn't spend pitching and building the right relationships. 34:32 - When I think about engagements that didn't work well, that's usually what happened. The expectation setting was not appropriate. You know, we didn't do a good enough job setting expectations and saying, no, we don't want this work when they pushed back or they were a little too early stage. So I would say know exactly who you are, sit down, write it down, write your messaging and positioning. It's so hard to do. It's so hard to do, but it's so hard to walk away from business.
  • In this episode, Jack Monson, CEO at Brand J and host of Social Geek Podcast, shares the importance of diversity in personal relationships and agency teams. Diversity leads to creativity, growth, and better client solutions. It also digs into the role of brand ambassador and highlights the need for healthy and vigorous brand discussions including pitching, debating, and resolving issues for the benefit of the brand. Additionally, the importance of networking and building relationships in business is emphasized, along with insights on franchise marketing strategies for business success.

    Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast:

    Involving the whole team in different aspects of the business promotes skill development and interests.Brand ambassadors must excel in debating and pitching to successfully represent a brand.Radio and television professionals possess skills that easily translate into digital marketing and social media.New taco places like Barrio Queen provide an opportunity for easier start-up and customization.The rise in interest in owning businesses is fueled by people wanting to escape traditional corporate jobs.Connecting with people who may not be able to help you now can lead to mutual benefits in the future.The evolution of the podcast can create unexpected opportunities, such as forming a community.

    Resources:

    Brand JDevNoodleSocial Geek

    Connect with Jack Monson:

    LinkedIn

    Connect with our hosts:

    Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedIn

    Quotables:

    16:58 - I always say this, anybody who wrote TV or radio commercials in 15 or 32nd intervals is awesome at digital marketing and social media because it's about taking this big thing, this story that the client wants to put every word in the dictionary in there and make it, you know, an hour long. And it's like, okay, how do we boil that down to 15 seconds? Right? And that to me is what digital marketing and storytelling in social media is right now, is taking this big story, boiling it down to a headline and a little bit of information to keep them engaged.06:07 - I think in the marketing agency world, in lots of industries, we've got a lot of people who are, the analogy I always use is selling cars, but they don't know how to drive, right? And if you're going to be out there promoting a marketing agency and promoting these clients, you might wanna know how to, how a website works fundamentally, right? You might want to know what it's like to come up with a 600 word blog, right? You might want to show yourself on some videos.26:26 - I think that's the interesting part to me that all of the people out there who are interested in owning their own business, they all have different reasons for wanting to do so. They all have different, you know, sort of levels of investment. They all have different backgrounds. You know, nobody, nobody grows up saying, someday I'm going to invest in a Taco franchise. Right? You know, most people are coming from another part of their life and they're like, now I want to own my own thing. And I think that's where this entire industry has really skyrocketed in the past few years. 44:53 - I think, biggest thing that some agencies get wrong is they're not focused on doing 1, 2, 3, or four things really well. They're trying to do 75 things and nobody does 75 things well. Right? So find the things that you're really good at, focus on that, and then maybe partner with up with some other agencies, to help with the other things.36:44- The secret to networking is networking when you don't need to, right? Too many people will want to network with you when they need something, right? When they're looking for a new job or they want to be a guest on your podcast. I get that all the time. And it's like, if you would've wanted to build that relationship up with me a year or two ago, I could help you a lot more, right? But the time to start networking isn't when you've made a decision to move on. It's to start early.
  • In this episode, Lindsay Miller, CEO of Content Journey, emphasizes the importance of mental health and addresses the growing openness towards it. She also talks about her agency's unique approach and managing client expectations. This episode delves into building a successful marketing agency, including strategies for gaining clients, scaling at their own pace, and creating a healthy team culture. The significance of owning up to mistakes, providing solutions to clients, and collaborating with other agencies is also explored. Lastly, Lindsay and the hosts share insights on community building, podcasting, and working with marketing agencies, emphasizing the value of connecting with others and embracing public visibility.

    Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast:

    • Building a strong network and leveraging local events helped the agency gain clients quickly.

    • Slow growth and prioritizing work-life balance were key factors in the agency's success.

    • Collaboration with other marketing agencies can lead to mutually beneficial partnerships.

    • Building in public allows for transparency, engagement, and the creation of loyal supporters.

    Resources:

    Content JourneyDevNoodlePatrick LencioniMy Marketing Assistant

    Connect with Lindsay Miller:

    LinkedIn

    Connect with our hosts:

    Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedIn

    Quotables:

    25:18 - Our mistakes tend to be very visible in marketing, which is also like a little side note to that, it's okay to make mistakes, and if we don't have clients that can forgive us for not being a hundred percent, a hundred percent of the time and they don't deserve our work and they don't deserve our time and attention.14:51 - Well we're a very much “eat your own dog food” kinda company. We also aren't looking to scale to a gazillion dollars. So I think that's two pieces, right, is I know we want slow growth, we don't want fast growth. And I also know like when too much is too much because I remember I don't wanna miss those birthdays.20:25 - I think that in order to be successful, no matter your industry, you just have to always be innovating and you always have to be like looking at the next thing. And so we're talking about it. I hate mentioning it, I get annoyed every time, but we're all talking about AI. But you know, it's been around machine learning, it's been around for a really, really long time and we forget those pieces. But I do think like we were using AI inside of content journey two years ago, so like barely baby little business, and people were already talking about it to speed up our processes.1:21 - I think it's a pendulum swing for years of, I don't know, feeling like if we were struggling with our mental health or we weren't bouncing back from something that happened in our lives, that we were messed up or something was wrong with us. Right? And so I think that our culture entirely is kind of going the opposite way, which is wonderful. We all get to talk about it more and support each other at work and home and in our personal relationships. 28:18 - I like having fun and I like helping other people succeed too. I think that this world is vast and there's so much business to be had, no matter the industries we focus on or the work that we do. And you know, all tides lift the boats right kind of thing. And so I work with people that are competitive to me. I work with auxiliary services, I do all of that. If we align in goals and values and can trust each other to do great work for the clients at the end of the day, there's a lot of ways I'll work with people.
  • In this podcast episode, we chat with Andy Halko, CEO of Insivia. He discusses the value of coding in his career and his vision of democratizing strategic planning through AI integration. Andy also emphasizes the role of AI in removing bias and extracting valuable insights for marketing strategies. We discuss the challenges of "shiny key syndrome" in building a successful business and finding the right team members.

    Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast:

    Andy's coding projects include an AI-integrated platform for strategic planning and a series of micro products.By combining AI with methodologies and structures, Andy aims to democratize strategic planning.Identifying personal strengths and weaknesses helps in finding the right team members.Recognizing that thinking one knows everything is a huge mistake in sales and marketing.Building partnerships with other agencies can be beneficial, especially when they complement each other's strengths.Hiring individuals with a passion for execution and a willingness to get involved in day-to-day tasks is valuable.

    Resources:

    InsiviaDevNoodleThe E-MythEOS - Entrepreneurial Operating System for Businesses

    Connect with Andy Halko:

    LinkedIn

    Connect with our hosts:

    Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedIn

    Quotables:

    10:53 - I've always talked about like bias and you go into a company and you talk to their salesperson that's been there 15 years and they're gonna tell you, this is how our clients think. Your sample size is only the people you've talked to. AI ignores that. We come in and do personas and we gather information from AI and it's using a wide range of different sources and data and all of a sudden you take it from, you know, the sales guy that comes in and says, I know our customers better than anybody else in the world and here's what they think and here's what you should do an ad about. And we know we're all sitting there going, oh yeah, okay, whatever. 22:02 - “I've said for years the, you know, another effect, the Wiley Coyote effect of like, you see those cartoons and he runs off the cliff into the air and he's going until he looks down and realizes there's no ground beneath him. You know? And I think there's a little bit of that in every entrepreneur, but I definitely think it's strong in me of like, “just go forward and as long as you're moving forward and you don't look down, like you are not gonna fail.”24:02 - “It's funny when I look at websites and designs, I try and like put myself in a bit of a childlike mentality of “I don't get it.” you know, that kid that keeps asking why, why, why? From a standpoint of “that's how people are.” They're, even if they're super smart when they're looking at stuff, they're looking at it with half their brain, you know, and they're not paying attention, they're not reading fully. I feel like you have to remove that bias of [I think] people care about this or I know so much about it.”14:58 - “If you're a great designer and you decide that you want to open a design agency, if you think that you're gonna be designing, you better either find somebody else to lead the company; or you better change your whole like, personality and outlook. I kind of had to hit that point at one point where it's like going from that executor programmer to being able to go do speaking engagements and networking events and sales and all that stuff to really actually turn it into something.”25:46 - “We actually have some with different agencies where they have strengths, you know, especially ones that are stronger in design. But we've got a little bit more of the technology and programming chops behind us. I mean, I think a lot of agencies out there, they've got their specialty. I think sometimes making sure that you realize what your specialty is and being able to admit like, I need to bring somebody else in for this or not is, is probably the biggest barrier to get over. But when you do, you can find really great relationships out there.”
  • In this engaging episode, discover the journey of Alex Oesterle, CEO of Blue Bear Creative, and a content creation expert. From transitioning from finance to launching a thriving social media agency to uncovering the significance of community engagement and generosity for success, this episode delves into the evolving landscape of social media marketing. Gain insights into the fascinating transformation of compliance agencies in the beverage industry into marketing powerhouses and learn valuable tips for enhancing your TikTok content strategy. Join us for an exploration of this ever-evolving industry and the keys to successful content creation.


    Alex Oesterle, CEO of Blue Bear Creative and host of the FMN Podcast, is a seasoned entrepreneur and expert in engaging millennial consumers through social media. With nearly a decade of experience, Alex's background spans digital marketing, finance, and operations. His insights into marketing to the millennial demographic and his success in building and leading a social media-focused digital agency make him an excellent guest for discussions on modern marketing strategies and entrepreneurship. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency:

    Alex transitioned from a career in finance to marketing while helping friends with their CPG companies.Engaging with customers is essential for building a successful brand.The content video forward ad strategy offers significant opportunities in the social media space.User-generated content will continue to be an essential part of content strategy.Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram are integrating features for e-commerce.Blue Bear Creative offers comprehensive social media services, making them an ideal partner for marketing agencies in need of social media expertise.Posting at least one TikTok per day, preferably two, can help increase visibility and traction.

    Resources:

    Blue Bear Creative - Social Media AgencyDevNoodleThe Lean Startup (Book)

    Connect with Alex Oesterle:

    LinkedIn

    Connect with our hosts:

    Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedIn

    Quotables:

    33:40 - “I mean social [media] changes so much on a month-to-month basis, even faster. I think the user-generated or user-forward side of content is going to continue to be a huge part of content strategy. I think there's a lot of smart partnerships and integrations that are starting to happen with the platforms themselves. TikTok for example, rolling out shoppable, the e-commerce features that Instagram has, but I think they're integrating really well with Shopify and into the website side of things.”38:25 - “Probably say 60% of the work that we do at least is around the content creation. Whether that's planning, presenting the creative ideas based around a content calendar, putting together a content calendar. That's a big part of it. And as things have shifted from being this high production value kind of sexy or food porn, which I hate that term, but for us it's very, everything that we do is very food forward. There's still a time and a place for that, but started to enlist creators and build, curate a group of creators that we can kind of turnkey knockout content that is more of that user-generated type of look and feel more effectively.”41:05 - “That user-generated type of content or the creative shooting that as an agency is very tough. Because you need talent, somebody on screen, ideally somebody different across brands, multiple different people across different clients. So it's not one person on every client's video. And then you need a location that looks like where you want to shoot, and then you need a crew there. Which is really why we started leaning into that creator pool. Individuals at their own house, just coaching them through how to shoot stuff, directing them remotely. So it's a one-person crew, one person shooting themselves on an iPhone. And it solves a lot of pain points that the traditional agency model or production model is kind of restricted to in terms of production”49:25 - “I think a lot of people get hung up on follower numbers and impressions, but really the quality of your interactions and your fan base is the most important. And you build that through genuine one-on-one connections, whether that's through good content that leans into an insight of a specific audience or literally talking to somebody one-on-one by a community manager.”17:00 - “We were talking about how we're trying to build this community and everything. And what I got of what you just said is it's not necessarily if you build it, they will come. You need to engage. It's not like you just put the social media out there or we just put the podcast out there and people just come and beyond this community. We're trying to give our guests a lot more, whether it's support or referrals or whatever it is, but we obviously understand it's not just let's start a Slack page and maybe do a round table like it, it has to be a little bit more engaging. And a lot of what we're trying to do is trying to focus on how you build the habits.”
  • Join Sara Helmy, the Founder and CEO of Tribu, as she discusses unconventional advertising and branding strategies. Tribu focuses on human connection and uses innovative, progressive advertising media to develop consumer loyalty. They emphasize the importance of embracing change in the digital world and highlight the role of artificial intelligence in shaping the industry. The episode also explores the use of branding and digital marketing to build strong tribes for clients and emphasizes the need to start with SEO as a foundation for agency success.

    Sara Helmy is the Owner of Tribu Marketing, Advertising, and Design, a creative agency specializing in digital marketing and graphic design. With over a decade of experience, she's a seasoned entrepreneur and marketing expert, known for her passion for human connection, consumer psychology, and innovative branding strategies. Sara's leadership in advertising and her commitment to creativity make her a valuable guest for discussions on entrepreneurship, branding, and the digital marketing landscape. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency:

    Tribu offers clients direct access to their team, allowing for a more personal and efficient partnership.Started with Part Apparel in college by raising funds for the working poor by selling artist-designed t-shirts.Unconventional approach of earning money for a cause instead of relying on donations.Tribu's unconventional approach includes no account executives and creating tribes for each partner, fostering direct relationships with the creative team.They employ a subscription model for 80% of their business, providing predictability and allowing clients to add services over time.Progressive advertising means embracing new capabilities and technologies to improve marketing strategies.Starting with SEO provides a solid foundation for agency success.

    Resources:

    TribuDevNoodleSizing People Up - Podcast Episode

    Connect with Sara Helmy:

    LinkedIn

    Connect with our hosts:

    Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedIn

    Quotables

    28:00 - “That is one of the things that makes it hard the way that we're structured. We talk about scope a lot at the start and we set expectations there at the same time, like we don't want our partners just to stay within scope, to stay within scope. We want to grow our relationship with the brands that we're lucky to serve, so another unconventional tribute is that we have a sales department, some agencies have their new business team. We have three solutions consultants, that's what we call them. And their entire function is to listen to a tribe. When a tribe is saying “Hey, whose partner needs this? And then go execute and have that conversation, so there is a resource internally inside of tribute where if you're working on a tribe and you see that there is a need for something that is not within that scope.”32:50 - “If you're a partner or a customer or dealing with any agency, there's so much onus on you to know exactly what you need. And the reality of business is that it changes really fast. And something that you thought you knew exactly what you needed five months ago has drastically changed. And in the act of discovery in this type of work, maybe the partner thinks that, “oh, I want this” but they learn “actually guys, we both kind of agree we need this”, so that flexibility I think is something that customers really enjoy the ability to say “I thought this was going to be my number one priority in Q2, but actually we've got this event coming up and now this is it. Instead, let's use our resources here and they don't have to go back to a contract every time, you know? So that helps”.34:34 - “We all try at Tribune, we're not perfect at this, but we try really hard to like, “Let's please not have like this scheduled recurring repeating meeting that bogs down everybody's calendar that both sides eventually end up feeling is just another meeting on top of many meetings I have to attend.” Let's make that once-a-month discussion really count and let's just pick up the phone and call each other in between.”45:50 - Sara: “If I had to teach something to other marketers, what would it be?”
    Josh: “To be honest, I think everything you've said in this has been very focused on that question. But I guess I'll squeeze the grape and see if you have anything else.”
    Sara: “I think the number one thing would honestly be to fail fast. And to not overcomplicate, keep it simple or fail fast. I think we get really lost in coming up with a perfect strategy and it's like, “hey, don't ever forget that execution is where the truth is told.” And get to execution, and fail fast.”20:43 - “This ability to work directly with your graphic designer and develop a relationship with your designer as well as the person doing your website as well as the person publishing your social and like that really direct and close relationship with the hands that are actually touching the work has been born in that. I don't know if that fully answers the question, but that's kind of just the general gist of how it came to be. That's one of the ways we're unconventional.”
  • In this episode, Andrew Aebersold discusses his journey from college to running a record label, the influence of ADHD on entrepreneurial tendencies, the challenges of defending a patent, and the importance of specialization for agencies. The episode also explores the experiences of acquiring an agency, giving back to the community, and incorporating growth habits into business ownership. Additionally, the importance of streamlining development processes and building a supportive community are discussed.

    Andrew Aebersold is the CEO of Mediaura, a digital agency driving digital growth through a blend of experience, creativity, and technology. With over two decades of experience, Andrew is a marketing and entrepreneurial expert. He's passionate about creating cutting-edge digital solutions and has a diverse background in various ventures, including music and cybersecurity, making him a dynamic guest for discussions on marketing, entrepreneurship, and business advertising. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast:

    Andrew did not let adversity deter him, and he continued to pursue his passion for business and entrepreneurship.The inability to focus on one thing can lead to unconventional problem-solving.The story of KFC's impact on creating a digital menu board system.Team structure and staffing issues may arise when acquiring an agency, impacting client support and workflows.Habits that can help improve energy levels and increase purpose in the workplace.Eliminating the need to manage a stable of WordPress and Shopify developers allows for a focus on acquisition, customer service, and creative strategies.On-page SEO can be managed with basic web skills, but off-page SEO and link building require specialized expertise.

    Resources:

    MediauraDevNoodle

    Connect with Andrew Aebersold:

    LinkedIn

    Connect with our hosts:

    Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedIn

    Quotables:

    39:10 - “We talked a lot about being kind of a niche, understanding your expertise, don't do everything, but I think if you are a small business, you need to be able to pivot rapidly and make those changes. So if you kind of called yourself, I always used to joke, like if I called Mediaura “Andrew's Website Design Company” in 2003, I'd have a harder time pivoting because people would just associate me with website design. And the reason I'm saying that is our industry's just changing quicker right now than it ever has.”30:20 - “I think this is going to be crucial for anybody that's acquiring or anybody that's thinking about selling their own agency. You have to be really clear about what that owner's bringing to the table. And so earlier I mentioned the SEO stuff and it's just one flavor. So pick your flavor of how you want to run your business. But for me that is a way for me to get out of the day-to-day so that if I choose to sell my business at some point in time, it's not 100% dependent upon me.”21:28 - “That's one of the things I think that could be a lesson learned for other agencies and startups doing it: try to pick a specialty or a niche and be the best at it. We evolved organically over 20 years and picked up whatever was changing or going on at that time. And now we're kind of looking back at it and saying “Okay, what can we be experts and specialists at?” and that's been interesting.”21:54 - “This topic comes up a lot on the show of the full-service agency approach. So what is really a full-service agency if they say they specialize in so many areas, how do you specialize in any if there's so many? So I think that split is, that sounds like a great move because it allows you to focus the processes, and the teams, and the culture of one specialty one way and the other specialty another way. We've had a couple of conversations where if you are going to be essentially full service, then technically maybe you’re a brand and a consultancy, but then you outsource essentially everything else.”04:09 - Josh: “Why do you think people that have Attention Deficit Disorders end up being in entrepreneurship?”
    Andrew: “I think for me, it always felt like the ideas were just kind of bouncing around a lot more. And the inability to focus on what was laid out in front of me kind of made it feel like I was just being a little bit more creative, and filling in those gaps with my own information, which just led me down different paths. So if you're able to really focus on something, maybe you're reading like a novel and you just get fully engrossed in that novel and you're in that world and you're just following it from start to finish. And if you can't focus on the novel as you're reading it is obviously influencing your brain and now you're bouncing to a different idea, but you're borrowing from the content that you're reading and you're just kind of coming up with your own thing.”