Advice for brands on working with small agencies — hot off the presses from the Ad Age Small Agency Conference 📰 👇
I’m back in NY after 3 days in Boston at the Ad Age Small Agency Conference. As a longtime marketer turned agency owner, there’s so much I am learning from the “other side” that I wish I knew when I was brand-side.
So, here you go — my takeaways for marketers on how to best leverage the flourishing small agency landscape.
1️⃣ See the BIG in small 💪
The small agency community is united in its collective mission to help small win big. The value that small partners can offer is clear — agility, flexibility, an entrepreneurial mindset, a fresh perspective, and of course, great work.
So, don’t just save the “strategic projects” for big agencies. Small is smart, strategic, scrappy, and a sound investment. The best creative talent is lining up to join small shops, and small agencies are winning big accounts to prove it. Every marketer should make sure to have small agencies in the RFP process and on the roster (how’s THAT for creating small agency FOMO 🤣).
2️⃣ Look for creativity in the face of constraints 💡
Some of the most inspiring case studies from the conference featured creativity that was born from constraints, including navigating highly regulated industries like cannabis and traditionally taboo topics from below the belt. It’s easy to be creative when the sky’s the limit. But I don’t know of a single client who is constraint-free (I certainly never was).
So, as I always say (actually, I just came up with this line but I really love it) ➡️ You can’t make it if you can’t make it. Look for partners who have the passion, expertise, and tools to always find a way to make it.
3️⃣ Buy The Why ❤️
Many agencies often seem to be doing the “same thing” and have similar capabilities. But capabilities are only half the battle. Choosing an agency partner is also about people, process, and vibes — and those all stem from an agency's Why.
It’s easy to see branded ideation sessions and trademarked processes as gimmicks and hooks (we have ours too at Beers With Friends 🍻 like Beer Runs & Happy Hours). But they do reflect something deeper about agencies and what drives them beneath the surface.
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Thank you so much to Judann Pollack, Jeanine Poggi, Brian Bonilla, and Tim Nudd for a wonderful conference. I came for the content and community but left with an unexpected party favor -- continued conviction, clarity, and drive to keep on building 🏃🏽♀️.
Hi to my old & new friends. Cheering you on! Allison Miceli, Michael Lasky, Samantha Rothaus, Hollie Rapello, Andrew Sexton, Alyssa Siegel, Steve Sapka, Mikayla Caprio, Karan Dang, Claire Eisenberg, Alyssa Stevens, Alison Monk, Chloe Cotoulas, Aliza Freud, Lori Murphree, Christy Hiler, Carrie Kerpen, Mike Palmer, Samantha DiGennaro, Helene DeVries, Al Merry, Simone Oppenheimer Mandel, Rachel Segall, Frances Lumpkin Webster, Karan Dang, Rachel Huff, Caroline May, Adrienne Scordato.