Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/broxten-davis
Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebroxtendigitalshow

Chris Greene is YoPro's founder and an ex agency VP with 25+ years across IPG and Omnicom. He noticed the gap between college and the first job two years ago, so he interviewed 35 parents and students along with 25 entry-level recruiters to see where young professionals were really struggling. Next, he built a coaching program based on what he uncovered. 85 YoPros have been through it, and 90%+ have landed jobs from it.

We get into the stuff nobody teaches you: why the average young-professional resume has two or three typos in it, what a recruiter really hears when you say you're collaborative and hardworking, why applying through the portals can wipe you out across every job at once, the networking email length that gets replies, and the five jobs he steers students toward that build more real skill than most internships.

If you are a student or young pro trying to break into marketing and advertising, this one is a playbook.

CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
1:26 What YoPro is and the gap it fills
3:12 Inside the program: pitch, resume, interview
7:23 The networking email that gets replies
8:27 Why the portals reject you
10:41 New business: what agency pitching looks like
16:19 The skill he had to learn (warmth, not competency)
19:12 Why the path is a jungle gym, not a ladder
23:17 When to jump agencies, and boomeranging
29:25 What his Gen Z research actually found
32:31 Five generations in one workplace
36:14 The five jobs that build real skills
39:38 Follow up: send the fifth email
43:51 The one question that got a client hired
45:46 Rapid-fire value
51:27 How to connect with Chris

Connect with Chris Greene: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-a-greene/
Learn more about YoPro: https://www.theyopro.com/

Subscribe to get more actionable advice from the best in advertising & marketing!

#DigitalMarketingPodcast #AdvertisingPodcast #YoungProfessionals #MarketingPodcast

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/broxten-davis
Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebroxtendigitalshow

Michael Kraft is the VP of Business Development & Strategy at MVP Collaborative, and he brings 30+ years across some of the biggest names in Detroit advertising: Campbell-Ewald, Chrysler brand work, research at General Motors, and now experiential marketing at one of the top agencies in Detroit. This episode is packed with actionable advice for students and young professionals trying to get into advertising and marketing.

We get into the marketing jobs nobody tells you exist, why relationships beat cold outreach every single time, how he wins new business on day one, and the simple career move that costs nothing: show up and do not sit in the back. If you're early in your career and want to understand how this industry actually works, this conversation is packed with real experience.

Michael is one of the best and brightest in the game, and this episode is all about turning industry icons like him into your peers.

CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
2:33 The marketing jobs college never shows you
4:19 His first job out of college (account planning on Chrysler)
9:00 What experiential marketing actually is
12:34 How he wins new business: relationships over cold outreach
28:03 Bringing ideas to the table early in your career
38:18 Where AI is taking advertising
46:59 Rapid-fire value (and the best pizza in Detroit)
54:22 Show up: do not sit in the back
61:12 How to connect with Michael

Connect with Michael Kraft: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkraftdet/

Subscribe to get more actionable advice from the best in advertising & marketing!

#DigitalMarketingPodcast #AdvertisingPodcast #YoungProfessionals #MarketingPodcast

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/broxten-davis

Follow the show on Instagram for more daily value and insights: https://www.instagram.com/thebroxtendigitalshow/

Everyone tells students that if you don't land the big internship, you're already behind. Matty May built a 20-plus year career at Paramount, and she says that idea is exactly the wrong way to think about breaking in. This episode is her real playbook for starting a career in media: she's a VP of Convergent Ad Sales, a Michigan State advertising grad, and a certified leadership coach, and she has spent decades watching what actually separates the people who make it. We get into how a marketing degree turns into a career when you stop waiting for permission and start creating your own experience.

This is for students and young marketers who keep hearing that it's internship or bust and feel stuck when the "perfect" opportunity doesn't show up. Matty breaks down the mistake most people make in the job hunt, why smaller organizations can teach you more and faster than the big names, and how volunteering and freelancing (especially if you know how to work the socials) turn into the network and the resume nobody else has. She gets into her own MSU story, what ComArtSci and its professors do differently, why she pours so much back into students, and what her actual day job pitching convergent ad deals at Paramount looks like. We get into the leadership coaching angle, reframing setbacks, staying adaptable as the industry shifts around you, and why real AI fluency right now is one of the fastest ways to stand out.

Here's what I keep thinking about: you start your career as a nobody, then if you keep grinding and adding wins, one day you wake up in a VP seat. You don't have to wait for the title to start building this skill. Give it a watch and let me know which piece of advice you're actually going to take action on.

CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro: Two Spartans, One Show
1:30 The Biggest Job-Hunt Mistake Students Make
3:45 Why Smaller Organizations Beat the "Dream" Internship
5:10 Freelance and Volunteer Your Way to Experience
8:40 What MSU ComArtSci Does Differently
11:20 Professors Who Actually Lived the Career
13:30 Why She Pours Back Into Students
16:45 Inside Her Day Job: Convergent Ad Sales at Paramount
19:20 How to Network the Right Way
24:30 The Coaching Side and Reframing Setbacks
29:40 What Inspired Her to Start Coaching
33:30 Selling Big Deals Without Losing Yourself
40:00 Staying Adaptable as the Industry Shifts
42:40 Cannes and Learning AI on the Job
46:30 Why AI Fluency Is Your Career Edge
50:20 Rapid Fire: Pizza, People to Follow, and MSU Love
55:30 Final Thoughts and Go Green, Go White

Connect with Matty May: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matty-may-pcc-3407871/

Mentioned in this episode:
- Evan Shapiro, media cartographer, a great free follow to understand where the industry is headed
- Matthew Belloni and The Town podcast for the business behind media and entertainment

Subscribe to get more actionable advice from the best in advertising & marketing!

#DigitalMarketingPodcast #AdvertisingPodcast #YoungProfessionals #MarketingPodcast

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/broxten-davis

Follow the show on Instagram for more daily value and insights: https://www.instagram.com/thebroxtendigitalshow/

I see performance marketing brought up everywhere but almost never actually explained, so I got someone who ran it at scale. This episode is John Vehlewald's full story: MSU advertising student to VP of Marketing at Rocket, and how he built a marketing career along the way. He got his foot in before LinkedIn was even a thing, printed out resumes and applied through Monster, started in sales, and just kept stacking one opportunity on top of the next until he was running marketing for one of Detroit's biggest names. If you are trying to figure out how a marketing degree turns into an actual career, John has the blueprint.

This is for students and young marketers who keep hearing 'performance marketing' and want to know what it actually means and how to get into the space. John zeros in on the part people skip over: at the end of the day, it's always about spending money and pulling in more than you put in. The channels shift. The tools change. The math doesn't. We get into why starting in sales toughens you up, why a big company or agency is a great first move, how he built his brand on LinkedIn without complaining into the void, why the relationships you make early pay you back a decade later, and how to actually start learning AI instead of just slapping "AI expert" on your profile.

The one that stuck with me: when John hires, he is not looking for the person with the perfect resume, he is looking for the curious one who digs deeper and asks the next question. That is the skill you can start building today, for free, before anyone gives you the title. Give it a look and let me know which advice you're actually going to take action on.

CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro: Meeting a Fellow Spartan
1:26 From MSU Advertising Grad to Rocket VP
2:51 Breaking In Before LinkedIn Existed
4:15 Why Starting in Sales Toughens You Up
6:22 Landing at Quicken and Getting Noticed
11:29 Performance Marketing, Actually Explained
15:33 The Fundamentals That Never Change
16:08 Learn by Doing and Just Ask for Help
17:30 Networking Your Way Into the Industry
18:50 Big Company vs Small: Where to Start
23:36 Building Your Brand on LinkedIn
25:56 Standing Out in a Brutal Job Market
28:49 Why Relationships Pay Off Years Later
30:54 Getting Into AI Without the Hype
35:03 What He Looks For When Hiring
37:11 Spartan Talk and Favorite MSU Spots
39:17 How to Actually Start Learning AI Today
42:43 John's Open Offer to Listeners
46:11 Final Thoughts

Connect with John Vehlewald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnveh/

Subscribe to get more actionable advice from the best in advertising & marketing!

#DigitalMarketingPodcast #AdvertisingPodcast #YoungProfessionals #MarketingPodcast

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/broxten-davis

Follow the show on Instagram for more daily value and insights: https://www.instagram.com/thebroxtendigitalshow/

Avin Narasimhan is the Chief Strategy Officer at Publicis Media, and his career is the kind you point to when someone tells you the path is a straight line. It wasn't. He quit his first job with no backup plan, printed off resumes and went door to door before LinkedIn even existed, cold emailed his way in, and built one of the most respected strategy careers in the business from there. RGA on MasterCard, rebuilding comms planning at PHD, seven years up to Chief Strategy Officer, and on from there. This episode is how he did it, and what he'd tell you if you're trying to break in right now.

I wanted to make this one for anyone staring at the scary headlines about AI and entry-level jobs and wondering if there's still a way in. Avin graduated right before the Great Recession, so he has lived the version of this that was equally scary, if not worse, and his answer is the most reassuring thing I have heard on the show. We get into why the industry needs your perspective more than ever, why a point of view is the real thing that gets you hired when everyone has the same degree, the reason curiosity is the one skill nobody can teach you, why you should always take the call, and how guarding every relationship pays you back a decade later.

The one that stuck: never stop acting like you're three. A three year old asks 300 to 400 questions a day, and by the time we hit six, school beats it out of us. Avin thinks holding onto that is what makes a great strategist. I think it's what makes a great anything. Give it a watch and tell me which piece of his advice you're actually going to use.

CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
1:54 Marketing in the bloodline
2:34 The professor who pointed him to advertising
5:01 Quitting without a job to break in
9:52 Seeing what great strategy really looked like
10:13 The leap to PHD that became his best decision
16:36 Breaking in when the headlines are scary
18:18 Why the industry needs your perspective
21:45 A point of view is what gets you hired
23:01 Why senior people actually want to help you
25:54 Advice for your first few years
29:40 Guard every relationship
32:22 Always take the call
35:40 The one thing they can't teach: curiosity
52:13 The hard skill that still matters: storytelling
56:29 What he's driving now
57:55 Rapid-fire: who to follow
62:57 Advice to his 22-year-old self
64:04 Final thoughts

Connect with Avin Narasimhan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/avinnarasimhan/

Subscribe to get more actionable advice from the best in advertising & marketing!

#DigitalMarketingPodcast #AdvertisingPodcast #YoungProfessionals #MarketingPodcast

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/broxten-davis

Follow the show on Instagram for more daily value and insights: https://www.instagram.com/thebroxtendigitalshow/

Kevin Mangini's done marketing work at Warner Bros. Records, MTV, and FXX, helped NewsNation find its footing as a national news network, and then hit the world record for higher-ed fundraising using the same approach. He's done a bit of everything you can do in this business. This episode is about how he pulled it off.

I wanted to make this one for anyone who has ever been told to pick a lane and stay in it. Kevin is proof that the lanes are way more open than they look, as long as you know how to market. We get into the actual decisions that let him jump from record labels to cable to news, why he took a job for half the pay at 29 to get into the right lane, how to pitch an idea in a room full of egos, and why he thinks storytelling and owning your own career story are the skills that matter most for our generation.

Learned a ton from this one. I really believe you're the guardian of your own story, which is why you need to start documenting it. Give it a view and let me know what hit you the most.

CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro

2:03 Breaking in: record labels and a leap of faith

3:46 MTV at the center of youth culture

6:45 The Jackass x Nintendo safari stunt

8:10 Learning the craft inside an ad agency

9:09 WGN America becomes NewsNation

13:30 Take the right lane, not the raise

26:37 The Simpsons marathon that broke cable

31:16 Why giving back compounds your career

36:26 Going independent after nine years

42:08 Rapid-fire value segment

44:12 You are the guardian of your story

49:24 Advice to his 22-year-old self

51:49 Final thoughts

Connect with Kevin Mangini: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinmangini/

Subscribe to get more actionable advice from the best in advertising & marketing!

#DigitalMarketingPodcast #AdvertisingPodcast #YoungProfessionals #MarketingPodcast

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/broxten-davis

Follow the show on Instagram for more daily value and insights: https://www.instagram.com/thebroxtendigitalshow/

In Episode 18 of The BroxtenDigital Show, I'm joined by Fran Westbrooks, founder and president of Boulevard, a Detroit creative agency he started in 2010, and the incoming president of Adcraft Detroit. Fran walked off the street into a junior copywriter seat with zero design experience, then helped build a startup shop into an extremely successful multicultural agency. We get into how he broke in, why he thinks my generation has the biggest opportunity in advertising right now, and the mindset shifts that separate the people who last from the people who burn out.

This one is packed with real, actionable advice for students and young marketers: how to create your own space while you break into the industry, why "the best time to look for a job is while you have one," and the difference between being passionate as a personality trait and being passionate with a purpose. Fran also breaks down why great advertising is really just one plus one, how he reads culture, and the soft and hard skills he'd tell every young pro to lock in today.

CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro

1:11 How Fran broke in (the non-traditional path)

4:47 Breaking into advertising today: carve your own path

10:23 The best time to look for a job is while you have one

12:28 Building a billion-dollar multicultural agency from a startup shop

16:16 Stepping into leadership (the positions came to me)

20:04 The $8M deal that vanished and what it taught him

22:45 Why advertising is really just one plus one

26:08 Culture is life: taking the color out of culture

31:36 The startups Boulevard is betting on

36:51 Brands that transcend: Red Bull, Nike, and owning a feeling

42:02 What he would tell his 22-year-old self

44:15 Rapid fire round

51:51 Wrap up

Connect with Fran:

LinkedIn (AdFran): https://www.linkedin.com/in/fran-westbrooks-3209265/

Boulevard: https://boulevarddetroit.com

Adcraft Detroit: https://www.adcraft.org

Subscribe to get more actionable advice from the best in advertising & marketing!

#DigitalMarketingPodcast #AdvertisingPodcast #YoungProfessionals #MarketingPodcast

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/broxten-davis

Follow the show on Instagram for more daily value and insights: https://www.instagram.com/thebroxtendigitalshow/

How do you go from a poetry degree and a yogurt-shop job to Chief Marketing Officer at one of the largest advertising agencies in the world? Scott Hess did it, and in Episode 16 I got him to lay out exactly how.

Scott is a Global CMO at Publicis Media and one of the sharpest voices on youth culture in the industry. He took the long, anxious way into advertising, and this conversation turned into a full career playbook for any student or young professional trying to break in. I honestly think it's one of the most useful episodes we've recorded.

Here's what we get into:
• Why the most senior people in the room actually want to talk to you
• How to ask for what you want, and why people usually say yes
• The three relationships that make you un-fireable at any agency
• Why your career is more like hitchhiking than a straight line
• How to handle early-career anxiety and pressure
• Why you don't need to see the whole path to keep moving

Scott Hess is the Chief Marketing Officer at Publicis Media, previously EVP at Spark Foundry / Starcom. His TEDx talk on Millennials has over 700,000 views, and now he's providing killer insights and advice for Gen Z marketers & advertisers on The BroxtenDigital Show.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
01:00 Why senior people want to help you
05:38 The unconventional path: poetry degree to advertising
12:33 What work was like before the internet
19:00 Commit to a job for a year, not a daily referendum
22:49 The story you tell yourself, and the power of the pause
30:52 Getting "cold" when the stakes are highest
34:44 Stop waiting to be noticed: ask for what you want
38:44 The un-fireable playbook: senior champion, client, peers
42:32 Build real relationships, not a network
44:56 You don't have to see the whole path
49:40 Where to find Scott

Subscribe to get more actionable advice from the best in advertising & marketing!

#DigitalMarketingPodcast #AdvertisingPodcast #YoungProfessionals #MarketingPodcast

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/broxten-davis-6b050a239/