The Dendrocast

If you wanted to sell your agency today, would you know how to do it?

What is it (really) worth? Who would want to buy it? And how would you navigate the many obstacles involved in negotiating the sale?

In this episode, we explore the process of selling an agency with two people who were on opposite sides of the negotiating table. During her three decades in the business, Kerry Tate built one of Austin's most successful public relations firms. In 2007, she sold it to former tech executive Jeff Hahn.

Listen as Kerry and Jeff explain how they brokered a successful agreement, the lessons they learned, and how agency owners should think about the value of their company. 

When was the last time you read your local newspaper? Today, total newspaper circulation in America sits right around 30 million subscribers. That's half of what it was 20 years ago; and that figure declines every year. Public relations and public affairs agencies are hired to help clients shape local media narratives. But what happens when the reporters and editorial influencers they are paid to engage no longer exist? What's at risk with the decline of local news media? And why should agencies care? These are just some of the questions we explore in this episode. Our roundtable includes: Chris Edmonds of Hubbell Communications; NPR affiliate reporter Tom Banse; and Nashville Public Media president Steve Cavendish. 

PART TWO: After our interview with Alex Bogusky about his decision to quit doing awards shows, we turned the debate over to a roundtable.

Listen as we discuss the pros and cons of the awards circuit - and whether winning an award has any impact on agency winning new business.

Our guests include: Doug Zanger, Senior Editor at Adweek; Katie Gailey, Executive Director of the Portland Advertising Federation; and Hayden Gilbert, founder and creative director of the freelance agency SHELTR.

In Part One of our two-part series on agency awards, industry titan Alex Bogusky of Crispin Porter Bogusky talks about why he felt it was time to stop submitting his agency's work to awards shows.

Listen as Alex unpacks why awards are still an important part of growing and building your agency's reputation. And why he thinks the industry's emerging re-evaluation of them is healthy.

This is a Dendrocast first.

We handed over the interviewer's chair to agency owner and "seeker of the awesome" Bryan Cohen.

Listen to what happens when Bryan turns the mic on Zach to get his take on some important trends happening across the agency business.

In this episode, we revisit our 2018 interview with Wieden + Kennedy producer Tiffany Golden.

This conversation explores the myriad barriers minorities and women face trying to break into the influential world of advertising and creative media. Throughout, we pull back the layers on an important question: does the agency business have a diversity problem?

Listen as Tiffany explains why many of the big name agencies operate with deep institutional biases that inform everything from hiring decisions to who belongs in key roles.

This bonus series from The Dendrocast Team gives a voice to young, emerging leaders in the agency business.

Today's masterclass is with Kai Deveraux Lawson, founder of #MyLifeOfKai and co-host of Mixed Company Podcast. 

In the new era of precision targeting and programmatic ad buys, why do Super Bowl ads still garner so much attention?

Listen as our roundtable unpacks the questions around what the future of Super Bowl advertising will look like. And why this one event makes the average consumer think they're a creative director.

Today's panelists include Jessica Ragusa of WiT Media, Dan Walsh of Shepherd, and Kevin Kertscher of Big Ocean Media.  

RFPs. RFIs. RFQs. Agencies get numerous versions of a request to pitch brands for their business.

But it's rarely clear what the client wants. And what they want isn't always what they need. And it all comes with an impossible deadline, no budget range, and an information firewall. 

Brands make a number of common mistakes seeking out and hiring an agency. Agencies reinforce those habits by being too eager to participate in a confusing and flawed process.

How did pitching become so broken? And what can brands and agencies both do to fix it?

Tom Denford, the North American CEO of consulting firm ID Comms, discusses recent research on how to make the pitch process more effective.

In this roundtable episode, we discuss the recent ad campaign from Procter & Gamble about "toxic masculinity" and the complex reaction it has generated. 

Most importantly, we discuss what the creative, advertising, and marketing agency role should be in advancing conversations about modern social movements.

Our panelists include Kari Olivier, co-founder of Jute Creative; Jen Maxwell-Muir, founder of Maxwell PR; and Peter Mitchell, chairman and chief creative officer of Marketing For Change.