Podcasts about icrossing

Ever wonder why some leaders seem to effortlessly build thriving teams while others struggle with constant turnover? In this episode, guest Candice Hahn, a veteran marketing agency executive with over 25 years of experience, shares her refreshing take on leadership in the fast-paced agency world. Candice opens up about why working for good people has been the guiding force in her career and reveals her unique approach to developing talent. She explains why there's "no such thing as a marketing emergency" and how this mindset shapes the way she leads. Whether you're managing a team or aspiring to move up the ladder, Candice's practical insights on everything from imposter syndrome to advocating for yourself will help you become a more effective and empathetic leader.About Candice:Candice Hahn has 25+ years of experience in professional services. Initially working in strategy consulting, then she pivoted to the digital world while living in San Francisco. She's worked and led strategy teams at global marketing agencies including Modem Media, Publicis Modem and iCrossing where she helped clients navigate and thrive in the digital world. Most recently, Candice spent nearly 9 years at R/GA, a global innovation agency, building a team and an office in Austin, TX. There she added new logos to the R/GA roster including Michaels, Whole Foods Market, Crocs and others, winning global awards including a Cannes Lion and Effie, and delivering profitable growth year over year during her entire tenure. After recording this episode she started a new role as VP of Consumer Electronics at OUTFORM. Highlights:Why leading a people-based business requires focusing on internal team health before client needsThe "three concentric circles" framework for career growth and why staying slightly uncomfortable is key to developmentWhy good leaders recognize they're in the people development business and create environments where others can succeedThe importance of transparency and over-communication in building trust with your teamHow to handle imposter syndrome, especially as a woman in leadershipThe shift from looking for "culture fit" to "culture add" when building teamsThe value of having clear, documented expectations for career advancementWhy advocating for yourself is crucial, even though it can feel uncomfortableThe power of reframing "failures" as character-building momentsLinks & Resources Mentioned:Follow Candice on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/candice-hahn-56a266/Get your FREE 5 Day Leadership Reset Challenge guide here: https://llpod.link/challengePodcast Website: www.loveandleadershippod.comInstagram: @loveleaderpodFollow us on LinkedIn!Kristen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristenbsharkey/ Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-s-364970111/Learn more about Kristen's leadership coaching and facilitation services: http://www.emboldify.com

Follow us @doseofblkjoy & learn more about “A Dose of Support” from the 4A's - American Association of Advertising Agencies ⁠https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdEW1U3sVdZRCQHPVtmwxAITUEA5I4ojWGAgKJMMp3Tc63l-A/viewform?usp=sf_link⁠ About God-is: Throughout her career, God-is has been a strategic executive who is responsible for better serving and engaging diverse communities through digital channels all around the world through brand marketing, campaigns with partners, and events and experiences. As a proud Black American woman hailing from the Bronx, NY, she is passionate about pairing an authentic community care approach with inclusive, culturally fluent marketing, community-integrated product and policy evolution and cultural insights to show there is value in all communities, and that they deserve to be recognized, respected and rewarded—not counted out. As a marketing executive at Twitter for over 4 years culminating in 2022, she drove strategy to make sure that campaigns and programs were connective, inclusive and reflective of the communities Twitter served. Externally, she both established and built on Twitter's work in developing relationships and programs with community leaders, content partners, influencers, creators, partners and brands. Prior to joining Twitter in 2018, God-is was Director, Inclusion & Cultural Resonance for VMLY&R. In this newly created role she focused on bridging strategic inclusive marketing and strategy with internal processes and policies to foster an equitable environment at the agency, and produce inclusive work outputs. Earlier, she held lead channel strategy roles at VMLY&R, global agency iCrossing, and Austin-based T3. God-is has been profiled in digital trade and national publications Adweek, Ad Age, Marie Claire, Forbes, Digiday, Fortune, Campaign US, and The Drum. In 2018 she was named an Ad Age “Woman to Watch” and Adweek “Disruptor” for continuing to fight for representation and equity in the advertising industry. In 2020 God-is was recognized for her work at Twitter amplifying historically marginalized voices as #28 on the Root 100 Most Influential African-Americans list, BET's Top 100 Most Innovative and Influential Business Executives, and by Fortune Magazine on their esteemed 40 Under 40 list of influential people in the technology category. In 2023 she was recognized by ColorComm as one of the influential 28 Black Women in Communications “Making History Now”. This same year she was also recognized by her hometown, the Bronx Tourism Council, and was inducted in the Bronx Walk of Fame for excellence in the field of marketing. In November 2023 God-is also was chosen to be inducted into the American Advertising Federation's esteemed AAF Hall of Achievement Class of 2023, a prestigious honor representing an impactful and innovative career in marketing, advertising, and/or media. In October of 2022 God-is joined The Walt Disney Co. as their first VP, Inclusive Marketing across all Disney streaming platforms and networks including content and IP across ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+ where she is tasked with developing and leading strategies to connect with diverse audiences and amplify inclusive content. In June of 2023 God-is joined Essence Ventures as their first-ever Chief Content Officer. Leading content strategy and connection with intersectional global audiences across all Essence Ventures brands including; Essence Publishing, Afropunk, BeautyCon and Essence Studios. As of 2024 she has been active as an independent consultant with top global brands and organizations around the world. God-is is also a highly sought after keynote speaker and moderator who has spoken for several brands like Netflix and Spotify, and at international events such as The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, The Cannes Lion Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France, and Brandweek in Palm Springs, CA among many more. God-is resides in the greater New York City area with her husband and daughter

Join Susan Sly for a captivating discussion with Andrew Bart, CEO and co-founder of Algo Face, as they probe into his entrepreneurial journey and unique approach.   Andrew's story spans from balancing a business part-time with a full-time C-suite role to turning personal loss into a successful venture, showcasing resilience and positivity.   Discover the power of networking, family values, and organic community building as Andrew shares insights from his 15-year journey of hosting gatherings and connecting like-minded individuals.   Explore Algo Face's groundbreaking work in face AI solutions, which enable hyper-realistic digital avatars and vital sign detection.    Embrace the entrepreneurial spirit with Andrew's wisdom on staying grounded, fostering genuine connections, and serving others while making magic happen in business.   About Andrew Bart: Andrew has 20 years of experience as an early and growth stage C-Suite executive focused on business development, strategic partnerships, venture building, and scaling technology organizations.   Andrew's career highlights include serving on the startup team at iCrossing (exited to Hearst $325MM), bootstrapping a Supply Chain MarTech venture from ideation to exit, operating a 50+ technology venture portfolio spanning six continents, serving as a lead investor and growth executive at ClearVoice (exited to FIVERR $600MM IPO), and serving as growth executive of InterPayments (acquired by InterPrivate). Andrew graduated with honors from Arizona State University.   Connect with Andrew:   Website algoface.ai Linkedin @andrew-bart-4a904041/   About Susan Sly:   Susan Sly is a Tech Co-founder and Co-CEO, a tech investor, best-selling author, keynote speaker, entrepreneur, and host of the highly acclaimed podcast – Raw and Real Entrepreneurship. Susan has appeared on CNN, CNBC, Fox, Lifetime Television, The CBN, The Morning Show in Australia and been quoted in MarketWatch, Yahoo Finance, Forbes, and more. She holds Certificates in Management and Leadership, Technology and Operations, and Strategy and Innovation from MIT. Susan is the author of 7 books. Her book project with NY Times Best Selling Author, Jack Canfield, made six Amazon Best Selling lists.   Connect With Susan: Twitter @Susanslylive Twitter @rawandrealentr1 LinkedIn @susansly Facebook @susanslylive Website https://susansly.com/    

Search is changing: shifting away from the well-established go-to-Google-there's-your-answer, we're seeing alternative search journeys emerging through social (including TikTok), voice, and generative AI like ChatGPT. Will any of these truly inherit Google's crown, or even seriously threaten to?In this episode we hear from Dave Colgate, head of search engine optimization, Vertical Leap; John Campbell, head of innovation, ROAST; Sam Cant, head of search engine optimization, Jaywing; and Lottie Namakando, head of paid media and planning, iCrossing to dive to the bottom of the evolving search landscape. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

'Artificial intelligence' has come to mean a lot of things to a lot of people: some picture androids; others will think of the algorithms already powering Google and even smaller tech initiatives. In this episode we'll take stock of where the progress has reached so far, what it's enabled in the world of marketing, and what on the horizon has the power to change the marketer's toolkit even more radically. Senior tech reporter Chris Sutcliffe is joined by Pascal Coggia, CEO, Artefact UK; Patrick Furse, digital director, Bray Leino; and Maria Bain, head of audience intelligence , iCrossing, to discuss:What are the most relevant applications of AI for marketers?Which AI tools for creativity are you most excited about?Where do you think we've seen AI being misused, or not used to its utmost efficacy?Does the emergence of AI as a tool require the development of a new role within agencies?Finally, what are you most excited about around the future of AI in marketing? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been a tumultuous couple of years for venues, rights owners, and sports clubs. We'll hear from their marketing partners: what have the last couple of years been like, and what're the new rules of engagement in this sector? What are the big plays for sports marketing success in 2022? Senior tech reporter Chris Sutcliffe is joined by a panel of experts to discuss: • What trends are sports brands riding in 2022? Are audiences more health conscious than ever, or are sporty consumers spending more? • What personal health tech is creating new opportunities for marketers? • Is sports marketing still predicated on big tournaments and events? • Sports brands are outperforming in the metaverse - what is it about sports that works especially well in that regard? This week's panel is made up of Jenny Mitton, Director and Women's Sport Lead, M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment; Adam Britton, Managing director, TrunkBBI; Roger Barr, Chief Digital Officer, iCrossing; and Ann Wool, President of Translation.Find out how to appear on a Drum Network podcast here: https://product.thedrum.com/the-drum-network/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been a tumultuous couple of years for venues, rights owners, and sports clubs. We'll hear from their marketing partners: what have the last couple of years been like, and what're the new rules of engagement in this sector? What are the big plays for sports marketing success in 2022? Senior tech reporter Chris Sutcliffe is joined by a panel of experts to discuss: • What trends are sports brands riding in 2022? Are audiences more health conscious than ever, or are sporty consumers spending more? • What personal health tech is creating new opportunities for marketers? • Is sports marketing still predicated on big tournaments and events? • Sports brands are outperforming in the metaverse - what is it about sports that works especially well in that regard? This week's panel is made up of Jenny Mitton, Director and Women's Sport Lead, M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment; Adam Britton, Managing director, TrunkBBI; Roger Barr, Chief Digital Officer, iCrossing; and Ann Wool, President of Translation.

Emily Harrison is the Vice President of Marketing and Direct Sales at HALL Wines, where she is responsible for curating the customer journey through all touchpoints. At HALL, Emily helps deepen and enhance the relationship with the winery and customers at all stages. She oversees and manages memberships, marketing, and public relations. She has over 13 years of experience managing national and global brands for iCrossing, Isobar, and The Talent Business. Emily graduated from the Academy of Art University with a degree in advertising. In this episode with Emily Harrison How can you create tangible and memorable experiences for customers? Is it possible to crack the code on brick-and-mortar and cultivate membership connections? Emily Harrison says to never doubt the power of an Instagrammable moment. Fresh, fun, and interactive events for consumers to engage with your brand are going to resonate more than elementary marketing techniques. Through Emily's work at HALL Wines, they are able to create programs that attract new clients — as well as lifetime clients — by engaging, adapting, and changing with technology. On this episode of Legends Behind the Craft, Drew Hendricks sits down with Emily Harrison, Vice President of Marketing and Direct Sales at HALL Wines, to discuss connecting a winery with the consumer. Emily talks about how email marketing can be a useful tool for personalization, how emerging technology can benefit a winery and increase consumer interactions, and why a membership element can curate lifetime consumers. 

Meet Quentin P. Smith Jr.:Quentin P. Smith Jr. is the Chairman of the Banner Health Board of Directors and is President of Cadre Business Advisors, LLC. Quentin has also served on the boards of Store Capital, Orion Group Holdings, Arizona Public Service, Rodel, Inc., iCrossing, Arizona MultiBank, Greater Phoenix Leadership, and the Morrison Institute for Public Policy at Arizona State University. He received Bachelor's in industrial management and computer science from Purdue University and an MBA from Pepperdine University.Key Insights:Leadership is timeless. Quentin P. Smith Jr. shares his leadership experience in healthcare, and expands the conversation to his father, Quentin P. Smith, an original Tuskegee Airman. Becoming a Tuskegee Airman. Quentin reveals that his father wasn't driven by an interest in being a pilot, rather he wanted to demonstrate to white Americans that Black Americans are equally capable of flying planes. (10:55)Duty to Community Service. As chairman of Banner Health's board, Quentin sees his primary mission as community service and being a good fiduciary of a community asset. His job is to provide guidance towards the mission, and ensure that everyone has a chance to contribute. (28:07)Assume You Can Lead. Leadership comes in many forms. Don't underestimate yourself, and assume you have the capacity to lead first. (35:47)Relevant Links: Listen to recordings of Quentin P. Smith talking about his experience as a Tuskegee AirmanLearn more about the Tuskegee AirmenRead “Standing firm: ISU alumnus Quentin Smith challenged segregation and changed history.”

With around three decades of experience running professional services firms, Don Scales understands first-hand how to make them successful. He is currently the Global CEO of Investis Digital, a global digital communications company that helps world-class businesses manage their corporate brands. Today this industry veteran joins us to talk about his experience in the business, the reasons behind failed mergers and acquisitions, and share some funny stories. 3 Golden Nuggets If you continue to have to do it all, you'll never scale. So many agency owners are at the million-dollar mark and wanting to get to the eight-figure mark. Don's advice is to learn to delegate. Find people who are great at what they do and then get out of their way. You may make some mistakes if you do, but you'll move on from that. Building a team with staying power. Consistency is the key when it comes to leadership. Your employees won't want to come to work every day if they don't know which version of you they might encounter. Be consistent with your leadership style and make your decision-making process transparent, so they will learn to make decisions in that way as well. Why do some mergers fail? If you look at what people really examine when they look at potentially buying a company, you'll find that they don't spend a whole lot of time looking at the value set of these companies that they're looking to buy. So many times when a merger or acquisition ends up failing you find out afterward that the cultures were off. You need to spend some time analyzing whether there is compatibility and if the values align. Sponsors and Resources Agency Dad: Today's episode is sponsored by Agency Dad. Agency Dad is an accounting solution focused on helping marketing agencies make better decisions based on their financials. Check out agencydad.money/freeaudit/ to get a phone call with Nate to assess your agency's financial needs and how he can help you. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM Avoid a Failed Merger by Staying True to Your Agency's Values Jason: [00:00:00] What's up, agency owners, Jason Swenk here, and I'm excited to have an amazing guest. Now, this guest has been in the agency world for a very long time. He started when he was one and he's grown several agencies and the current agency that he's, a global CEO has over 500 employees. They're approaching $90 million in revenue and they've done over 40 acquisitions over the, his lifetime. And I'm really excited to get into it. So let's jump into the episode. Hey, Don. Welcome to the show. Don: [00:00:39] Hey, good to see you. Glad to be here. Jason: [00:00:42] Awesome. Well, I'm excited to chat with you and learn from you because you've been in it for a long time and you have a lot of experience. So for the ones that have not heard of you yet, tell us who you are and what do you do? Don: [00:00:54] My name's Don Scales. I am the global CEO of a company called Investis Digital, which is a UK-based company. It's private equity-owned by Investcorp. Uh, we just recently exited from, uh, a six-year relationship with the company called ECI out of London. Uh, so we're very excited about our Invest Corp relation. Then prior to that, I was CEO of a company, I'm sure you heard of, called iCrossing, iCrossing, we managed to take that to, um, some $140 million, exited several years back. So I was there for a good eight years, nine years. And then prior to that, I was CEO of a company called Agency.com, which is a pioneer in the web development space. And it's one of the, if you will, one of the founding companies of web development. So that takes me back all the way to 1999 in the digital age, that's kind of like dog years. So I've been around a long time. Jason: [00:02:00] I started our agency in 99 and yeah, I used to love those days. It was kind of like no one knew what websites were, and I could literally go through the yellow pages and go, oh, you don't have a website here, so. Don: [00:02:10] And in fact you'll, you'll get a kick out of this. Back in the day, people would send us RFPs and we, we'd send them an invoice for 50 grand just to read their RFP. Jason: [00:02:25] I love it. Don: [00:24:10] And that was good business. Jason: [00:02:25] I love it  Well, I think we're going to get along well, because I always looked at RFP as, um, you know, stands for a couple of things, Request for Punishment as one of them. Other ones, I probably won't name on this show right now. I don't know if I can talk to you that way. But, uh, let's jump into that because that's interesting. Why would you send an invoice for 50 grand to respond to their RFP? Don: [00:02:47] Because, like you said, you could go to the yellow pages. It was just such a demand, and we had very limited resources of people who could do those kinds of work. And so we had to make sure that, uh, every, every minute of every day was, uh, paid for in some way, shape or form. And so if the market would take it, and they did, and they'd pay, it would, we'll invoice. Jason: [00:03:12] That's the biggest foot in the door I've ever seen. So I always believe in like, charging something as a slice off of your core offer, you know, in order to kind of see if they're serious and also kind of prove like the relationship back and forth, but you guys have the win right now of the highest foot in the door yet. And, and you guys said you converted too. That's awesome. Don: [00:03:34] Yeah, we did. And then, you know, then, then everything changed in 2000 and now it was like, it was. Just, the whole market would be evaporated on me. Jason: [00:03:47] Well, that's what helped us little guys back then when the market crashed, I was like, all these big guys going down, here's our opportunity. You know, let's get on what I call the strategy line, where everybody else is kind of cringing and kind of like they're on that roller coaster. And that's what allowed us to really grow. Don: [00:04:05] You know, it was one of those times when there was so many bigger companies. Yeah. The biggest thing that hit people back down was when it got bigger, they all invested in real estate. And then after that, you had all these fixed commitments and real estate, then the market just evaporates and they're stuck there with all that office space. Jason: [00:04:23] So, what's the key…? You've seen so many agencies go from a certain size and just blow it up. And a lot of people listening, you know, they're in the million mark, they're trying to get to the eight-figure mark. Some of the eight-figure guys are trying to get to the nine-figure and tens and so on. And you've gone through many, many levels. So what are some things that if you're right in the middle of like, let's say a $5 million agency, what do you need to do in order to really kind of, to accelerate your growth that you've seen. Don: [00:05:00] Yeah. So I think there's an evolution. So when there, when you get to the $5 million mark, and then when you're a very small agency and you're a founder, the biggest thing you have to learn in order to get to the next level is you have to learn to delegate. And so if you can find the right people and if you have, if you continue to have to do it all yourself, then you'll never scale. But if you can find the right people and you, and you're willing to delegate and you may make some mistakes and, uh, if you do, but you, you can still move on from those mistakes and you'll have a chance to delegate. And then beyond that, as you continue on, you have to bring in more discipline in your organization's structure. They, you know, there's a lot of research that shows that most agencies sort of tap out either, one, right there where the owner has to start delegating, that's, that's one key point. And then there seems to be another flex point, right around 75 to a hundred employees. For some reason, that's when the organization becomes, uh, not as flat and it gets a little bit more widespread. And so you have different players involved. And that seems to be a place where organizations have hard times as well. Once you get past a hundred employees, I think you can scale up for, you know, you can do a pretty good job of getting scaled. Cause you have the, if you manage to get the structure, you have the discipline and you have the management team in there and you've got a lot of the right parts. Jason: [00:06:31] I always look at, in our agency mastermind, especially with the guys that are close to that, we're always talking about recruiting and really, how can we make our leaders better leaders. Like, that's our major focus rather than how do we make ourselves better. Right. Because we're literally kind of replacing ourselves. So what have you seen working well, or what's worked for you in the past to make your leaders better? Like you brought them in at a certain level. How did you keep getting them up to the next? Don: [00:07:04] First of all, you have to be willing to let them grow with you. So, like you have to give them something that maybe, that you know is not necessarily in their sweet spot, but it's, it's a growth opportunity and you have to be willing to let people might make a mistake if they're going to make a mistake. If you're not the type who can deal with the issues of making a mistake or a client failure of some sort, then it's going to be difficult because then you have to take these people, dust them off, tell them what they did wrong, pat them on the rear end and send them off and go do it again. Eventually, they start building up a real good experience, basically, they can do this stuff on their own. And that's how, that's how you build a team. And then once you build that team, you stay with it. Now, I've found that the best way to build a team and hang onto the team is, I'm a firm believer that as an executive you have to be very consistent in your leadership style. And so if you go to work every day and one day, you're just, just a normal guy. And the next day you're ranting and raving and you want to shoot anybody that walks in the door, nobody's going to work for you. But if you're, if people can say I know, I know Don, he's always this way, you know, consistent and you're, and you're consistent in your thinking and you make decisions so that it's almost transparent to these people, how you're making your decisions. Then they're going to learn how to make decisions very much akin to how you make decisions. And that's how you get a team that sort of has staying power. Jason: [00:08:42] Yeah. I looked at it too of going, uh, someone shared with me many years ago, it's called the one, three, one method, or I think it's called that. But whenever your team would come to you and think about as you're building an agency, your team's always coming to you because, especially in the beginning, you're like the toll booth everything's flowing through you. Whenever they would say, you know, hey, here's the challenge? What do you think we need to do? Like they would ask me and I'm like, no, no, no. What are three options that you think we need to do? And then what's your recommendation. If they do that enough, then they're just going to stop coming to you for these things and they'll start solving it. And then they'll do that with their team. Because I looked at our whole goal was. My job is to coach and mentor my leadership team. And then they should, it should trickle down. I love that you said consistency too, because I was talking to an agency the other day. I'm like, man, you're all over the place. Like one day you're up here, another day you're a tyrant here and it's just. Don: [00:09:46] As an employee, you come to work and you don't know who you don't know which boss is going to show up today. That's not the kind of place you'd probably want to work at for the long run. Jason: [00:09:55] Yeah, exactly. Well, let's kind of switch focus a little bit and talk about why do you think, you've obviously you've gone through, you know, over 40 acquisitions. Why do you think a high percentage of mergers or acquisitions actually fail? Don: [00:10:13] Uh, it's a great question. And it's probably on page one or two of my new book coming out. I believe if you look at the diligence process that people go through and you start looking at what people really examine when they look at potentially buying a company. What you find is that they don't spend a whole lot of time looking at the value set of these companies that they're looking to buy. So you don't really have a good keen understanding of whether or not the value set of the people you're buying is in alignment with the value set that your company has. So I talk about in my, in the book, this whole thing called value compatibility profile. And what kind of alignments you see in these values, and then when these companies fail and if you go read in the press, you're reading the literature, the first thing people say, well, you know the values weren't in alignment, the cultures were off. Well, It shouldn't be a big surprise to anybody that, uh, these things failed. If you didn't spend enough time on the front end that if, when they do fail, these are the cause on the backend. So my belief is that we spend too much time on the hard stuff, like the financial stuff, and we don't spend enough time on the values, compatibility and the alignment of values, because that is going to dictate much of how these two companies come together. Jason: [00:11:36] Yeah, I always tell everybody, and I did this when we were acquired. I wanted to sit in their office for a couple of days, like a fly on the wall. And I wanted to see, you know, are these people happy? Do they joke around? Like, I'm obviously not a corporate type. So if we were going to be acquired by someone, very corporate. It would've just been a complete, utter disaster. Don: [00:11:59] Well, I had this good story I tell that back in the day, uh, when I was at iCrossing, there's this amazing agency, AKQA that, uh, and Tom Bedecarré who used, you know, it was a CEO there for years. And at one point GA, who own them, and then, we had gone with some other people that they had this idea that we were going to possibly merge the two and it would create this really powerhouse in the marketplace, a creative powerhouse, like AKQA, and then a performance media powerhouse like iCrossing, you could bring that together. And I think it would have reshaped some of the agency business. Well, so they were talking about merging it. And the first thing you have to do is you have to look at it and say, well, you know, can people get along and the CEOs even get along. So, uh, you know, uh, Tom and I get together and the board calls us up and says, look, we want to know if you guys can make this work. We want you guys to, uh, take a weekend and go to go to Sonoma County or Napa Valley for a weekend, have some wine, just sit around and talk. So that's what we did. We went up there and spent the entire weekend up there just to see if we even liked each other. I found out about his kids. He finds about my life. At the end of the day, you know, I found out what was important to him. He got to know what was important to me and we, and we figured out a way to stay to the word. Now, but the deal fell apart for other reasons. But that part of I would I think would have worked its way through. And that's just because we put in the time upfront. Jason: [00:13:32] Yeah. Yeah. I totally agree. Now, outside of values and matching the culture, what are the numbers like when you were acquiring agencies? What are the numbers that really matter to you to make sure or what's a good acquisition for you? Don: [00:13:50] Well, experience has shown me that if… you're going to get what you paid for, right? And, and so like, if you, if you're looking to get something on the cheap, then chances are, you're going to get something cheap, right. You're going to be spending a lot of time fixing it. And so if you're into reclamation projects, that's a whole different world. If you really want to grow. You don't want to spend all your life fixing what you just bought. So I'm, you know, I'm a firm believer that you pay a fair price and you gotta be willing to walk away. So for me, it's understanding what, what the true… and, I'm not into, since we're talking about services businesses, it really has to be more EBITDA-based then it's going to be revenue-based as opposed to a lot of these technology businesses that we see, but, uh, so on that base, you know, I know what multiples are to be in play. So, you know, if, if people are willing, then what you, what you really find, and you know this because you've seen it, as many times as I have is that most of these owners think they're the unicorn out there and they have, they want the one-off multiple that nobody's ever seen before, and that's just not going to happen. So you have to get people to get, take a dose of reality, and come down to earth. And if they get real. Then you have the basis to starting at the discussion about getting something done. Jason: [00:15:29] As an agency owner, it's hard to know when you have to make those big decisions. And I remember needing advice for thinking like hiring or firing or reinvesting. And when can I take distributions without hurting the agency? You know, we're excellent marketers, but when it comes to agency finances like bookkeeping, forecasting, or really organizing our financial data, most of us are really kind of a little lost. And that's why my friend Nate created Agency Dad specifically to solve these exact problems. You know, at Agency Dad, they help agency owners handle the financial part of their agency so they can focus on what they're really good at. Nate has spent years learning the ins and outs of agency business. He understands everything from how to structure your books, to improving the billing process and really managing your financial efficiencies. Agency Dad will show you how to use your financial data to make the key decisions, from making your agency more successful and most importantly, more profitable. If you want to know how your agency finances stack up to the rest of the industry Agency Dad can tell you how to do that. A lot of my listeners have already gotten their free audit from Agency Dad. And if you haven't yet, go to agencydad.money/freeaudit before August 30th and get your free financial metrics audit. Also, just for smart agency listeners, find out how to get your first month of bookkeeping or dashboarding and consulting for free. It's time to clean up your agency finances and listen to dad, go to agencydad.money/free audit. Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned EBITDA because that's how we've always based it on. And I always used to love when people would say. Oh, we're a $10 million agency. We're a $20 million agency. And I'm like, well, what's the profit? And they're like, oh, we're like a 5% margin. I'm like, oh, that's horrible. And I also agree with you too. A lot of times when we actually we at Republics, we started buying agencies. Like we don't buy anybody under a million and EBITDA. There's the same amount of work. A lot of people are like, especially when the pandemic happened, they're like, oh, we're going to grab up all these people that are struggling. I'm like, I rather grab the people that are growing. Don: [00:17:52] Yeah, you know, I'll tell you a really, a really funny story was, uh, when I was at Agency.com and I was sitting in there talking to John Wren, who's the head of Omnicom, and he's bought more companies than anybody I know. And he's, uh, so he was telling me one day he said, uh. He said: Scales, let me give you a piece of advice on how to deal with acquisitions. He says until a company gets over a million dollars in EBITDA, he says, you just fly over, fly over the top and you wave to the airplane. Don't ever go visit until get over a million dollars, then you'll stop. Jason: [00:18:36] That's awesome. Oh, definitely so. Right, because I feel that businesses can hit a couple of million by accident, but to get to a million in EBITDA, it's a little bit more challenging. Don: [00:18:47] and they can lose a couple million by accident too. They can go both ways by accident, too. Jason: [00:18:55] Exactly. What are the multiples that you're seeing for, let's say, one to about 3 million in EBITDA. Don: [00:19:01] Uh, you know, I wouldn't pay it from one to 3 million. I meant, like you said, some of that could be by accident. But I'd say probably it's, it's still single digits from me. Uh, you know, I'm not going to be paying at, I'd probably pay six to eight, maybe somewhere in there, but not much more. I can't see much more than that. Jason: [00:19:23] Yeah. When does it really start jumping up to the double digits? Don: [00:19:27] I think one, when you get a little bit of scale to it. So, you know, once you get to a point where there's not 50 other people that look just like you. So, I mean, if you get a, I can recall when we hit, uh, at iCrossing. And we actually merged with Proxycom and that got that, that took us over a hundred million dollars in revenue. We were at, I forget, like 20 some odd percent on EBITDA. That put us into some rarefied air in the agency business. First of all, you don't see that many agencies go over a hundred million and then you don't see that many agencies making that kind of EBITDA. That got us, you know, we ended up making in the high teens. And so it's really the scarcity factor that drives it. So if you are a three or $5 million agency, Then you better have a real unique proposition is going to be able to get something in the marketplace is going to be differentiable because there's, there's a lot of those out there. Jason: [00:20:34] Yeah. Do you look at specialization as something that separates agencies rather than saying know the typical we're a full service “me-too” agency. Don: [00:20:43] Well, there are two things that... One is, we're a full service and two is, yeah, we deserve it because we have such great people. We have unique people. Everybody says that. So when I hear that, I'm thinking they don't even. Jason: [00:20:58] Or what is it? The three Ps: Process, Portfolio, and People. Don: [00:21:02] Okay. But so when you start hearing that, then you wonder what their strategy and what their story is. But if they cannot in a minute, if they have that 32nd elevator speech cold, and they can tell you exactly who their market is and what they're trying to accomplish, then you pay attention. Jason: [00:21:20] Yeah. So when you guys merged and you took. Your guys' revenue, you guys became a hundred million and 20 million in EBITDA, right? How long did you guys have to stay merged together before you exited? Because I found, and what we're finding too is like, just putting all these companies together, you have to make it work for some time for a buyer to treat you seriously. Don: [00:21:43] Yeah, I think what you, what you have is typically have, you know, right after something like that you're going to take at least a year to get all the kinks out. So you're going to have turnover. You're going to have this, you're going to have that. You're going to lose some clients. You've got all these kinds of issues you have to work your way through. And then you've probably got after that, you've probably got another year of sort of demonstrating that you can manage it and run it right. So you're looking at, probably at least two years, uh, before you can really do something with something like that. Jason: [00:22:16] Yeah. And let's talk about kind of margins. Because a lot of people, especially on, on the lower end, the people that you're flying over and waving to. I love that the flyover. Don: [00:22:30] I love it. That is a great story, and he said it was such a straight face too. Jason: [00:22:34] And he was a part of, uh, the CEO of Omnicom. Was that right? Don: [00:22:38] Omnicom, Omnicom is, he's probably done… He's probably done past some acquisitions. I don't even know. Jason: [00:22:47] That's hilarious. I love it. So the people that were flying over a lot of times, you know, their margins are at 10, 15% and they're like, oh, that's good. Or even 20%. And I look at that going that's I feel that's below average. So what do you think average is for profit margins? Don: [00:23:06] Yeah. Since I, I spent enough time and Omnicom I'll quote John Wren one more time I met John Wren used to say, if you really want to be an exceptional agency, then your overhead's 20%, your direct cost is at 60% of your margins are 20. He said, then that's what, it's a very simple business, Don. He said, you make 20% every year, he says, I'll never, you'll never hear from me. I'm happy and I will never bother you. So I mean, that's kind of the way I looked at it, it was it's. Uh, and you have to, you have to take that, but there's so many CEOs that just don't have that kind of. That makeup to focus on that number and be focused on that 20% or better. And now, you know, over the years, because we've gone more from services and now it's sort of this mix of technology and services. And now when 20 years ago, we didn't hear about recurring revenue and now there's all this talk about how much your business is recurring versus repeat versus, all of this. It's all the same, you know, now you have to be a little bit more focused and you do have the opportunity to get higher margins as a result of all this, but yeah, pure services business, you ought to be shooting for at least 20%. Jason: [00:24:27] Yeah, I love it. And you kind of alluded a little bit to, you know, the reoccurring model, because when I did the first agency, about 85% was just project-based. Like we would go into Lotus Cars and we'd go into Tochi and right. And just exactly, but we had a machine for our pipeline. Like it was predictable for us. Now going around it's kind of a little different. I actually kind of love reoccurring cause it's predictable, especially when we're buying someone. So what's your thoughts on that? Don: [00:24:59] Right, and that's where you're gonna get margin. That's where you're going to get margin. So nobody's going to pay you for project-based businesses. Now, even if you have, like you said, even if you have a machine that can crank out new opportunities. Nobody's going to pay you because they, they can't look forward. They can't see it beyond a certain amount of time. So what you're going to have, what your business is, no matter how… you could have five years of great project-based business results. But because they can't see more than three or four months in the future, they're not going to pay you the higher multiple, but as you get more recurring, and a word we call repeat, which is meaning that, you know, you're not necessarily going from contract to contract your own more or less 12 months kind of contracts. They may be on auto-renewals, those kinds of things, where you're not having to go out and renegotiate something every three months. Uh, then you can start, people are, you know, then people respect your business a little bit more than they value visible more highly. Jason: [00:26:00] Yeah. And you know what I've always seen, especially when we're going in and doing valuation of going well, you might get your valuation, but most of it's going to be tied into an earn-out because there's no predictability. Don: [00:26:13] Yeah, exactly. No, that's exactly right. And then depends on what the, if you're a fan of or not, but. Jason: [00:26:23] I was screwed by that one, I wish I read your book. Don: [00:26:27] I've been screwed on both sides of that one. Jason: [00:26:29] I know. I've been on both sides and, you know, especially what we're doing it now is like, we've always structured the earn-out now to make it fair. And we're like, we're not going to base it on time. We'll base it on when you hit this. So like, if an agency comes to us and says, well, I'll hold off, Jason. And you can buy us next year because I feel we're going to be double. And we'll be like, okay, well, if you feel that, why don't we put an earn-out on that? So when you hit the double, we'll give it to you. There's no set time so we can screw you. Like it has to… like, it can be a win-win I'm tired of people taking advantage. Don: [00:27:07] And generally takes them twice as long to get to double, right? Jason: [00:27:13] Exactly. They're just, I think they're trying to buff up. And then they also where they tell us, they go, well, we want to stay on for long haul. I'm like, no, you probably be the worst employee. I know I was the worst employee ever. Don: [00:27:26] I man, especially it's really hard to you get a successful entrepreneur who started an agency, or started two or three agencies, uh, yeah, they make the, they're not the best employees and the guy, the guy I had the most respect for. Started with that iCrossing and he could work for anybody else. Jason: [00:27:46] Yeah, that's, that's me. Last question I have for you, Don is as a global CEO of one of the big agencies. What are your roles? Like, what do you look at as your role in the agency? Like if you had to pick like three or four roles. Don: [00:28:15] Uh, I think really my role is to provide two things. One is depending on what the, you know, you have to articulate what the strategy is, and in some cases that's a little easier than other cases. But I have to articulate what the strategy is and then I have to provide a culture and environment by which people can go accomplish, you know, accomplish those goals. But you have to get people, you have to show them the direction. You have to give them the tools by which they can go do it. And you got to get out of their way and let them do it. And, those, those are the keys. Jason: [00:28:41] Yeah. That's, that's kind of what I looked at when, when I started getting up in a little, the gray hair, as I started figuring out that part of like getting out of people's way. And it's more of… Don: [00:28:52] Uh, and the good ones, you know, I have some people who've been with me here Investis Digital I've had people who've been with me for 20 years. This is their third company we worked at together and they're, and they're some of the best people in the world. And that's the reason is because I'm smart enough to know when to get out of their way. Jason: [00:29:13] Yeah. I always said I wanted to be the dumbest person in the room, at the company, and that was not hard for me. Don: [00:29:22] I think Reagan said that too. One time. He said you want to be the dumbest guy in the room one time when it was, he said something like that. Jason: [00:29:30] Oh, that's funny. Well, Don, this has all been amazing. Is there anything I didn't ask you before we tell people where they can get the book? Don: [00:29:38] I think, uh, you know, I probably. You know, I thought maybe you might ask me, like, give me one funny story that came out of doing one of these acquisitions I had one before I was going to tell you. Yeah. So the first acquisition that I ever did at iCrossing was a company called NewGate Internet, it was in Sausalito, California. And we had spent all this time and effort getting this right. We had dotted all the I's and cross T's and we wanted to make sure that the board was really standing behind this and. So we got all excited. We got this deal done. So, uh, we went out there, uh, myself and the CEO of iCrossing at the time we went out there and went to Sausalito. And so we meet, we meet the CEO of NewGate Internet at the front door. We're talking to him and I said, okay, is everybody ready? Yeah. I got the whole team together and we're going to introduce you guys is going to be great. So we walk in and the. And the CEO stands up in front of his group, which is probably about 50 to 75 people. And he says, well, uh, he says, uh, I have some news for you guys. He said, you don't know this, but for the last six months I've been, uh, trying to sell the company and he says I've actually been successful at doing so. And so, uh, your new owners here, Jeff and Don they're from a company called iCrossing. They're going to be your new bosses. And today's my last day. Uh, I'll be leaving as soon as I finished speaking here, it's been great working with you for the last six years, and I hope to see you guys soon. And they literally picked up and walked out the fire escape and never came back. And Jeff and I are looking at each other like, holy cow, what are we going to do now? So we had to figure this out on the fly in front of 75 people who didn't even know they were being sold and we made it work this way through, but there was a, oh my God moment there where it was like, my gosh, what are we going to do next? Oh, wow. That was our first deals at iCrossing. Jason: [00:31:51] It's awesome. I mean, literally he got the mic, he dropped it and then just bounced and walked right out the fire escape too. Was he afraid that you guys would go to stop the elevator? Don: [00:32:05] I think he was, I think he was so embarrassed about just pulling a fast one there. He just didn't even want to wait to go out to the front door. He didn't want to say goodbye to anybody, he just left. Jason: [00:32:16] Wow. So was it a good acquisition or did you find a lot of skeletons? Don: [00:32:21] Yeah, it turned out really good. I mean, they, they were really, uh, experts in paid media. Uh, and they really set the tone for iCrossing for years in paid media. And we got some really fantastic people out of that, but it was, it has bumps in the early days, that's for sure. Jason: [00:32:37] That's crazy. I mean, literally like. Don: [00:32:43] It was pretty funny. Jason: [00:32:43] I can only imagine, like, I'm picturing, I know what you're talking about a fire escape, but I, I see like the New York fire escapes, like him sliding down. With the ladder. Don: [00:32:53] With the ladder and everything. They don't have those in Sausalito. Jason: [00:32:58] I know, but that would be. You should embellish that a little bit. Like be like, yeah, he just slid down like was James Bond. Don: [00:33:08] I need to build this up a little bit more. Jason: [00:33:10] Yeah, definitely. Well, you got to sell it, like your, sell it a little bit more. Don: [00:33:14] Exactly. It is in the book though. You can read about it in the book. Jason: [00:33:19] Cool, what's the name of the book? And obviously, we probably can get it anywhere, right? Don: [00:33:23] It's from Forbes books. It's out Amazon for pre-sale right now. It comes out June 6th and it's called the M&A Solution. Jason: [00:33:30] Awesome, well, everyone go check it out. And then, uh, what's the agency URL so people can go and check out the agency as well. Don: [00:33:38] The agency that I'm at right now. It's called Investis Digital, and like I said it's London-based and we just got bought by Investcorp, so yeah, check us out. Jason: [00:33:50] Awesome. Well, Don, thanks so much for coming on the show. It was a lot of fun hearing some of the old stories. Make sure all of you go check out the book. Check out the agency as well. And if you guys enjoyed this episode and you guys want to be surrounded by amazing agency owners that are sharing what's working now, so you guys can scale faster and really know that you're doing it in the right way. I'd love to invite all of you to go to digitalagencyelite.com. Check it out, apply if you're right for us, we'll have a conversation. And until next time, have a Swenk day.

Don Scales is the Global CEO of Investis Digital, an award-winning digital communications company that makes businesses more successful by sharing their brand stories with target audiences such as shareholders, investors, employees, customers, and influencers. Don has more than 30 years of award-winning digital experience. He joined Investis Digital as a CEO of US operations in March of 2016 and became Global CEO in January 2017. He previously led global operations at interactive agencies iCrossing and Agency.com Don is also an author, and his first book, How to Lead a Values-Based Professional Services Firm, was co-written with Fran Biderman-Gross and released in 2020. His next title, The M&A Solution: A Values-Based Approach to Integrate Companies, is set for a release in May 2021 with ForbesBooks. Don has dual undergraduate degrees in Chemical Engineering and Mathematical Physics, and a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from Rice University; he also has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Don Scales, the Global CEO of Investis Digital, is John Corcoran's guest in this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast where they talk about preparing for successful mergers and acquisitions. Don explains why most mergers and acquisitions fail and talks about common red flags to watch out for when evaluating a potential deal. He also discusses the importance of value alignment and finding the right time to close a deal.

Morgan Chemij serves as Senior Director of Global UX & North American e-commerce marketing at HP.com, where he oversees demand gen and CRM programs inclusive of email, print, search, display and affiliates. Prior to that, he oversaw e-commerce marketing at FTD brands – before which he spent many years agency side at iCrossing and Wunderman creating best-in-class search and digital innovations for the likes of American Express, American Airlines, Disney, FedEx, Citibank, Land Rover and countless others.Laurel Mintz, founder and CEO of award-winning marketing agency Elevate My Brand, explores some of the most exciting new and growing brands in Los Angeles and the US at large. Each week, the Elevate Your Brand podcast features an entrepreneurial special guest to discuss the past, present and future of their brand.

Film nerd, iced americano addict, and cranial nudist, Jonathan considers it one of his greatest honors to help serve the Journeyage tribe. His primary responsibilities are simple - reinforcing culture, developing people, and cleaning the bathrooms. Jonathan also: -Never misses a Thursday date night with his wife of 15 years -Gets super competitive when playing board and card games -Loves serving and supporting the #yesphx entrepreneur community Before co-founding Journeyage in April 2018, Jonathan helped start multiple other startups after growing in his leadership and product management chops with influential digital brands like iCrossing and GoDaddy. He won some and he lost some in the startup game, but he ultimately considers success to be loving others well. To learn more about Jonathan's passion for culture and entrepreneurship - or just talk movies - connect with him personally.

Starting an agency-client relationship is vital; a good first impression sets the tone for everything you do together. There's no single solution to getting this right, but a few small tweaks can add up to make a big difference to your pitches and your people.In episode 11 of Word on the Street, Katie is joined by Head of New Business & Marketing at iCrossing UK, Martina Lacey, who shares some top tips for guiding your agency to success, as well as explaining iCrossing's ‘One Marketing Team' concept. They discuss the effectiveness of sharing the responsibility for attracting and pitching to potential clients and employing a mix of short and long term strategies to keep the work coming in.They also discuss how to persuade new business to buy into the whole team, not just the person responsible for attracting them.This episode coversSharing the responsibility of attracting new businessMaintaining a range of tasks to avoid burning outPracticing what you preach to clientsiCrossing's One Marketing Team systemMaintaining inquiries through lockdownBalancing short and long term acquisition strategiesWord on the Street is sponsored by Just After Midnight, supporting your websites and applications 24/7. They provide managed cloud, 24hr monitoring and support and DevOps. Get a month free here: https://www.justaftermidnight247.com/streetLinks and references at: https://street.agency/podcast/kickstarting-client-relationships/Get in touch: hello@street.agency

A dive into data with Jake Abraham a topic not only important for our industry but for the public as a whole due to the growing concerns and conversations around platforms such as Facebook and Google. We’ll be breaking down data definitions, how it’s used, best practices, privacy concerns, the role of media as well as how Jake went from being a producer to being a prominent player in the world of data. Jake Abraham is a Peabody nominated producer of film, television and digital projects with over 20 years experience. For over the past five years Jake has been involved with data in regards to content creation and distribution. He was Head of Studio at iCrossing overseeing the creation of content for advertisers within the Hearst network and he is currently President at AuDigent. AuDigent is a data platform specializing in music, entertainment, sports and pop culture.

On Episode 60, we have Tiesha Miller, VP of growth and marketing technology at iCrossing. We start our discussion about a couple of words in her title, then dig into how she advises clients to utilize technology, how GDPR and other legislation in the offing will affect the business, and also what trends she’s tracking (hint: voice is gonna be big).Episode LinksiCrossing — iCrossing has been unleashing brand potential for 18 years. As an agency owned by Hearst, we have access to the most valuable ingredients for effective marketing: insights, talent and audiences.Auto, voice, and TV technologies amplify the marketer’s dilemma — Our jobs as marketers continue to intensify and become more complex. Yet, we still need to deliver on short-term sales while building future strategies. Balancing the two in today’s environment is a dilemma exacerbated by the landscape of ever-proliferating technology, sophisticated and oversaturated consumers, and more and more complex playgrounds to engage customers.How to see past the promises of advanced data management and get what you need — Adopting a cloud solution is about as easy to grasp as quantum physics, but it's become a necessity as marketers grapple with a fragmented consumer landscape: People are interacting with brands at physical stores, online, via voice, over the phone, in-app, chat, email and on social. Data across these channels has historically existed in silos, which is not ideal for brands trying to figure out who their audiences are and how to best serve them.Cover image from Flickr, public domain.

Programmatic's continued evolution means marketers need to get even smarter about how they collect data. At the Digiday Media Buying Summit held in Nashville, Tennesse from Feb. 20-22, Amanda Betsold, vp and head of programmatic at iCrossing, discussed the key elements of her conversation with clients on refining the programmatic approach, how agencies can help clients use data better, the in-housing trend, organizing teams to support programmatic transactions and more.

Big mergers resulting in new entities like Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R have set the tone for 2019: It’s going to be the year of consolidation. Anne Bologna, chief strategy officer at Hearst-owned agency iCrossing, says there is too much continued pressure on agencies — a talent war with the duopoly and continuing competition has made agencies lose their confidence, and forget their craft. Bologna discusses why consolidation is necessary, how agencies are trying to be everything for clients and more on this episode.

Joe Griffin is the CEO of ClearVoice, a content marketing platform and talent network that he co-founded in 2013. He has served in executive roles at Web.com and iCrossing, and has founded multiple companies. Joe has employed more than 500 SEO, social media, and content marketing experts over his career, and actively speaks and writes for major media outlets.

For Constance DeCherney, where we’re headed is important — whether it’s in work or life. DeCherney, who leads strategy at TDA Boulder grew up in Wilmington, Delaware — attended the nearby University of Delaware and found herself, after graduation, at the ACLU, then Planned Parenthood and iCrossing. At every stop along the way, she pushed hard to move everything forward. How we evolve as an industry is of particular interest and DeCherney believes that we place too much emphasis on authenticity when, in fact, it should be all about intention first. Intention can build a future while authenticity can keep evolution at bay, to the industry’s own peril. Motivations are also on her mind — and the ability to listen first and talk second, can help engender greater understanding of people, especially in the tenuous climate gripping the country. Knowing and appreciating values is another key marker for moving forward and the inherent ability to relate — or least attempting to relate — can unearth more connection than some realize. Additionally, in looking back, DeCherney believes that the practice of saying “I don’t know” followed by “Tell me more” can be a powerful force in greater understanding — and that curiosity is a foundation of being successful. Usually being the youngest in the boardroom and staying to the practice has proven to be of great benefit in her career arc. During her time in Colorado, DeCherney realized that pulling the trigger on leaving New York City, which she counts as a bit of an impulse, has been transformative and grounds her thinking. Fearless, yet accessible in her approach, she is a huge advocate for challenging young women to think about what they truly want in life and their careers — and how they can be integrated together well. She also believes that leaders should ask people what they want, then give it to them, knowing that collaboration, independence and autonomy can help lead the way.

“People want to hang out with brands they like and trust. Those are the principles we were founded on in 1906.” As Chief Marketing Officer at Coldwell Banker Real Estate, it’s Sean Blankenship’s job to guide a brand going through one of the most disruptive periods in its 110 year industry with the help of 87,000 independent contractors as brand ambassadors. All of this provides challenges and opportunities I couldn’t wait to discuss more of this with Sean on this week’s On Brand podcast. About Sean Blankenship Sean Blankenship is the Chief Marketing Officer at Coldwell Banker Real Estate. He joined Coldwell Banker in June 2013 with nearly 20 years of marketing experience. A “digital native” with a wide-array of branding and product experience including Gulf States Toyota, Nissan North America, Inc., and noted digital agency iCrossing, Blankenship is responsible for developing and growing the Coldwell Banker global brand architecture, including the luxury home program Coldwell Banker Previews International®. Blankenship’s focus is on transforming the business through innovation and a consumer-centric marketing platform, which includes advertising, media, public relations, product development, promotions and marketing communications. Blankenship is a graduate of California State University at Fullerton and earned his MBA from the University of Phoenix. He is a licensed REALTOR®. As We Wrap … Before we go, I want to flip the microphone around to our community …This past week I was a guest on former On Brand guest Park Howell’s podcast, The Business of Story. Thanks Park! Listen to the episode now. Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you’d like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show. Last but not least … Subscribe to the podcast – You can subscribe to the show via iTunes, Stitcher, and RSS. Rate and review the show – If you like what you’re hearing, head over to iTunes and click that 5-star button to rate the show. And if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review. This helps others find the podcast. OK. How do you rate and review a podcast? Need a quick tutorial on leaving a rating/review in iTunes? Check this out. And finally a reminder that On Brand is brought to you by the Social Brand Forum. This premier digital marketing experience takes place September 22-23 in beautiful Iowa City, Iowa. Learn from experts like Jay Baer, Joe Pulizzi, and Gini Dietrtich in the heart of the heartland. Listeners of the show get the best rate when they register using promo code ONBRAND at socialbrandforum.com. Until next week, I’ll see you on the Internet!

On the show with me today is Mike Corak the Executive Vice President of Strategy at ethology, leading the strategic planning and agency services teams. An agency veteran, Corak has developed and implemented winning digital and integrated strategies for hundreds of companies over his 12-year career, including Coca-Cola, ConAgra Foods, ConocoPhillips, FedEx, Fujitsu, Nike, Office Depot, and Walt Disney. Prior to ethology, Corak led the interactive services, strategy and client management teams at Off Madison Avenue and iCrossing. Corak serves on the board of SEMPO (Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization), helping drive the search industry’s trade group initiatives in research and best practices education. Thank you so much for listening! Please subscribe rate and review on your favorite podcast listening app. To get to the show notes for today's episode, go to https://brightideas.co/xxx...and if you have any questions for me, you can leave me a voicemail at brightideas.co/asktrent

Adam Lavelle, Chief Strategy Officer of iCrossing and Chris McCarthy, Director of Strategy, Technology, and Business Operations of Markinekt, discuss the newest trends in digital marketing, search engines, mobile media, social marketing and how students can best prepare themselves for the direct and interactive marketing profession. Kelly O'Brien, adjunct faculty member of the Marketing Department, Zicklin School of Business, moderates the event. The event takes place on November 1, 2007, at the Newman Conference Center, Room 763. [Part I -- 35 min.] Presentation by Adam Lavelle, Chief Strategy Officer of iCrossing [Part II -- 38 min.] Presentation by Chris McCarthy, Director of Strategy, Technology, and Business Operations of Markinekt; and Q & A

Adam Lavelle, Chief Strategy Officer of iCrossing and Chris McCarthy, Director of Strategy, Technology, and Business Operations of Markinekt, discuss the newest trends in digital marketing, search engines, mobile media, social marketing and how students can best prepare themselves for the direct and interactive marketing profession. Kelly O'Brien, adjunct faculty member of the Marketing Department, Zicklin School of Business, moderates the event. The event takes place on November 1, 2007, at the Newman Conference Center, Room 763. [Part I -- 35 min.] Presentation by Adam Lavelle, Chief Strategy Officer of iCrossing [Part II -- 38 min.] Presentation by Chris McCarthy, Director of Strategy, Technology, and Business Operations of Markinekt; and Q & A

Shelley Ellis of Icrossing discusses Google Enhanced Performance Targeting, including the new options for content and placement targeting, and the crossover between social media and paid search.

Shelley Ellis of Icrossing discusses Google Enhanced Performance Targeting, including the new options for content and placement targeting, and the crossover between social media and paid search.

On this month's show we talk with Arjo Ghosh, the CEO of iCrossing, and the Chairman of the IPA's new Search Group, giving the lowdown on getting the most out of your search marketing. Jenny Southwell, E-marketing manager for First Direct fills us in on their pioneering use of social networking and Tim Gould, the head of marketing at Casio Electronics, talks about lifestyle-based engagement and Casio's plans for a virtual multi-story building for their customers.Download this podcast

Whilst I was at the Search Marketing Expo in London last month I caught up with Paul Doleman. Paul  is the Chief Technical Officer and Head of Paid Search for iCrossing (Spannerworks). Paul has been involved in the new SEMPO training initiative which has been put together by more than thirty five experts from around […]