Agency Life International by Teamleader

What if your biggest risk isn’t a bad quarter, but a bad habit? What if you're a leader who doesn’t lead, your team is flying blind, and knowledge is stuck in people’s heads instead of in systems? Podcaster and agency consultant Drew McLellan guides us through the biggest agency pitfalls and how to avoid them.

Nick Petroski left Wall Street to found Promethean Research: an agency that analyses trends and strategies within the agency world, armed with data from thousands of digital agencies. Today, he helps agencies make smarter, more informed choices. We discuss persistent scope creep, the real impact of AI and why ‘scaling’ is a toxic term.

In sports marketing, it’s always go time. Clients are demanding, the workday does not end at five o’clock and everything is based on data. You need a team that instinctively knows where the ball is headed, like a true Johan Cruijff. Enter Sharon Bennett, Head of Client Services & Women’s Sport Lead at WePlay. She works for some of the world’s biggest sports brands – PSG, AC Milan, the UFC and ESPN – and tells us about the ins and outs of the profession. ‘The sports marketing playbook has not been written yet.’

Business development for agencies has changed dramatically. CMOs no longer take meetings on a whim. Your website is your shop window. And good work is no longer a ticket to new clients. Duncan Wood (Ingenuity, Mad//Fest) shares what agencies should do today to get on the radar – and to stay there: sharper propositions, better casting, and long-term thinking. ‘I think agencies need to wake up a little bit.’

Creating ads that people actually want to see is a challenge in itself. But creating viral ads that get shared in group chats? That’s a whole different ballgame. Yet, that’s just a regular day at Studio B. The British creator-led agency was founded by YouTuber Brandon B, who, with his 16M followers, knows a thing or two about going viral. His Business Development Director Dean Joffe tells us how to build a business with the motto ‘Entertainment first, sales second’.