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Build a Better Agency Podcast

Drew McLellan
Agency Management
Artificial Intelligence
Agency Growth
Client Relationships
Employee Engagement
Leadership
Agency Management Institute
Networking
Agency Leadership
Leadership Development
Employee Retention
Thought Leadership
Work-Life Balance
Agency Culture
Strategic Planning
Business Development
Professional Development
Agency Operations
Marketing
Styling and Professional Branding

Scale and grow your agency with better clients, invested employees, and a stronger bottom line, with Drew McLellan.

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes569Founded11 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
EntrepreneurshipBusiness

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Artwork for Build a Better Agency Podcast

Latest Episodes

Welcome to another insightful episode of Build a Better Agency! This week, host Drew McLellan welcomes Shawn Yeager, founder of Upshift, for a candid conversation about the seismic shifts AI is creating in the agency world. Together, they go beyond t... more

Welcome to another insightful episode of Build a Better Agency! This week, host Drew McLellan is joined by Anthony Reeves, Vice President of Global Brand and Creative at Kohler and former Amazon internal agency leader, to explore the vital—but often ... more

Welcome to an especially impactful episode of Build a Better Agency! This week, host Drew McLellan takes you on a deep dive into the true nature of leadership inside agencies beyond the usual skills and techniques. Drawing from months of research and... more

Welcome to another inspiring episode of Build a Better Agency! In this episode, Jeannie Walters breaks down the real distinction between customer experience and customer service, and why treating them as the same thing keeps agencies from measuring w... more

Key Facts

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Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

Recent Guests

Anthony Reeves
Vice President of Global Brand and Creative at Kohler; former head of Amazon's Internal Creative Agency
Kohler; Amazon
Episode: Episode 566 Agency Success Lies in Embracing Discomfort with Anthony Reeves
Jeannie Walters
Founder and CEO of Experience Investigators
Experience Investigators
Episode: Episode 564 Why Customer Experience Beats Customer Service with Jeannie Walters
Rita Ainsworth
Agency media buyer and coach focused on stress management for agency professionals
Rita Ainsworth Coaching
Episode: Episode 563 Preventing Burnout in High Performing Agency Teams with Rita Ainsworth
Joe Pulizzi
Author and founder of Content Marketing Institute; keynote speaker
Content Marketing Institute
Episode: Episode 562 Burn the Old Playbook and Find Your Agency Tilt with Joe Pulizzi
Laura Lopuch
Client and partner acquisition expert; former copywriter
lauralopuch.com
Episode: Episode 561 Email Outreach that Works with Laura Lopuch
Danielle McCier
Project management expert and author of Wrangling Chaos
Wrangling Chaos (book)
Episode: Episode 559 Essential Project Management Skills for Agencies with Danielle McCier
Trevor Foley
Agency operations expert with experience at Hulu, Team One, and Wonderman Thompson
Independent / Consultant
Episode: Episode 557 Agency Operations and Process Optimization with Trevor Foley
Susan Baier
Founder/Owner of Audience Audit
Audience Audit
Episode: Episode 556 Key Insights from the 2026 Agency Edge Study with Susan Baier
Trevor McGregor
Coach and founder of Trevor McGregor Coaching and Trevor McGregor International
Trevor McGregor Coaching / Trevor McGregor International
Episode: Episode 554 Breaking the Barriers That Prevent Agency Scaling with Trevor McGregor

Host

Drew McLellan
Host of Build a Better Agency Podcast

Reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars from 389 ratings
  • Helpful strategic leadership content

    As a CSO of a mid-size creative agency, I find the content of this podcast very insightful and resourceful to help me lead our organization.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    ruko33
    United States13 days ago
  • A must listen for marketing agency owners

    Build a Better Agency has become a go-to resource for navigating the small to medium marketing agency world. Drew McLellan brings on guests who genuinely understand the challenges agency owners face, from pricing and profitability to team culture and client relationships, and the conversations stay grounded and practical rather than theoretical.

    His solo episodes are where the depth really shows. Decades of experience running and coaching agencies come through in every one, packed with insights... more

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    CuriousAndMindful
    United States17 days ago
  • Insightful and a kick in the pants

    Week after week, AMI delivers strong insights and up to date data that gives me something to bring back to my team. The findings are helpful across different agency types - something hard to do! There is a good mix of domestic and international, internal org and external marketing / sales content to help multiple aspects of your agency. It’s accessible, but challenges your status quo.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Ceematt
    United States2 months ago
  • I learn something every week from Drew and his guests

    I have listened to every episode for over 4 years. There are more tips and great pieces of advice from Drew and his guests than I can ever implement.

    It’s like having a virtual business coach offering useful and timely advice as the agency space continues to evolve.

    While you can’t possibly adopt everything you hear, the things you choose to adopt are always helpful.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    DTCircman
    United States4 months ago
  • Great insights, resources and empathy for Agency owners!

    Another agency owner recommended this podcast to me and now I recommend it to other agency owners too! Drew and his guests always share something of value and in some cases I can use or explore in my own agency too! It’s good to learn from those who have walked the path before you and learn from their experiences to avoid any miss-steps or major detours but to also find your way forward in positive directions. I would say this podcast is a must-listen if you are any type of agency owner or profe... more

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    PeppershockMedia
    United States5 months ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Audience notes the blend of solo leadership insights and guest expertise as highly actionable.
Many appreciate the focus on usable frameworks and implementation steps for agency growth.
Listeners praise the practical, battle-tested advice and real-world examples.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Episode 564 Why Customer Experience Beats Customer Service with Jeannie Walters
Q: So talk about how you make the distinction between customer experience and customer service and why that matters to us.
Customer experience is the full, proactive design of every touchpoint from awareness through loyalty, while customer service is the reactive support that happens when a customer asks for help. Focusing on CX means aligning people, processes, and policies to shape emotions and outcomes across the entire journey, not just at the moment of contact.
Episode 563 Preventing Burnout in High Performing Agency Teams with Rita Ainsworth
Q: What state am I in? How do I evaluate my current energy and stress to prevent burnout?
The guest emphasizes daily awareness of one's physiological state, noting that signs like irritability, fatigue, and disengagement indicate drift toward burnout, and suggests strategies to reset before full burnout occurs.
Episode 563 Preventing Burnout in High Performing Agency Teams with Rita Ainsworth
Q: Tell everybody a little bit about your background and how intimately you understand their world.
Rita shares over a decade in media buying and coaching, describing how burnout pushed her to explore stress regulation and how she now helps agencies manage workload and well-being through science-backed methods.
Episode 562 Burn the Old Playbook and Find Your Agency Tilt with Joe Pulizzi
Q: How do you define tilt and how should agencies approach narrowing their focus without losing opportunities?
Tilt is the recombination of existing strengths into a focused, human-centered approach; agencies should identify what they love, what they're uniquely good at, and which audience they want to serve, then communicate that clearly and consistently.
Episode 562 Burn the Old Playbook and Find Your Agency Tilt with Joe Pulizzi
Q: So talk a little bit about the impetus of the book and how you think the playbook has to change for agency owners and leaders.
The book argues that the traditional content marketing model is being disrupted by AI and rapid change; agencies must find their tilt, narrow focus, and speak from the unique combination of what they love, what they're expert at, and who they serve to stay findable and trusted.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
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Professions
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Frequently Asked Questions About Build a Better Agency Podcast

What is Build a Better Agency Podcast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

The show centers on practical leadership, agency operations, growth strategies, and client-focused delivery for independent and small-to-mid sized marketing agencies. Across recent episodes, guests share frameworks for leadership, CX, burnout prevention, AI-enabled workflows, and scalable systems, with a strong emphasis on actionable takeaways that improve profitability, personnel management, and client outcomes. A notable thread is balancing measurable performance with humane, sustainable practices, from structured decision-making and backcasting documents to lean processes and automation. The format frequently blends solo leadership insights with practical guest expertise, sponsorships, and real-world exercises, making it a go-to resource... more

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How many episodes of Build a Better Agency Podcast are there?

Build a Better Agency Podcast launched 11 years ago and published 569 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Build a Better Agency Podcast?

Recent guests on Build a Better Agency Podcast include:

1. Anthony Reeves
2. Jeannie Walters
3. Rita Ainsworth
4. Joe Pulizzi
5. Laura Lopuch
6. Danielle McCier
7. Trevor Foley
8. Susan Baier

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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